Aberdeen, SD – The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs traveled to face the Northern State Wolves. In a game that came down to the wire, a charge drawn by Payton Kahl in the final seconds propelled the Bulldogs to a 66-62 road win. This win marks the Bulldogs fifth win a row.
 
Head Coach Mandy Pearson on tonight's road win; "I'm really proud of how hard our team worked and fought today. Northern made us earn every basket and we battled against a tough team and found ways to finish some plays."
 
In the first quarter, teams came out battling as teams traded baskets to start the game. After a jumper from Sarah Grow, the Bulldogs tied the game with 5:48 left in the first quarter. From there, both teams continued to trade baskets as neither team could pull ahead in the quarter. In what was a high scoring quarter, teams were tied 19-19 at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs shot an efficient 9-18 (50%) from the field while shooting 1-4 from three-point range in the first quarter. The Wolves shot 8-14 (57.1%) from the field while shooting 1-3 (33.3%) from three-point range in the first quarter.
 
The second quarter continued the way the first quarter went; highly competitive. Neither team managed to pull ahead as the score was tied up at 26-26 with 5:02 remaining in the half. From there, teams continued to trade baskets before the Maesyn Thiesen was able to make a three-pointer and a layup on back-to-back possessions to give the Bulldogs a 36-30 lead going into halftime. The Bulldogs shot 7-17 (41.2%) from the field and 3-8 (37.5%) from the three-point line in the second quarter. The Bulldogs did not attempt a free throw in the first half. The Wolves shot 5-15 (33.3%) from the field and 0-4 from the three-point line in the second quarter.
 
To begin the third quarter, teams once again began by trading baskets. The Bulldogs managed to maintain their lead until the Wolves made back-to-back three-pointers with 3:56 left in the quarter to tie the game up with 3:56 left in the quarter. From there, teams once again traded baskets before the Wolves hit a shot just before the end of the quarter to take a 50-48 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs shot 4-12 (33.3%) from the field and 0-3 from three-point range in the third quarter. They also shot 4-4 from the foul line in the quarter. The Wolves shot 9-17 (52.9%) from the field in the third quarter while shooting 2-3 (66.7%) from three-point range.
 
Much like the rest of the game, teams once again traded baskets to start the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the fourth quarter thanks to a layup from Maesyn Thiesen with 5:25 left in the game. They were not able to keep the lead for long as Northern State tied it back up at 60-60 with 2:26 left in the game. After teams traded baskets and tied it at 62-62, the Bulldogs had the ball with under :30 remaining in the game. The Bulldogs found Brooke Olson down low to to take a late 64-62 lead. On the other end, the Wolves had a opportunity to tie the game, but Payton Kahl had the play of the game as she stepped Infront of the driving Jordyn Hilgemann and drew a charge to maintain the Bulldog lead. From there, Thiesen managed to knock down two free throws to seal the game, as UMD won 66-62. The Bulldogs shot 6-13 (43.3%) from the field in the fourth quarter. They did not attempt a three-pointer in the quarter while they shot 6-8 (75%) from the foul line. Northern State shot 5-13 (38.5%) from the field in the fourth quarter. The Wolves also did not attempt a three-pointer in the quarter while shooting 2-2 from the foul line.
 
The Bulldogs were led by Brooke Olson who had 24 points on the night. Maesyn Thiesen also added 15 points while Sarah Grow added 12 points. Olson led the team with 7 rebounds while Thiesen led the team with 4 assists. Thiesen also added 5 steals on the night while Ann Simonet also added 3 steals. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 26-60 (43.3%) from the field and 4-15 (26.7%) from three-point range in the game. They also went 10-12 (83.3%) from the foul line.
 
Northern State was led by Laurie Rogers who had 19 points on the night while Rianna Fillipi added 17 points. Haley Johnson added 7 rebounds while Fillipi added 4 assists on the night. Overall, the Wolves shot 27-59 (45.8%) from the field and 3-10 (30%) from three-point range. They also shot 5-6 from the foul line.
 
Who's Next:
The Bulldogs will travel to face off against Minnesota State-Moorhead tomorrow at 5:30 pm.