MINOT, N.D. -- Freshman guard Natalie Jens scored 20 of her career-high 33 points in the third quarter to ignite a rally for the Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team as the Dragons came back to win at Minot State, 71-64 on Saturday in Minot. MSUM clinched the No. 4 seed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division with the win.
 
MSUM, which ended the regular season winning three of its last four games, improved to 9-13 overall and 8-10 in the NSIC while Minot State finished the season at 8-18 overall and 6-13 in the NSIC. 
 
Jens caught fire in the second half and led MSUM back from a 13-point halftime deficit. She finished with 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting. That is the most points by a Dragon player since Kiley Borowicz scored 37 against Augustana on Jan. 19, 2019. It's the most points away from home since Heather Strese scored 36 against Winona State on Feb. 28, 2015, and the most on the road since Meghan Rettke scored 35 in a 76-52 win at Minnesota Crookston on Jan. 17, 2009.
 
Jens and sophomore guard Mariah McKeever (32 points vs. Bemidji State) as the first two Dragons to score 30-plus points in a game in a season in a season since Meghan Roehrich (three times) and Strese did so in 2014-15.
 
Junior forward Peyton Boom had 18 points and seven rebounds for MSUM. Senior guard Natalie Steichen had six assists while jens led with four steals.
 
MSUM was down 37-24 at half but Jens caught fire in the third, scoring 20 of the Dragons' 30 points, to build a 54-49 lead going into the fourth quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, it was a pair of three-pointers by senior guard Nicole Herbranson that pushed the Dragons lead to 62-49 with 8:06 left, and the Dragons lead never dropped below seven the rest of the way.
 
Herbranson went 3-for-4 off the bench in three-pointers and finished with nine points. Boom added five assists as her outstanding season continued.
 
The Dragons are awaiting the outcome of the Southwest Minnesota State at Augustana game (ongoing as of this writing) to determine their opponent for the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament, which begins on Wednesday. If SMSU prevails in that game, MSUM will host Augustana; if SMSU loses, because of a rule that says the team with the better overall conference record would host, the Dragons would be on the road at SMSU.