If there is ever a time for someone to step up when in late-game situations, you might want to consider giving a call to the senior from Eden Prairie, Minn.

Emma Boehm raised up and buried the triple with 21 seconds left in overtime to deliver the final nail in the coffin to Minnesota State University, Mankato. Boehm received a pass by fellow senior Sammy Kozlowski and found the bottom of the net to put UMD up 68-62. The University of Minnesota Duluth was perfect at the line and prevailed 72-66 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road contest at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn.

It was a wild finish to a game that the Bulldogs thought they had in the bag. The Mavericks benefited from a cold-shooting fourth quarter by UMD and rallied back from down 14 points to lead 57-53 with under two minutes to go in regulation. The Bulldogs shot 14.3 percent in the final quarter and made only two field goals. During their cold spell, UMD shot 1-for-12 and Minnesota State went on a 18-4 run that erased a 51-37 third-quarter advantage for the Bulldogs.

Sophomore forward Sarah Grow finally ripped the lid off the basket by completing a three-point play and sophomore guard Ann SImonet made a free throw to tie it at 57 with 31 seconds left. The Bulldogs relied on their defense again as they defended well for 27 seconds and forced the Mavericks to call timeout with 3.8 seconds. Out of the timeout, Grow blocked Taylor Drost's final attempt right before the final buzzer.

Grow finished with 16 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals on top of her last-second block. Kozlowski ended with 14 points and Simonet tallied eight points and a game-high eight rebounds. Drost led all scorers with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting. 

It was the first overtime game for the Bulldogs since last season's 69-66 overtime win over the University of Mary on Feb. 10, 2018. UMD improved to 10-4 overall and 9-2 in the NSIC while Minnesota State dipped to 5-10 and 2-9 in the NSIC.

Simonet's work in the first quarter got the Bulldogs off to the lead. She had a pair of assists, a bucket and a pair of steals which led to five easy points at the other end. Katie Stark connected on three of her five attempts in the first quarter for all seven of her points to guide UMD to a 19-18 lead after 10 minutes. Kozlowski and sophomore guard Payton Kahl each tallied five points in the second quarter as UMD stretched its lead to 33-28 at the midway point behind 44.8 percent shooting and four three-pointers. Olsen and Grow established the post game as the duo combined for 11 points in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs face Concordia University, St. Paul tomorrow afternoon. That NSIC contest will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center.


Postgame reaction: