Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn.- Southwest Minnesota State (2-18, 2-14 NSIC) were unable to recover from a big first half from Northern State (16-6, 12-4 NSIC) as the Wolves led start to finish in a 90-65 win over SMSU in front of a festive "Hawaiian Night" crowd on Saturday night in the R/A Facility.

Caleigh Rodning had a double-double for the second straight night with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mustangs in points scored for the sixth time this season. Jamie Spicer continued to find her shooting stroke going 4-of-5 overall and 3-of-4 from deep, finishing with 11 points and two steals on the defensive end.
 
Northern State scored 38 points in the paint and tied for the most points scored by an SMSU opponent this season (90).
 
Jamie Spicer was the only SMSU player to hit a field goal in the opening quarter as NSU jumped out to a 22-7 lead after one. The Mustangs managed just seven first quarter points on 2-of-12 shooting from the floor in the first quarter.
 
SMSU suffered from eight turnovers in the first quarter alone which the Wolves capitalized on for six points off of turnovers.  NSU also had 18 points in the paint to start the game and finished 65 percent from the field in the first quarter. It was much of the same in the second quarter for the Wolves as they hit 4-of-5 three pointers in the second. NSU shot 69 percent overall in the quarter, becoming the first team to shoot over 60 percent in a half against the Mustangs since the Wolves went 18-of-30 from the field in the first half of the first meeting between the two schools last season.
 
The Mustangs improved from the first quarter offensively going 5-of-13 overall in the second. SMSU faced a 52-24 deficit going into the break as the Wolves closed the first half on a 10-2 run in the final 1:49 of the second quarter.
 
SMSU was unable to recover from its halftime deficit as the Northern State lead never went under twenty points and stretched to as large as a 32-point lead in the third quarter.
 
The Mustangs will travel to North Dakota next weekend as they face Minot State on Friday night at 6 p.m., followed by a meeting with U-Mary on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.