WOLVES CLOBBER CROOKSTON 78-39

Jan. 5, 2002

Northern held the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's leading scorer to less than half her normal production in a 78-39 obliteration of Minnesota-Crookston Saturday night.

My House -- Freshman post Natalie Hopkins patrols the paint vs. UMC Saturday. NSU's defense held both of its opponents to under 30 percent shooting during the weekend homestand.

UMC's 6-foot-2 post Jessica Forsline came into the game averaging over 24 points per contest on nearly 69 percent shooting, but NSU held the sensational center to just 10 points and 10 shot attempts.

The Wolves (10-4, 5-1 NSIC) methodically built a 16-point halftime lead at 37-21 and never looked back. As in the night before, NSU was able to clear its bench and give underclassmen and junior varsity players an opportunity to play later in the game, with 19 players seeing floor time and 13 breaking into the scoring column.

True freshman Andrea Ronderos (Washburn, N.D.) led all scorers and tied a career high with 15 points. Junior post Tia Michalski (Willow Lake) rounded out NSU's double-digit scorers with 11 points. Senior forward Shanna Dahl (St. Cloud, Minn.) led the team in rebounding with eight boards. UMC (8-6, 3-2 NSIC) was led by Lindsey Haaven's 14 points.

NSU dominated the game by dominating the boards. The Wolves held a 59-38 rebounding advantage and pulled down 29 offensive boards which led to a plethora of second-chance points. NSU came up with 15 steals, forced 24 turnovers, and held UMC to 28 percent shooting.

With Southwest State's loss at Winona State Saturday night, Northern moved up into a first-place tie atop the NSIC standings. SSU, the only team Northern has lost to in the NSIC, now shares a 5-1 league mark with the Wolves. NSU travels to Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State next weekend.