AUGUSTANA COLLEGE -  Augustana returned to form after dropping their final regular-season contest by cruising to a pair of double-digit victories in the first two rounds of the NSIC/Sanford Helath Women’s Basketball Tournament.  Hosting North Division No. 6 seed Minot State on Wednesday in the first round, the Vikings cashed in on 10 three-pointers and coasted to a  66-51 victory over the Beavers.  The Vikings were out-muscled in the paint, but corralled conference-leading scorer and rebounder Carly Boag to just 16 points and 10 rebounds.  Emily Schulte led Augustana with 15 points, five assists, and zero turnovers.  Andrea Whitney and Lydia Nelson each set career-high marks in blocked shots as the Vikings sent 10 Minot State shots away from the basket.  In the quarterfinals, Augustana traveled to U-Mary to battle for one of the four spots in Rochester.  The Vikings benefited from a lopsided free throw disparity and hit a season-high 31 free throws on 41 attempts from the foul line.  Schulte was a perfect 10-10 from the line with a career-high 21 points despite struggling from the outside.  Augustana now prepares for NSIC-Champion Concordia-St. Paul as they look to end the Golden Bears 15-game winning streak in the semifinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Women’s Basketball Tournament.

BEMIDJI STATE - The Bemidji State University women’s basketball team ended its season with a 94-77 loss to No. 17 Minnesota State University, Mankato in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Women’s Basketball Tournament Wednesday. The Beavers trailed by just eight at half, but the high-powered offense of the Mavericks was too much in the second half, en route to finishing the season 11-16. The team had two, 20-point scorers in juniors Morgan Lee and Kate Warmack. Lee posted 22 points on 8-for-17 (47.1%) shooting, while Warmack added 20 points. The loss ended the careers of seniors Emily Kaus and Shannon Thompson. The Beavers will have a strong group of upperclassmen next season, as they currently have six juniors and two sophomores.

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL - The Golden Bears won twice by 15-points last week in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament, beating Minnesota Crookston 60-45 and Northern State 80-65 to advance to the tournament semifinals against Augustana on Friday, March 8 at 5 p.m. Concordia and Augustana have met just once in NSIC Tournament history, a 2009 semifinal win for the Golden Bears. Concordia swept the Vikings in two regular season meetings this year. The wins extend Concordia’s win streak to 15, and the squad has now won 20 of its last 21 games overall dating back to December 8. Concordia holds the No. 3 spot in the NCAA Central Region Rankings and is ranked #20 in the USA TODAY Sports WBCA DII Top-25 Coaches Poll.  Senior reserve Mandy Poke has emerged as a force in the season’s closing weeks. Last week she averaged 11.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists while playing 27.5 minutes off the bench. She’s scored 10-plus points in four of the last five games with 49 points, 41 rebounds, 13 assists and 13 steals in that stretch. Four players averaged double-figures in the two wins last week led by Anika Whiting with 16.0 points and 7.5 rebounds, adding five steals and three blocks. The league’s assist leader, Rachel Hansen, dished out eight more assists (4.0/game) while averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds and perimeter threat Carissa Wolyniec made five three-pointers and averaged 10.5 points with 2.5 assists.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY -An upset bid by the University of Mary in the first round of the NSIC / Sanford Health Men’s Basketball Tournament fell just short. The Marauders jumped put to an 11 point first half lead at #21 Winona State University and led the Warriors 34-33 at intermission. The second seed in the NSIC South, WSU scored the first ten points of the second half and would outscore the upstart Marauders 34-9. U-Mary would battle back to within ten points late in the game and force the Warriors to return their starting lineup to the floor. Continuing his recent outstanding play Jalen Jaspers led the Marauders with 19 points, making 8-of-12 shots. In his final game at U-Mary Josh Turner scored 15 points and added three assists.
In a similar scenario as last season, the University of Mary opened the NSIC / Sanford Health Women’s Basketball Tournament with a home win before being eliminated from the conference tournament by Augustana. Hosting Upper Iowa in the first round, the Marauders, the NSIC North second seed, rolled past the Peacocks 84-62. Defending NSIC Player of the Week Shaunna Knife led all players with 23 points and nine rebounds. Ali Collins picked up 22 points and six assists and Shanara Clark added 14 points. Hosting Augustana in the quarterfinals U-Mary allowed the Vikings to shoot 41 free throws while taking only 15 in a 74-59 loss. Collins scored a career-high 27 points in the loss and Knife added 12. The Vikings also eliminated the Marauders from the NSIC tournament in 2012. The Marauders finish their first season under head coach Rick Neumann with 19 wins, tying their mark from a year ago for the most since joining the NCAA in 2006-07.

