Free Throw Woes

Wolves Blow Nine Point Second Half Lead

Duluth, Minn. – Northern State (6-2, 0-0 NSIC) lost its second straight game to a ranked opponent as the Wolves blew a nine point second half lead to #25 Minnesota-Duluth at Romano Gym on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs won their ninth straight as they clipped the Wolves 57-52 to get their sixth straight win over the Wolves.

Northern State’s Ali Chmielewski (Sr., G, Foley, Minn.) missed the front end of a one and one with 2:13 remaining in a one point game. Then with 48 seconds to go Chmielewski, a 70% free throw shooter, missed two more from the line.

The Wolves lose their first game of the season after leading at the half. The Wolves had 19 turnovers that the Bulldogs turned into 23 points. The Bulldogs also had 12 second chance points as the pulled down 15 offensive rebounds. The Wolves were out rebounded for only the second time this season (35 to 30).

The Bulldogs took advantage of their foul line opportunities as they went 13 of 15 of the line, including 9 of 10 in the second half. The Wolves who it 11 of 13 free throws in the first half finished the game 12 of 17 from the stripe, 1 for 4 in the second half.

After starting the game struggling from the floor Chmielewski finished the game with 10 points, but was 4 of 8 from the free throw line. The Wolves were led by Noelle Hall, (So., C, Altura, Minn.) who scored 12 points after dealing with foul trouble in the second half.

Northern State turned the ball over on its first four possessions and found themselves down 11-0 early in the game. Finally at 14:57 the Wolves got on the board with a Celia Westphal (So., F, Worthington, Minn.) basket making it an 11-2 game.

The Bulldogs’ Katie Winkelman scored an early ten points before going to the bench for the majority of the first half, with her on the bench the Wolves went on a 20-8 run and took the lead at 20-19 with 4:06 left in the first half. Winkelman finished the game with16 points. Lindsey Deitz paced all scorers with 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting.

The Bulldogs were a miserable 1 of 13 (7%) from three point range in the first half and 9 of 29 (31%) overall. They finished the game 2 of 19 (10%) from three point range and 21 of 55 (66%) in the game. The Wolves were 8 of 21 (38%) and 2 of 4 from three point range in the fist half and finished the game 19 of 45 (42%) and 2 of 7 from three point range (28%).

The Wolves used penetration to draw the foul and get to the free throw line to get them back in the game in the first. The Wolves were 11 of 13 from the line in the first half while the Bulldogs were only 4 of 5.

The Bulldogs got back into the game midway through the second half as they went on a 9-0 run to tie the game. From there it was back and forth until the final two minutes.

Quick Notes
• NSU Head Coach Curt Fredrickson has a career record of 593-178 (.771) in 26+ years coaching
• UMD Head Coach Sue Fiero is in her 1st season at the helm - was top assistant past 3 years
• NSU returns 12 letterwinners from last season
• NSU was picked 4th in NSIC Preseason Poll (Wayne State (NE) picked to win)
• UMD was picked 3rd in the NCC Coaches Poll (North Dakota picked to win)
• UMD defeated the Wolves 79-75 in Aberdeen last season
Press Notes