Feb. 13, 1999

Northern State came up big in front of the biggest home crowd of the season with an 82-74 win over conference leader Minnesota Duluth Saturday night in the Barnett Center.

With 3,000 fans on hand for NSU's annual "I Hate Winter" and Parents' Night, the Wolves out-rebounded the post-oriented Bulldogs 48-28 en route to the victory. Duluth (16-9, 8-2 NSIC) still controls its own destiny, however. The North Central Region's ninth-ranked team finishes the regular season with home dates against Bemidji State and Moorhead State. With two wins, UMD would in all likelihood clinch the title based on the current women's championship tiebreaker, which after head-to-head competition takes into to account how well each team has done in its overall schedule according to the NCAA Division II Championship Strength of Schedule Index.

But NSU (13-11, 7-2 NSIC) took care of what it could control Saturday night. Although still hampered by a shoulder injury, junior guard Amanda Mikuska (Platte, S.D.) sparked the Wolves off the bench with an unlikely double-double: 10 assists and 10 rebounds to go along with four points for the 5-4 floor general. Junior guard Jammie Coyle (Belle Fourche, S.D.) led NSU with 21 points. UMD's post tandem of Stacy Nelson and Sue Fiero led the Bulldogs with 22 points apiece.

Sophomore Memory Johannsen (Tolstoy, S.D.), who moves from forward to play point when Mikuska is out, ended with 18 points, five assists and five rebounds. Sophomore Natalie Braun (Warner, S.D.) chipped in 12 points and eight boards, while senior post Crystal Bonnichsen (Highmore, S.D.) ended with 10 boards and for the second straight game recorded three blocks.