MOORHEAD — Minnesota State Moorhead banded together in the final minute after top scorer Peyton Boom was helped off the floor late in the fourth quarter with a lower-leg injury.
Dragons forward Olivia Skibiel sank a clutch 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining to help the Dragons earn a 55-50 victory against St. Cloud State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball Saturday at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
"Peyton Boom went down so we all had to collect ourselves," said Skibiel, who finished with nine points. “We were a little shocked to say the least. We were able to band together and stay together.”
The Dragons (11-11, 8-10) split their weekend series after Friday's home loss against NSIC-leading Minnesota Duluth.
“That’s huge," said Dragons head coach Karla Nelson. “I’m really proud of how we responded.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Boom finished with a game-high 18 points on 8-for-17 shooting from the field, but she was injured on a drive to the basket with 1 minute, 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The 6-foot Boom appeared to grab for her left ankle and had to be helped off the court with MSUM holding a 51-50 lead.
“You can fall apart or other people have to step up," Nelson said. "Luckily other people were determined and stepped up. We’ll just hope that Peyton is back next weekend.”
The 6-foot Skibiel's clutch 3-point shot gave the Dragons a 54-50 lead with 33 seconds remaining.
“I wasn’t really hitting them," said Skibiel, who was 3-for-9 from 3-point range. “I just knew that I could hit that one and had to knock it down.”
The Dragons built a 47-39 lead after Payton Bang sank a free throw with 9:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Huskies countered with the next seven points and cut the MSUM lead to 47-46 after senior forward Katrina Theis scored in the lane with 5:24 remaining.
St. Cloud State cut MSUM's leads to 49-48 and 51-50 in the final four minutes, but the Huskies were unable to grab the lead in the final quarter.
“It’s huge for our confidence," Skibiel said. "We’ve really got to play together and stay together."
Boom started strong, scoring 12 points in the first half to help the Dragons build a nine-point halftime lead. The Dragons scored the final four points in the first half, including a Boom basket for a 28-21 lead with 52 seconds remaining.
ADVERTISEMENT
MSUM point guard Natalie Jens added a layup for a 30-21 lead with 12 seconds to play in the second quarter. The Dragons outscored the Huskies 16-7 in the second quarter. MSUM was able to protect that lead for most of the second half with SCSU tying the game at 35-35 in the third quarter, but the Huskies never led in the second half.
“This game was really a battle of wills because both teams were dog tired,” Nelson said.
SCSU 14 21 39 50
MSUM 14 30 46 55
SCSU (15-7, 12-6 NSIC): Henning 3-7 0-1 8, Theis 5-10 0-1 10, Eggebrecht 5-15 0-0 11, T. Peschel 1-7 0-0 2, K. Peschel 0-2 0-0 0, Vanzant 2-5 1-1 5, Sawicki 7-12 0-0 14, Groeneweg 0-4 0-0 0, Litt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-63 1-3 50.
MSUM (11-11, 8-10): Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Skibiel 3-9 0-0 9, Boom 8-17 2-3 18, McKeever 3-14 5-6 11, Jens 3-11 0-0 8, Bang 1-1 2-4 4, Youngs 0-1 0-0 0, Kingland 0-0 0-0 0, Keske 1-2 0-0 2, Knight 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 20-57 10-15 55.
3-point goals: SCSU 3-17 (Henning 2-4, Theis 0-1, Eggebrecht 1-6, T. Peschel 0-3, K. Peschel 0-1, Vanzant 0-1, Litt 0-1), MSUM 5-20 (Skibiel 3-9, Boom 0-1, McKeever 0-3, Jens 2-6, Youngs 0-1). Total fouls: SCSU 15, MSUM 13. Fouled out: T. Peschel, K. Peschel. Rebounds: SCSU 44 (T. Peschel 14), MSUM 37 (McKeever 10). Assists: SCSU 19 (Eggebrecht 5, T. Peschel 5), MSUM 12 (Boom 4, Jens 4). Turnovers: SCSU 11, MSUM 12.
The Trust Project
