MOORHEAD – Minnesota State Moorhead protected the basketball and was proficient from the foul line Friday night at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
That blend helped the Dragons rally for a 64-60 victory against Minot State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women’s basketball.
“It’s a matter of trying to find some confidence and stuff that we do well,” Dragons head coach Karla Nelson said. “It’s going to take us awhile, but I liked our effort. I think we played with good spirits.”
The Dragons (2-4, 1-1 NSIC) trailed by double digits early in the first half before rallying for victory with a solid second half. MSUM shot 86 percent (31 of 36) from the foul line for the game and committed 10 turnovers. The Dragons host the University of Mary at 4 p.m. today at Nemzek.
“We definitely needed this one,” said Dragons junior Heather Strese, who scored a game-high 17 points. “We need both these (conference) games this weekend.”
MSUM didn’t take its first lead against the Beavers until the second half after junior guard Jessica Hart scored on a drive to the basket. That gave the Dragons a 38-36 edge with 14 minutes, 22 seconds remaining in the second half. Sophomore guard Morgan Banasik gave the Dragons the lead for good, sinking two free throws for a 58-56 lead with 2:21 remaining. MSUM scored 10 of its final 12 points off free throws.
Strese was 8-for-8 from the foul line, while teammate Natalie Van Wyhe sank 10 of 11. A 5-8 sophomore guard, Van Wyhe finished with 14 points.
“I think we had more confidence with shooting our free throws,” Strese said. “We really needed them. … We fought really hard for the win.”
The Dragons shot 22 percent (6 of 27) from the field in the first half as Minot State took a 32-27 lead into halftime. However, MSUM sank 14 of 15 free throws in the opening 20 minutes to hang close. The Dragons closed the first half on an
8-2 run. Junior guard Meghan Roehrich capped that rally with a steal and layup, cutting the Minot State lead to five points with 15 seconds remaining until halftime.
“We shot the ball poorly, but the reason we were in the game is because we didn’t turn the ball over,” said Nelson, whose team had five turnovers in each half.
Minot State shot 54 percent (15 of 28) from the floor in the first half, leading by as many as 13 points on two occasions. The Beavers took a 17-4 lead after junior guard Amanda Sansaver sank an 18-foot jumper with 13:28 remaining until halftime.
“We started pretty slow and then we got it all figure out and our defense picked up a lot toward the end of the first half,” Strese said.
MINOT STATE (5-2, 0-2 NSIC): Klose 5-11 0-1 12, Hardy 2-6 2-2 6, Kingsbury 4-7 2-3 10, Denton 2-5 2-4 7, Boag 3-8 0-2 6, Sansaver 5-7 2-3 12, Haley 2-4 0-0 5, Lester 1-4 0-3 2. Totals 24-52 8-18 60.
MSUM (2-4, 1-1): Banasik 0-5 3-4 3, Hart 2-3 2-2 6, Roehrich 3-7 7-8 13, Handevidt 1-8 0-0 2, Strese 4-9 8-8 17, Thorson 0-0 0-0 0, Doucette 0-3 0-0 0, Van Wyhe 2-4 10-11 14, Ironheart 0-5 1-2 1, Sannes 4-8 0-1 8. Totals 16-52 31-36 64.
Half: Minot 32, MSUM 27. 3-point goals: Minot 4-10 (Klose 2-4, Denton 1-2, Sansaver 0-1, Haley 1-2, Lester 0-1), MSUM 1-16 (Banasik 0-2, Hart 0-1, Roehrich 0-3, Handevidt 0-1, Strese 1-3, Doucette 0-3, Ironheart 0-1, Sannes 0-2). Total fouls: Minot 25, MSUM 20. Fouled out: Handevidt, Sannes, Boag. Rebounds: Minot 41 (Denton 7), MSUM 31 (Strese 5). Assists: Minot 18 (Boag 5), MSUM 8 (Banasik 3). Steals: Minot 3 (three players with 1), MSUM 10 (Banasik 4). Turnovers: Minot 22 (Denton 6), MSUM 10 (Sannes 3). A-729.
