Box Score Trailing at the break, No. 22 Northern State University dominated the second half of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference collision to knock off the University of Minnesota Duluth 70-59 at Romano Gym Saturday afternoon.

UMD (9-9, 6-8 NSIC) suffered a second-straight fall-from-ahead defeat on its home court, taking a 37-29 lead to the break largely in part due to a 13-point, five-rebound performance by senior Hannah Rutten who was 5-of-6 from the floor. The teams combined for 19 first-half fouls, and early foul trouble for the Bulldog center hamstrung the UMD offense in the second half, as Rutten finished the game with just the 13 points and eight rebounds.

The Wolves banged down the door to open the second half as they went on a 23-4 run leading in the to mid-period media timeout, fueld by senior Alison Kusler, who finished with 16 points in the latter frame, nearly surpassing any other player's game-high in itself as she led both teams with 24 points and seven assists on the night. With Rutten on the bench, NSU's four-five combo of juniors Rachel Krogman and Sadie Stotesberry finished with 32 combined points. The Bulldogs shot just 5-of-28 in the second half, but fouls made the biggest difference: UMD racked up 25 fouls, sending the Wolves to the line 32 times for 23 points. The Bulldogs made good on their free-throws, shooting 93.3 percent from the charity stripe, but got to the line just 15 times on the night.

Junior guard Danielle Flood continued to spark the Bulldog offense with 15 points on the night to lead UMD. Freshman Kenzie Kane and sophomores Taylor Dillinger and Taylor Meyer combined for 24 points off the bench, including ten by Dillinger in just 15 minutes of action. Junior point guard Alyssa Kerkhoff finished with a game-high nine rebounds.

UMD will have a week to reload before hosting a pair of top-ranked NSIC foes as Augustana (S.D.) College (R.V.) and No. 12 Wayne State College  come to town for a pair of conference battles. The Bulldogs  open the weekend Friday night against the Vikings with an opening tip set for 6:00 p.m. at Romano Gym.