Jan. 22, 2000

Northern State, ranked first in the North Central Region and 16 in the nation, proved why Saturday night with a convincing 87-66 win over a good Winona State team.

Winona State (11-6, 6-3 NSIC) came into the game tied for third in the conference with Wayne State. But NSU (18-2, 8-1 NSIC) never trailed and was never threatened by the Warriors.

Senior guard Jammie Coyle (Belle Fourche) led the Wolves in scoring with 20 points in 23 minutes of work. Junior power forward Natalie Braun (Warner) notched her third double-double of the season, ending with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Junior small forward Memory Johannsen (Tolstoy) netted 12 points to go with five boards and a game-high four assists. Nicole Reisner led WSU with 12 points.

Neither team shot well, with NSU going 38 percent from the field for the game and WSU shooting 37 percent. But NSU's starters and ever-deepening quality bench out-competed the Warriors early and put the game away in the first half with a 43-20 lead going into the locker rooms.