BOX SCORE

WINONA, Minn. – Winona State jumped to an early double-digit lead and never looked back in earning a 76-56 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Friday night in Winona, Minn.

SMSU falls to 2-7 overall, 1-4 NSIC, suffering its fourth straight loss. WSU improves to 7-1 overall, 3-1 NSIC.

Natalie Gigler led the Warriors with 28 points on 12 of 16 shooting, while also grabbing a team-high six rebounds. Michelle McDonald added 16 points to pace the WSU offense. WSU finished the game shooting 51 percent (28 of 55) from field

Tori Fink scored a team-high 19 points on 8 of 12 shooting to lead SMSU, connecting on three 3-point field goals. Abby Kenealy was the only other Mustang to score in double figures finishing with 10 points. Lucia Puchelova added eight points on 3 of 3 shooting, while Amber Peterson also chipped in with eight points to round out SMSU's top scorers.

WSU used a 14-0 run in the game's first six minutes to build a 16-2 lead and never looked back in building a 35-19 halftime lead.

SMSU started the second half strong using a 9-4 run in the first four and a half minutes to trim the lead to 39-28, but that was as close as the Mustangs would come for the remainder of the night.

SMSU finished the game with 21 turnovers and shot 43 percent (20 of 47) from the field, including 6 of 18 from 3-point range. WSU finished with a 32-25 rebound advantage.

SMSU will conclude its four-game conference road trip tomorrow night taking on Upper Iowa University (0-8, 0-4 NSIC). Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. in Fayette, Iowa.