Dec. 10, 1999

If Northern State's conference opener at Wayne State is a precursor to how the Wolves will come together for the rest of the season, the rest of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference is breathing a collective "uh-oh," after NSU's convincing 71-55 win Friday.

Why? NSU coasted to victory in the second half after a close first stanza despite an uncharacteristic off night offensively from All-American candidate Jammie Coyle (Belle Fourche), who scored 13 points below her average to finish with 10 on the night. But in Coyle's stead offensively came balance. All five NSU starters scored in double digits, led by junior forward Natalie Braun's (Warner) 16 points.

Perhaps even more scary for future opponents: senior point guard Amanda Mikuska (Platte) found her stroke from downtown again. The fourth-year starting point guard was in her third game back from a bad ankle sprain suffered during the second game of the season. Mikuska was 4-of-7 from 3-point range and ended with 14 points to go with a game-high five assists. Junior post Jennifer Murphy (Aberdeen) provided the low threat to match Mikuska on the perimeter, scoring 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Junior forward Memory Johannsen (Tolstoy) chipped in 10 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. Any points lacking from Coyle's line were made up on the defensive front, where Coyle led the Wolves with nine rebounds and three steals.

After shooting 35 percent for the first half, the Wolves clung to a 31-30 lead heading into the locker room. But the second half was a different story. NSU opened up a 10-point lead on a 3-ball from Mikuska at 14:44 and never looked back.

NSU improved to 8-1 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC, while Wayne State fell to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC. The game was Wayne's first ever conference game as a full-fledged NSIC basketball member.