Feb. 10, 1999

With junior floor general Amanda Mikuska (Platte, S.D.) on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, sophomore forward Natalie Braun (Warner, S.D.) stepped into the starting lineup and sparked the Wolves to a 79-55 victory over Wayne State Wednesday night in the Barnett Center.

Sophomore Memory Johannsen (Tolstoy, S.D.) moved from her normal forward slot to point guard, with Braun taking over at small forward. The new starter made immediate impact, racking up seven points, six assists and five rebounds in the first half. She finished with a near triple-double: 13 points, 11 boards and seven assists. Johannsen also thrived in her new role, scoring a team-high 15 points to go with six rebounds. Senior post Crystal Bonnichsen  (Highmore, S.D.) gave the Wolves a double double-double performance with her 10 point, 12 board effort.

The Wildcats (13-10 overall) hung tough the until midway through the first half when the NSU floodgates began to open. The Wolves went on a 16-6 run in the final seven minutes, 32 seconds of the first stanza. It gave the Wolves a 10-point cushion they would open up to as many as 25 in the second half. Usual reserves played quality minutes early in the second half, but it didn't seem to matter who was on the floor as NSU simply overpowered the Wildcats the entire second half. The Wolves (12-11 overall) held a 50-29 total rebounding edge and held the Wildcats to 38 percent shooting for the game.

Mikuska is probable for Saturday's grudge match in Aberdeen between the Wolves and Minnesota-Duluth. The game that will go a long way in deciding this season's conference champ. The Bulldogs defeated Winona State Wednesday to improve to 8-1 within the conference. The Wolves are in second place at 6-2. UMD defeated NSU in Duluth earlier this season.