Women's Basketball

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Women's Basketball Report: January 4
Minnesota State 71, Minnesota Duluth 65

Mankato, Minn. -- Minnesota Stateopened North Central Conference action with a 71-65 victory over the Minnesota Duluth. Breaking a tie, the Mavericks scored six points in the final 1:36 and held UMD scoreless to improve to 12 wins on the season. The game took place in MSU's own Taylor Center in front of 912 fans.

With 1:36 remaining on the clock and the score knotted, 65-65, Minnesota State's Liz Trauger grabbed a defensive rebound and managed a jumper to boost the Mavericks, 67-65. After a Minnesota Duluth timeout, MSU forced a shot clock violation on the Bulldogs to win back possession of the ball. A foul by the Bulldogs sent MSU's Tiffany Moe to the free throw line, and after she sunk both, the Mavericks held insurance at 69-65 with 22 seconds remaining.

Later with six seconds remaining on the clock, Flecia Foster was fouled but missed both shots at the charity stripe. But the Maverick aggression pulled through as Alex Andrews fought for the offensive rebound and scored two to cement a 71-65 win.

The game saw eight ties and 12 lead changes, but it was MSU's speed and depth that secured the victory. The Mavericks - who shot 68 percent (13-19) in the second half and 53 percent (28-53) on the game - scored 35 points off the bench and 16 fast break points, holding Minnesota Duluth to zero.

Joanne Noreen led the team with a season-high 15 points off a 3-of-3 effort from three-point land. Three other Mavericks scored double-digit points, including Trauger and Moe with 12 points each and Andrews with 11. Andrews also led in rebounding with seven, anchoring a 38-26 Minnesota State advantage.

The Bulldogs' Katie Winkelman and Katy Freeman each sunk 15 points, while Justine Axtell scored 14 with the help of four successful three-pointers. She also led in rebounding with eight.

Augustana 70, Nebraska-Omaha 62

Sioux Falls, S.D. -- Augustana raced out to a 21-point lead just before the half and then held on through cold shooting in the second half to down Nebraska-Omaha 70-62 at the Sioux Falls Arena.

The Vikings used shot 48.6 percent shooting in the first half to gain their biggest advantage of the game at 21 points with 1:27 remaining in the first half and had a 15-point margin at the break. However, Nebraska-Omaha turned up the defensive pressure and the Vikings were only able to manage 32.3 percent shooting from the floor in the second half, including an 0-8 effort from three-point range in the half. Nebraska-Omaha trimmed the Augie lead to one-point with 5:01 remaining in the game before the Vikings outscored the Mavericks 11-4 for the final score.

Augie's Alison Adamson scored season-high 21 points in the first half on 7 of 12 shooting before being held scoreless in the second half to lead Augie. Ashley Holiday was the leading rebounder for Augustana with nine boards, 17 points and five blocks while Andrea Walsh came off the bench to dump in 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting.

Ashley Freerksen was the only Maverick in double digits with 23 points while hitting 7 of 11 shots. Karen Thies pulled down 12 rebounds for UNO, which only shot 35.6 percent from the floor in the game.

North Dakota 86, St. Cloud State 66

  Grand Forks, N.D. - North Dakota didn't start in an optimal fashion, but they sure did end that way.

The Sioux trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half. However, the Sioux never faltered, inching back into the game point by point.

UND finally tied the game - the first tie since opening minutes - at 33 apiece with 1:24 left in the half and later took a 35-35 tie into the locker room. The Sioux continued to outplay the Huskies in the second half en route an 86-66 final in front of 2,101 at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

The biggest difference was the shooting. The Sioux were on fire during the second half, shooting 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) from the field, including a 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) performance behind the three-point line.

UND's defense also picked it up in the second half, limiting the Huskies' normally dominant inside game. St. Cloud's Erika Quigley and Kayla Rengal scored only 10 points in the second half, compared to 25 in the first half.

UND scored the first basket of the game, but soon found themselves trailing the Huskies. St. Cloud built its lead to 20-7 at the 11:31 mark and held an 33-25 led with 3:48 remaining in the half.

However, on UND's next possession Kayla Bagaason hit a jumper that sparked an 8-0 run to tie the game at 33. Kierah Kimbrough scored four of her 17 points in that run. She ended with 17 rebounds, recording her sixth double-double of the season.

Early in the second half with the game tied at 37-37, it was a three-pointer that sparked the Sioux. Carissa Jahner hit on from the outside, scoring three of her 16 points, at the 17:59 mark. The Sioux went on an 18-4 run over the next five minutes, 37 seconds.

The game was not in control, however. Much like the Sioux did in the first half, the Huskies continued to claw back into the game.

SCSU's Jackie Carlson hit a jumper to pull the Huskies within 61-58 with 6:06 remaining. But Danye Guinn responded and hit a three-pointer on UND's next possession.

Later, with UND holding onto a 68-62 lead, Jossy Bergan hit back-to-back three-pointers to seal the win.

Offensively, the Sioux had five players scoring in double digits. Guinn ended with 16 points off the bench, Karla Beck scored 11 points and Ashley Langen had 10.