MINNESOTA, CROOKSTON  - The top-seed Concordia University, St. Paul would use a 16-0 run in the second half to overcome a half-time deficit and take down the eighth-seed University of Minnesota, Crookston Golden Eagles Wednesday in the opening round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Golden Eagles will end the 2012-13 season with an 8-19 overall mark on the year.

MINNESOTA DULUTH  - A career-high 23 points from senior guard Courtney Doucette was not enough to propel UMD into the quarterfinal round of the Sanford Health/NSIC Tournament as the Bulldogs fell to Winona State by a 74-56 margin Wednesday at McCown Gymnasium. Freshman center Abbie Whitney posted 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting off the bench to round out the UMD scorers in double figures. Winona State took a 38-24 lead into the half and led the rest of the way en route to the win. The Bulldogs finished the 2012-13 campaign with an overall record of 14-13, marking the fifth consecutive year the team won at a clip of .500 or better.  

MINNESOTA STATE - The No. 17 Minnesota State University women’s basketball team raced out to a 20-0 lead on MSU Moorhead and never looked back Saturday afternoon at Taylor Center, defeating the Dragons 75-57 for its 13th straight victory.  Junior forward Ali Wilkinson led the Mavericks with a game-high 23 points while pulling down eight rebounds. The second-seeded Mavericks advance to play fourth-seeded Winona State this Friday, March 8 at 12 p.m. at Taylor Arena in Rochester.

MSU MOORHEAD - Morgan Zabel (F, 5-10, Jr., Northfield, Minn. / Northfield HS) wrapped up a solid all-around season with a pair of solid performances last week. In a 62-50 first-round NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament win on Feb. 27, Zabel had 15 points, four assists and two rebounds. She was 6-of-7 from the line in the win. In the tournament quarterfinals, Zabel had 15 points and three assists. For the week the junior averaged 15.0 points, 3.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds. She was 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Zabel enjoyed the best season of her Dragon career in 2012-13, averaging 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

MINOT STATE -  Minot State University played with No. 23 Augustana College for about 30 of the 40 minutes in the first round of the NSIC / Sanford Health Men’s Basketball Tournament. But the Vikings proved to be too much in the remaining 10 minutes, topping MISU 66-51 to end the program’s first season in the Northern Sun. Minot State finished the season with a 13-14 record, winning nine games in the conference. #40 Carly Boag (F, 6-2, Jr., Tamworth, Australia, Abbotsleigh High School) finished with another double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 10 re bounds to pace the Beavers. Seniors #33 Francesca DeAngelis (G, 5-9, Sr., Laguna Niguel, Calif. Aliso Niguel High School / Alaska-Anchorage) scored 15 points, added six rebounds and five steals and #12 Sacarra Molina (G, 5-7, Sr., Hinsdale, Mont., Hinsdale High School) added 12 points and four rebounds. Molina topped 1,000 career points early in the first half and ended her career with 1,011 points.

NORTHERN STATE -  Despite a three-game skid and just one win in the last six games of the regular season, Northern State hung on to the fourth place slot in the NSIC North and hosted Wayne State in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health post-season tournament.  The Wolves got a career-high 22 points from sophomore Sadie Stotesbery to claim a 69-59 win over the Wildcats, marking NSU’s first win over Wayne State since the 2007-08 season.  NSU then hung close through the first half of a quarterfinals match-up with No. 20 Concordia-St. Paul before falling 80-65.  Sophomore Rachel Krogman had 23 points and 11 rebounds in that contest.

SIOUX FALLS -  The Sioux Falls women’s basketball team traveled to the campus of MSU-Moorhead for its first round matchup of the NSIC/Sanford Health Women’s Basketball Tournament Wednesday evening. The Cougars looked to avenge a previous loss to MSU-Moorhead and keep their season alive, but the Dragons knocked off the visitors by a 62-50 result. Junior forward Laura Johnson remained a bright point for USF and was the only Cougar to score in double-digits. She led all scorers with 19 points, firing 7-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Johnson also hauled in six rebounds. Classmate Bailey Bouman chipped in eight points and seven boards for USF. The game ended USF’s season at 12-15 in their first full season as a member of the NCAA D-II and the NSIC, as well as ending the careers of seniors Holli Aggen, Kelli Hoff and Alyssa Rushton. Laura Johnson has also established a new Cougars single-season free throw percentage record of 86.8% (59 of 68), surpassing the previous mark of 86.4% that was set by Lindsey Schneiderman during the 2004-05 season.

