BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. - Southwest Minnesota State shot 5 of 27 from the field in the second half and surrendered a seven point first half lead to Northern State on Friday as the Wolves came back to take the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball contest 57-46. SMSU finished shooting 29.6 percent from the floor after shooting 40.7 percent (11 of 27) in the first half.

The 46 points and 29.6 percent shooting output were both second lowest of the season (45 points, 27.6 percent - Cal State Monterey Bay, Nov. 16, 2013).

The loss was SMSU's ninth straight and the fifth straight to Northern State dating back to Feb. 27, 2010.

Northern State began the first half hitting just one of its first 14 shots - a sluggish start after 12 days off. Northern State remained in the game despite the inefficient shooting thanks in large part to dominating the boards -- NSU finished with 53 total rerbounds, including 19 coming on the offensive end. NSU finished the game with a 53-25 rebounding advantage.

Alison Kusler and Rachel Krogman led the pack as they each finished with 16 points. Krogman also led the team with 11 rebounds as she collected a double-double - she finished 8 of 12 from the field, all 2-point field goals.

SMSU built the first half's largest lead by either team as the Mustangs owned a 25-16 advantage. The Mustangs would see it shrink to five points with 27 seconds left but Alison Nagel drove to the basket and forced a foul and she sunk both shots to give a 29-22 lead at the half.

The Mustangs came out flat in the second half and saw their lead disappear in the first eight minutes. Northern State took over the lead at the 12:06 mark when Kusler nailed a jumper in the paint. From there, the Wolves would never look back as they marched to a 12-1 run and took a double-digit lead.

No Mustang reached double-digits as Alison Nagel led with nine points, with Whitney Miller not behind with eight.

SMSU will host MSU Moorhead tomorrow with tip-off set for 5 p.m from the R/A Facility.