The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team surged after halftime for a 63-45 tilt over Winona State University in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament Quarterfinals.

"That was a really tough game," said head coach Mandy Pearson. "I thought Winona came out and had a really good game plan, made some things difficult for us offensively, and kept us from getting into a kind of rhythm we were looking for."

Entering the first quarter, both teams were silent on the opening possessions, but a three-pointer from Maria Counts broke the 90-second stalemate to start an 8-2 run for the Bulldogs. A Grace Counts three-pointer set the lead at 11-2 with 4:50 remaining. The Warriors would rally a 7-2 scoring run to end the quarter as Claire Bjorge was the only scorer for UMD.

Opening the second quarter, UMD flipped the script, going on their own 7-2 scoring run off the effort of Ashley Fritz (3), Bjorge (2), and Lexi Karge (2) to lead 20-11 after three minutes. Winona State didn't let up and found room to put up 13 points over the next six minutes to chip the Bulldog lead down to 27-24 heading into halftime.

After halftime, the Warriors tied the game at 29-29 four minutes in, with Karge's lone layup the only scoring for the Bulldogs.

"We focused on those first five minutes, and then once you're done with that, focus on the next five minutes," said Pearson. "I think breaking it down helped us to stay focused throughout the entire second half."

After the first five minutes of the third quarter, the Bulldogs began to rattle a larger and larger lead, first pushing a determined 39-34 lead to end the quarter. It was Vanessa Bickford (6), Karge (4), and Bjorge (2) who expanded the lead with 12 combined points to open the fourth quarter and force a 51-39 lead by the 6:21 mark.  From then on, Karly Jusczak (5), Maria Counts (4), and Fritz (3) forced a 63-45 final score.

"Winona has some players that can just flat-out score," said Pearson. "The number one key was going to be individual defense and figuring out ways to rebound so that we could finish the possession with the ball in our hands."

The Bulldogs' fourth quarter effort saw the team hit 66.7% (10-15) from the field, 37% (10-27) beyond the arc, 60% (3-5) from the free-throw line while holding the Warriors to 29.4% (5-17) from the field and 20% (1-5) beyond the arc.

Leading the scoring effort was Bjorge (11), Karge (10), and Jusczak (10), each hitting double-digits. Bjorge and Myra Moorjani led the defensive effort with two steals each.

UMD now advances to the NSIC Tournament Semifinals tomorrow against Concordia University St. Paul. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. inside the Sanford Pentagon.