Women's Basketball

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Women's Basketball Report: February 27
Minnesota State 90, Nebraska-Omaha 76

Mankato, Minn. -- Minnesota State secured sixth place in North Central Conference regular-season standings Saturday with a 90-76 victory over Nebraska-Omaha.

Four of MSU's starters finished Saturday's contest with double-digit points, anchoring the team's season high of 90 points. Alex Andrews was one rebound short of a double-double with a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds, while Heather Johnson sunk 12 points and both Tiffany Moe and Joanne Noreen each had 10 points.   With 13:25 left to play, Minnesota State held just a six-point advantage at 56-50. But over the next eight minutes, the team took off on a 21-7 run to keep Nebraska-Omama out of reach. In the end, MSU held a slim advantage in shooting percentage (48 percent to 44 percent) but out-rebounded Nebraska-Omaha 42-36 and scored 28 points off 19 UNO turnovers.

UNO was led by guard Alyssa Green with 21 points (8-15), while guard Karen Thies posted 17 points and nine rebounds and Cayla Hargrove and Ashley Nelson each sunk 10 points. Green also handed out four assists.

North Dakota 69, Minnesota Duluth 62

Duluth, Minn. - UND was not in a sharing mood. One week after clinching at least a share of a third straight North Central Conference women's basketball championship, the Fighting Sioux claimed the title outright by defeating Minnesota Duluth 69-62 at Romano Gymnasium.

It appeared the Sioux would be able to begin the celebration a little ahead of schedule this afternoon after taking a 15-point lead over the Bulldogs early in the second half. But UMD clawed its way back into the game with several runs and managed to pull within two when Stephanie Reiter knocked down a three-pointer with 5:50 remaining, making it a 53-51 Sioux lead.

After a UND timeout, Ashley Langen hit an inside bucket to make it 55-51 with 5:24 left, then on the ensuing UMD possession, Sioux guard Karla Beck came up with a big steal at midcourt and took it all the way to stretch the lead back to six points.

The back-to-back baskets by Langen and Beck gave the Sioux enough breathing room to put the game away in the final five minutes.

UMD was able to draw within four points at 64-60 with just under a minute remaining, but UND's Kelsey Maffin and Dayne Guinn each made several key free throws in the final 48 seconds to seal the win and the outright conference championship.

The Sioux shot 83.3 percent (20-for-24) from the line, compared to 65 percent (13-for-20) by the Bulldogs.

Langen finished with a team-high 16 points and added eight rebounds and a career-high five assists. Kierah Kimbrough scored 16 points, keyed by a 7-for-7 showing at the free throw line, and led all players with nine rebounds.

UMD's Katie Winkelman led all players with 18 points, despite going just 8-for-22 from the field.

South Dakota 79, St. Cloud State 57

St. Cloud, Minn. - Seniors Erika Quigley and Shannon Francis were honored by their teammates, friends, family and the Husky fans as they played in their final home game of their careers at St. Cloud State on Saturday in a bittersweet ending, losing to South Dakota, 79-57.

South Dakota hit 13 of 24 three-pointers, and shot a tremendous 48 percent from the field to lead the Coyotes to the victory. The Huskies shot just 40 percent, hitting only three-three point baskets and going 16 of 23 from the charity stripe.

The Huskies were led by Quigley, who had 16 points and seven boards. Jackie Carlson (Litchfield) chipped in 15, grabbing five rebounds, and charting two assists and steals. Danielle Ellison-Yancy (St. Paul) charted a career high 13 points, while tallying five boards and two steals.

Jenna Hoffman scored a game leading 17 points for South Dakota, while charting seven boards. Natalie Carda hit three of three attempts from the three-point line, coming off the bench, scoring 12 points and grabbing four rebounds. Shannon Daly scored 10 and Ashley Bjorkman charted 11 for the Coyotes.