SMSU - The Southwest Minnesota State women’s basketball team’s season was ended on Wednesday with a 72-47 loss to top seeded north division St. Cloud State Huskies in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference / Sanford Health Tournament. Alison Nagel (F, 6-3, Jr., Fort Dodge, Iowa / Iowa Central CC) grabbed a career-high 11 boards in the loss but only scored eight points and missing her first career double-double as a Mustang. SMSU could not keep with the Huskies as the Mustangs shot just 25 percent from the floor in the second half. SMSU finished the 2012-13 season 4-25 overall, 2-20 in the NSIC. SMSU will welcome back the entire starting squad and main minute players as SMSU only graduates one senior.

ST. CLOUD STATE -   The St. Cloud State University women’s basketball team matched up against Southwest Minnesota State in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health tournament. The Huskies entered the tournament as the #1 seed in the north division after clinching the division title the previous weekend. The Huskies defeated the Mustangs 72-47. Two St. Cloud State players finished in double figures. Junior guard Sam Price (Eau Claire, Wis.) finished with a team-high 19 points. Price made four shots from behind the arc, knocked down three of three shots from the charity stripe and dished out three assists. Senior guard Amanda Wagner (Webster) finished with 15 points on six of eight shooting from the field. Wagner pulled down five rebounds and grabbed six steals. Senior point guard Nicole Anderson (Cannon Falls) made significant contributions as she finished with nine points, nine rebounds and a team-high six assists. The Huskies hosted second round NSIC/Sanford Health tournament play at Halenbeck Hall. They faced Winona State University and came up short in a season-ending loss, 45-47. The Huskies had two players finish in double-figures. Sophomore forward Jessica Benson (Grand Meadow) posted 14 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Nicole Anderson (Cannon Falls) finished with 12 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Eight of Anderson’s boards came on the offensive end. She also dished out three assists and grabbed four steals. Anderson finishes her career with 263 steals, putting her in 4th place on the all-time steals list. The Huskies finish their 2012-13 season with a 19-9 overall record.

UPPER IOWA - The Marauders of the University of Mary shot a sizzling 58.9% from the floor on their home court, while holding Upper Iowa to just 32.1% shooting.  U-Mary also claimed a large advantage in rebounds and points in the paint against a depleted Peacock front line.  The Peacocks season came to an end tonight in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament after an 84-62 loss.  UIU finished with a 7-23 record and a 4-18 mark in NSIC play.  The seven wins marked the highest total for UIU under Head Coach Carol Russell and surpassed last year’s total (3) by four victories.
The Marauders took advantage of a huge difference in points in the paint, 48-18, to push out to the first round win.  UIU was led by Sam Thrapp, who scored 18 thanks to 11 of 12 shooting at the charity stripe.  Whitney Kieffer finished with 16 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds, while senior Jen Herrick added 11 points and 3 rebounds in her final game for Upper Iowa.  Fellow senior, Chelsea Garcia netted 2 points and tallied 3 assists and 3 rebounds in her final action.  Lindsay Carroll and Lauren Buck chipped in 8 and 7 points, respectively.

WAYNE STATE - The Wayne State women’s basketball team saw their season come to an end last Wednesday evening in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament as the Wildcats fell at Northern State 69-59.  It was the first win by NSU over WSC in women’s basketball since February, 2008, snapping an 11-game losing streak to the Wildcats.  Cold shooting hurt WSC in the loss as the Wildcats made just 19 of 56 shots for 33.9 percent.  Sophomore forward Jordan Spencer led the Wildcats with 16 points followed by Addy Roller and Ashton Yossi with 15 and 12 points respectively.  WSC finishes the season at 17-10 and did not have a senior on this year’s team.  It’s the first time in four years that the Wildcats will miss the NCAA Tournament.

WINONA STATE - The Winona State women’s basketball team won its first two games in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament to advance to a Friday matchup with Minnesota State in Rochester. The Warriors took down Minnesota Duluth 74-56 in the opening round and beat St. Cloud State 47-45 Saturday to advance to the semifinals. Marieanna Dulas hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to lift WSU to the win over SCSU. Michelle Tobin averaged a double-double in the first two conference tournament games, netting 17.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. Becca Friestleben is averaging 13.5 points while Dulas has chipped in eight per game.


Past NSIC Players of the Week
11/13/12: Whitney Keiffer - UIU
11/20/12: Becca Friestleben - WSU
11/26/12: Morgan Lee - BSU
12/3/12: Carly Boag - MISU
12/10/12: Ali Wilkinson - MSU
12/17/12: Ali Collins - MARY
1/2/13: Jordan Spencer - WSC
1/7/13: Anika Whiting - CU
1/14/13: Carly Boag - MISU (2)
1/21/13: Alex Feeney - Augie
1/28/13: Whitney Keiffer - UIU (2)
2/4/13: Brittani Wiese - UMC
2/11/13: Morgan Zabel - MSUM
2/18/13: Carly Boag - MISU (3)
2/25/13: Shanna Knife - U-Mary

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