BOX SCORE
ABERDEEN, S.D. – A poor first half of shooting and a five-point halftime deficit proved to be too much to overcome Monday night for the Northern State University women’s basketball team, as their three-point attempt to tie as time ran out found iron, leaving the Wolves on the losing end of a 55-52 final on Don Meyer Court to the visiting Colorado School of Mines.
With the loss, the Wolves fall to 1-1 on the year. Colorado School of Mines, picked to finish first in the East Division of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, improves to 1-1 on the season.
The Wolves were only able to score 21 first half points on 21.4% shooting, leaving them down 26-21 at halftime to former Wolves team member and CSM Coach
Paula Kreuger’s squad.
The teams would battle back and forth with CSM increasing their lead to eight points at one point, but Northern fought back to only being down 47-39, and two
Emily Becken three pointers would bring the Wolves back to 45-49 with 2:40 remaining.
With 1:02 remaining, and the Wolves down 45-49, a dip-n-duck layup by senior
Lennea Mueller banked home to bring the Wolves within two, 47-49.
After two CSM free throws were good, sophomore
Jenna Higgins made a basket in the paint to bring the Wolves back two points down, 49-51.
Again, two more free throws by CSM put the visitors of 53-49, but super soph Emily Becken nailed her fifth three pointer of the night with 22 seconds remaining to bring the Wolves to within one point, 53-52. The Northern State coaching staff then subbed in sophomore guard
Nicky Rausch to guard CSM’s
Stephanie Fogle, and the switch paid dividends as the tough defense was able to force a five second call, giving Northern the ball with 22 seconds to go.
The ensuing Emily Becken shot would miss, forcing the Wolves to once again foul with 11 seconds remaining. The Orediggers’
Brecca Gaffney would sink both her free throws to put the visitors back up 55-52, and leaving the Wolves with only ten seconds to work with.
The Wolves had a play drawn up, but the shot wasn’t open, so junior forward
Jodi Reinschmidt was forced to shoot a three pointer that caught iron, leaving the Wolves with their first loss of the year.
Sophomore Emily Becken led the way with 23 points, a new career-high, accounting for 44% of the Wolves scoring. She finished 9-23 from the field, including 5-9 from behind the three point line in 37 minutes of action.
Reinschmidt chipped in with seven points and nine rebounds in 34 minutes on the court. She also had two assists and went 5-6 from the charity stripe.
Senior Lennea Mueller also notched seven points and had six rebounds, five assists, and three steals in 33 minutes of action.
The Wolves will look to regroup Friday November 20th, when they host Presentation College in an inter-Aberdeen battle at Wachs Arena.
Northern State University is an NCAA Division II affiliated school participating in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and is located in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
**GO WOLVES**