?The University of Minnesota Duluth could not rebound from a tough loss last time out as Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division rival Minnesota State University-Moorhead knocked the Bulldogs off by a nine-point margin for the second time this season, 68-59 on Friday night in Moorhead.
UMD (11-12, 9-10 NSIC) falls out of the top four in the NSIC North as St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota-Crookston each won, while MSU-Moorhead (13-10, 13-6 NSIC) gains a game on Northern State University for the top spot in the division.
HIGHLIGHTS• Senior guard
Jessica Newman went 3-of-5 from outside with a team-high 14 points, tying junior forward
Taylor Meyer for the team lead of six rebounds. Meyer went 5-of-13 from the floor for 13 points.
• Once again, freshman forward Drew Sannes came off the bench to punish UMD, scoring 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting to bring her season total to 32 points in two games against the Bulldogs. Junior Heather Strese added a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.
Trailing 31-29 at the break, UMD regained the lead with a lay-up by freshman forward
Anna Monke, but then saw the Dragons run off 16 points in a row to lead 46-31 with just 5:07 off the clock in the second half. The Bulldogs will scratch back within eight as the clock ticked past the halfway points when junior guard
Taylor Dillinger laid in an and-1 with 9:11 to go, but a three-pointer by Sannes gave MSU-Moorhead an 11-point lead and UMD would get no closer than eight points as the Dragons held on for the 68-59 victory.
UMD shot 32.4 percent for the game, including 12-of-37 in the second half and 5-of-18 from three-point range. The Dragons, meanwhile, shot 37.1 percent, including 7-of-19 from three-point range and 43.3 percent for the second half to edge out UMD. MSU also took 20 trips to the free throw line, making good on 15 charity shots while the Bulldogs finished 10-of-13 from the line.
UP NEXT
UMD will be back on the court tomorrow evening in Aberdeen, S.D. when the Bulldogs close out the road portion of its NSIC schedule, taking on Northern State University (RV). Opening tip is set an hour later than the typical conference Saturday showdown - 5:00 p.m.
