The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team opened up their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) schedule tonight at Romano Gymnasium, falling to the No.9 ranked Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks 82-64.

Final Score: UMD (64) - MSU (82)

UMD struggled out of the gate to put some points together. A pair of three point shots from Drew Johnston would highlight the Bulldogs scoring effort throughout the first quarter, but UMD still found themselves falling behind 25-20 by the end of the period.

MSU kept adding to that lead, building a 37-26 advantage before UMD collected a string of five unanswered points, highlighted by a bucket from Johanna Miller, to narrow its deficit to 37-31. The Mavericks responded and expanded its lead, leaving the Bulldogs trailing 47-34 heading into halftime.

UMD's deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Bulldogs faced a 65-46 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs played well near the basket throughout the period, scoring 10 of their 12 points in the paint.

UMD narrowed its deficit to 70-55 before going on another 5-0 run, finished off by a Brynn Olson jumper, to shrink the deficit to 70-60 with 3:45 to go in the contest. MSU responded yet again and outscored the Bulldogs the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 82-64. UMD took advantage of five MSU turnovers in the quarter, scoring six points off of takeaways.

Bulldog Notes vs. MSU

The Bulldogs got a 27-point showing from the bench and had three players score in double figures, led by Lexi Karlen, who had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Myra Moorjani added 12 points and four assists and Claire Bjorge helped out with 11 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Led by Karlen's seven offensive rebounds, UMD did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 14 boards that resulted in 11 second chance points.

The Bulldog defense also caused its share of mistakes in the contest, forcing 14 MSU turnovers. Those takeaways turned into 12 points on the other end of the floor. Lexi Karge and Bjorge led the way individually for the Bulldogs with two steals each.

Looking Ahead

Bulldog women's basketball returns to action after the holiday break, heading out on the road to take on the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs and the University of Sioux Falls Cougars. Tip off against the Mustangs is currently set for Friday, Dec. 6, at 5:30 PM.