The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team utilized a third-quarter scoring surge to overtake Northern State University 69-63 in their fourth Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) victory.
Leading the scoring effort for the Bulldogs was
Myra Moorjani, who earned 14 points throughout the match, notably shooting 45.5% from the field and a perfect three-for-three in free throws. Three of her teammates followed with 11 points each, including
Claire Bjorge,
Maria Counts, and
Lexi Karge.
Entering the first quarter, Counts sent two layups in for a 4-2 Bulldog lead in the first two minutes. However, Northern State broke past on a 16-9 scoring run to lead UMD 18-11 with two minutes left in the quarter. Moorjani would send a layup and free throw in to close the gap to four before time expired.
Moorjani picked up where she left off, passing to Counts for a three-point shot to get the Bulldogs within one point of the Wolves. This began the Wolves' 10-7 scoring run that narrowly held the Bulldogs off by three points or more, with the score settling at 28-24 with Northern State holding the advantage into the halftime break.
The third quarter opened with a quick five points from Northern State that pushed a 33-24 lead over UMD a minute in. The next four minutes saw the Bulldogs cut the lead to five on a 10-6 scoring run. It would be the three-minute mark where Bjorge would tie the game twice at 43-43 for the first time and 45-45 thirty seconds later. Four Karge free throws and a three-pointer from Moorjani earned the team a seven-point lead over the Wolves by the end of the quarter.
Entering the final quarter at 52-45, the Bulldogs held on to a six-point lead by the end, with Karge,
Vanessa Bickford, Moorjani, Bjorge, Counts, and
Ashley Fritz combining for 18 points to seal the match at 69-63.
All in all, the Bulldogs combined to shoot 41.8% (23-55) from the field, including a 69.23% (9-13) effort in the third quarter to overtake the Wolves. The team also shot 31.6% (6-19) beyond the arc and 85% (17-20) from the free throw line. UMD was able to overcome Northern State's 36 points in the paint while being outrebounded 36 to 29. Karge led the rebounding effort for the Bulldogs with seven rebounds (six offensive).
UMD continues competing on the road with its first NSIC matchup against the University of Jamestown on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m. inside Harold Newman Arena.
