MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team cut a 17-point deficit to three in the final minutes but the comeback fell short as the Dragons fell at Winona State 82-77 in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Tournament Wednesday night in Winona, Minn.

MSUM finished the season 17-13 while Winona State improved to 17-10.

Senior forward Megan Hintz finished with 16 points while senior forward Madi Green and junior guard Sarah Jacobson chipped in with 14 points each. Sophomore forward Peyton Boom had 12 points.

Jacobson had nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Dragons in both categories.

MSUM shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field compared to 53.7 percent (29-of-54) for Winona State. The Dragons had a 29-28 edge in rebounds.

The Dragons were down 63-46 early in the fourth quarter when they began their comeback. They went on a 26-12 run over the next eight minutes to cut the Warrior lead to 75-72. That run was part of a 31-point fourth quarter outburst for MSUM, which was led by six points each from Jacobson and Green.

MSUM had a chance to cut further into the lead but missed a layup, and the Warriors hit four straight free throws over the next 19 seconds to push the lead back to seven.  MSUM freshman guard Mariah McKeever hit a three-pointer just before time expired to cut the lead to five, which was the final.

The two teams were tied at 19-19 after one quarter but Winona State took a 42-33 lead into halftime. The Warriors pushed the lead to double digits in the third and led 62-46 going into the final frame.

McKeever and sophomore guard Natalie Steichen had eight points apiece for MSUM.

It was the final game for the two Dragon seniors on the roster, Hintz and Green. Hintz leaves MSUM as the third-leading scorer in school history with 1,526 points.