WOLVES DIG TOO BIG A HOLE AT MORNINGSIDE

Nov. 16, 2001

Northern State trailed by as many as 28 points in the second half before making a spirited run that brought the team to within four and nearly turned the tide, but fell 75-81 to Morningside in the first-day games of the 2001 Tri-State Classic in Sioux City, Iowa.

The host Mustangs were red-hot from the 3-point line in the first half, hitting eight to build their lead to as many as 18. NSU cut it to 13 at halftime, but MC came out firing again and looked as if they would coast to the win with a 65-37 lead at the 15 minute mark.

But it wasn't that easy, as NSU went on an 18-3 run in the next five minutes and suddenly trailed by a more workable 13 points 68-55 with 10 minutes remaining. From there, the Wolves came up big defensively but missed a few bunnies on the offensive end that could have turned the tide. The lead was trimmed to single digits twice in the last eight minutes of the game and whittled to as little as four when junior Shana Theobald (Brookings) nailed a 3-pointer with 36 seconds remaining.

Senior forward Shanna Dahl (St. Cloud, Minn.) led Northern with 15 points to go with five rebounds. Redshirt freshman Natalie Hopkins (St. Louis Park Minn.) made her presence felt in her first collegiate game, ripping down a game-high 12 rebounds to go with eight points. Senior point guard Sara Hemquist (Baxter, Minn.) ended with a career-high 13 points and tied for a career-best six rebouds. Morningside was led by Katie Lokken's 16 points.

Northern (0-1) faces South Dakota at 6 p.m. tomorrow. The Coyotes (1-0) beat up on Wayne State (Neb.) in the first game of the Tri-State Classic earlier this evening.