Jan. 30, 1999

After trailing virtually the entire first half, Northern fought back to capture as much as an eight-point advantage inside the five-minute mark, but couldn't put the game away down the stretch allow Winona State to come back to notch a 73-69 win Saturday night in Winona.

The Wolves trailed by as many as 16 in the first half but chipped away to trail 43-37 at the break. The offense clicked at times in the second half, allowing the Wolves to claim their biggest lead of 69-61 lead at the four minute, 42 second mark. But just as it looked as if the Wolves would ride out of Winona with a win, the offense ran out of gas. NSU missed its next nine shots to end the game. The Warriors reclaimed the lead with 27 seconds remaining, reclaiming their place in the conference race by handing the Wolves a heartbreaking loss.

WSU stands at 10-10 overall and is tied with NSU at 4-2 for second place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Minnesota-Duluth leads the NSIC at 5-1.

Junior guard Amanda Mikuska (Platte, S.D.) led NSU with 15 points and three steals to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Jammie Coyle (Belle Fourche, S.D.) ended with 11 points, followed by sophomore forward Natalie Braun (Warner, S.D.), who netted 10. Sophomore forward Memory Johannsen (Tolstoy, S.D.) led the board crew with eight rebounds. Winona State netted five players in double-digit point production, led by Jeanelle Soland's 16.