January 23, 2004

Big Win in Wachs; Wolves Hold on to 2nd in the NSIC

Aberdeen, SD - The Northern State women's basketball team rebounded from their first conference loss to Duluth with a big win over Winona State Friday night in Wachs Arena.

The Wolves were led by Junior guard Liza Sizer. Sizer led all scorers with 20 points shooting 8-10 from the field. Sizer also had five rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Jessi Mostad led NSU in rebounding pulling down ten rebounds.

Winona dominated the first part of the opening period of play building a nine point lead. The tables turned, however, after an injury to Winona's Tanisha Gilbert. With the athletic Gilbert out of the lineup, the Wolves were able to take advantage of different matchups. The Wolves would end the half leading 31-25.

The second half would be controlled by Northern. The Wolves came out hot and built a 16 point lead approaching the 10:00 minute mark. Winona would make a late charge behind the strong play of Heather Peterson, Anne Straate, and Jenny Johnson. The Warriors would cut the lead to two points with 2:09 remaining in the contest.

With 2:09 over, Sizer took over the contest shutting the door on the Warriors. Sizer would score the last five points inlcuding a steal and a layup with twenty seconds remaining sealing the deal for the Wolves. Amber Powell once again provided a strong performance off of the bench providing a spark for the Wolves. The Junior guard connected on two pivotal three point field goals. She ended with nine points.

The Wolves (10-7, 5-1 NSIC) face conference leader Concordia-St. Paul in battle of the top two teams in conference play. Tipoff is 6:00 pm on Saturday night.

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