The University of Minnesota Duluth bombarded No. 24 Minnesota State University Moorhead with a 69-53 landslide victory at Romano. The Bulldogs snapped the Dragons 14-game winning streak and their 12-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference streak Friday night. MSU Moorhead, who last lost on Nov. 18, 2018, entered tonight as the only undefeated team in conference play and UMD finally extinguished the red-hot Dragons (16-3, 12-1 NSIC) with their first win over a ranked opponent since Jan. 20, 2017 when they upset the same Dragons, who were No. 15 at the time, 71-59 at Moorhead.

The Bulldogs (11-5; 10-3 NSIC) rebounded from a tough loss at Concordia University St. Paul last Saturday with one of their best performances of the season.

Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski paved the way with a game-high 20 points along with five rebounds and five assists. Kozlowski went 7-for-14 from the field and a blazing 5-for-7 from behind the arc. Sophomore forward Sarah Grow chipped in 12 points and four blocks as she created tough shooting angles inside the paint all night. Senior forward Emma Boehm and sophomore guard Ann Simonet each drilled a pair of three pointers in the rout. Boehm ended with 10 points while Simonet had eight. 

Collectively, UMD shot 43.5 percent on 27 of 62 shooting. However, the Bulldogs were on fire from deep as they connected on 11 of their 19 three-point attempts. UMD won the battle on the boards 35-31 but the Bulldogs recovered 11 offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive and burn clock in the second half. MSU Moorhead shot 42.0 percent but a slow second quarter buried the Dragons in their quest to stay perfect in the NSIC. UMD held the opponents to three points as MSU Moorhead missed 14 shots with just a lone bucket in the paint rounding out the scoring in the second. That defensive work wasn't the only time the Bulldogs have stalled offenses. Southwest Minnesota State fell victim to UMD as it mustered just two points in the second quarter earlier this season at Romano. 

A wild up-and-down first quarter that featured six lead changes quickly became one-sided with the shutdown Bulldog defense. The Dragons coughed up 15 turnovers as UMD accounted for nine steals and eight blocks. Freshman forward Brooke Olson was a menace inside defensively as she snatched a game high three steals in the contest. The Bulldogs grabbed 16 easy points off turnovers. 

UMD led by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter as senior forward Josie Buckley and sophomore guard Maizie Deihl sank free throws to increase the margin. The Bulldogs outscored the Dragons in every quarter as they improved to 6-0 at home against league foes this season.

The Bulldogs take on Northern State University at home tomorrow afternoon at 5:30 p.m.

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