2006-07 Women's Basketball Wrap-Up

The Northern State women’s basketball team finished the 2006-07 season with it’s second consecutive 20+ win season, going 20-9 overall. The Wolves were picked to finish first in the NSIC in the 2006 NSIC Coaches Poll and the race for the regular season title came down to the last few games, with Concordia-St. Paul, MSU Moorhead, and Northern State all wrestling for the top spot. In the end, the Wolves finished third in the league with a 12-6 mark, while Concordia-St. Paul bested MSU Moorhead (13-5) with a 15-3 record. The Wolves were ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches’ Poll for more than half of the season, reaching as high as a #12 ranking on January 2, 2007. Reaching milestones in 2006-07 were senior Carolin Becker and junior Noelle Hall, who reached the 1,000 point mark of their careers on back-to-back nights in December.

The Wolves started the season on a high, winning seven of eight season-opening road games, including a thrilling 71-65 win over North Dakota, then ranked second in the nation. The win came at the Betty Engelstad Center in Grand Forks, ND and marked the first time that UND lost a home opener in more than 20 years. Northern shot a fiery 50 percent from the field while limiting UND to just 32.8% shooting. Showing what would be one of their best team attributes of the season, the Wolves out-rebounded North Dakota 42-35 in the game, just one of five times that UND lost the rebounding race in 2006-07. UND would go on to lead the nation in rebounding margin with a mark of +11.9.

Northern opened NSIC play on the road on December 1 and 2 against Winona State and Upper Iowa where they out-shot both teams and brought a two-game winning streak to Wachs Arena for their home opener on December 8th against Wayne State. The Wolves continued on to a 4-0 NSIC record with wins over the Wildcats and Southwest Minnesota State that weekend. Their 45 point 83-38 win over the Mustangs was the largest win for the Wolves this season. NSU’s first conference losses came back-to-back and on the road against MSU Moorhead and Concordia-St. Paul on January 5 and 6. The Wolves shot a season low 23.7 percent from the field against the Dragons in the 40-56 loss.

The perfect way to get back on track was for Northern to return to Wachs Arena for a series of games. The Wolves closed out January with five straight home wins against conference opponents, bringing their home record to 9-0. In the middle of that stretch came one of the highlights of the NSU season, a regionally televised game on January 20. Taking on the University of Mary, this marked the first time that any Northern State basketball game was broadcast live on television. The Wolves took a 68-57 win after shooting 44.6% from the field and out-boarding the Marauders 49 to 27, their second largest rebounding edge of the season.

Just as they had moved into first place in the NSIC, the Wolves hit a bump in the road in the opening games of February. Northern gave up two losses to teams sitting lower in the NSIC standings, Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State. A 49-68 decision to Concordia-St. Paul the following weekend made it three in a row and the Wolves needed a big win to pick up their season. That win came on February 10, as NSU took revenge on MSU Moorhead with a 65-59 victory. The Wolves rounded out the regular season with a 19-8 overall record and a mark of 12-6 in the NSIC, which put them at third place in the league.

Northern hosted Bemidji State in the first round of the NSIC tournament on February 28. They forced the Beavers into 21 turnovers, resulting in 21 NSU points, and gained a +10 rebounding margin. The game was tight at the half and the Beavers led 31-3, but Northern opened the second half with a 21-3 run and never looked back. They advanced to the NSIC Red Baron Classic semis with a 72-56 win, their 20th win of the season. After a shakeup in the North Central Region standings, the Wolves were in a must-win situation and were matched up with MSU Moorhead on March 3. NSU brought to the game a #8 regional ranking while the Dragons came in at #10. Despite a slow start, the Wolves picked up the pace to battle with the Dragons for the first 38 minutes of the contest. Northern received key points from bench players to keep the score close for much of the game, but the Dragons cranked out a late 31-10 run to separate the teams and take a 71-55 win.

Northern proved to be one of the best rebounding teams in not only the conference but the entire nation. They came in second in the NSIC and 15th in the nation with a rebounding margin of +7.6. The Wolves were out-rebounded just seven times on the season. Noelle Hall led the team in scoring and rebounding with 14.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg. She notched a career high 28 points twice on the season, both times against Bemidji State, and had five double-doubles on the year. Carolin Becker was NSU’s second-leading player with 10.9 ppg and 7.6 rpg, followed by Miranda Boepple with 9.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, and a team high 85 assists. Jessica Deinert and Melissa Braaten led the team in three-pointers made with 29 and 28 each, respectively.

NSU graduates four seniors this season, Carolin Becker, Miranda Boepple, Melissa Braaten, and Celia Westphal.

The Wolves had three players named to NSIC All-Conference teams. Junior Noelle Hall made the All-NSIC First Team for the third straight year, while senior Carolin Becker made the Second Team and senior Miranda Boepple was named Honorable Mention. Full All-NSIC Release

Final 2006-07 Women's Basketball Release

Becker Named Academic All-District

August 1, 2007
ABERDEEN, S.D. - Northern State seniors Carolin Becker, Melissa Gamble, and Theresa Alexander have been named to the 2006-07 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams, as selected and announced by CoSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America. Full Release