BOX SCORE

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Double-figure scoring efforts from four players keyed a 67-50 Northern State victory over Southwest Minnesota State Saturday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball in Aberdeen, S.D. The loss effectively ends SMSU's season as the Mustangs finish ninth in the final NSIC standings—one spot shy of making the conference tournament.

NSU improves to 15-12 (11-9 NSIC) and will take the No. 7 seed into the NSIC/Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament, while SMSU finishes the 2009-10 season with a 15-13 mark. The campaign marks the first winning season for the Mustangs since the 2004-05 season.

Mikayla Barondeau finished with a game-high 19 points for NSU, while Jodi Reinschmidt added 18. Lennea Mueller and Krista Radenberg netted 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Mustangs failed to get a player in double figures. Abby Kenealy's nine points paced SMSU.

Lucia Puchelova and Laura Kramer each grabbed six rebound for SMSU.

Megan Stadler handed out a game-high five assists, adding to her single-season record, which now sits at 167. She finishes her career second all-time in career assists at SMSU with 474.

The Wolves opened the contest behind a 14-2 run, including scoring the game's first nine points. The Mustangs eventually cut into NSU's nearly immediate double-figure lead six minutes in after Voss nailed a 3-pointer.

It was a 20 percent first-half shooting performance that kept SMSU from making an honest run at the deficit. The Mustangs got the difference down to a manageable nine points for the second time at the nine minute mark after a Miley Hunziker 3-pointer made it a 20-11 game, but the ensuing six minutes saw NSU take as large as an 18-point lead.

The Wolves finished the first half on a 9-2 run and held a 43-23 lead heading into the locker room. The Mustangs hit just one field in the final seven and half minutes of the first half.

Barondeau's 16 first-half points led NSU, which shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half.

The advantage stuck around the 20-point range for the remainder of the contest. The closest SMSU would get was after Puchelova found a streaking Stadler for an easy layup with nine minutes left to put the Mustangs in a 52-37 situation.

The Wolves settled on a 17-point lead to finish the game and secure their spot in the postseason.

SMSU finished the game shooting just 25.0 percent from the floor, while NSU compiled a 44.6 percent performance.

SMSU's 50 points was its second lowest offensive output of the season. The loss also marks the first time this season the Mustangs failed to have someone score in double figures.

Stadler and Aimee Burmester, the squad's two seniors, finished their careers as Mustangs Saturday night.