WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State women's basketball team used stellar defense to overcome a poor shooting night, beating Southwest Minnesota State 56-48 Saturday in front of 1,054 fans in McCown Gym.
The Warriors shot just 33.9 percent from the field, but SMSU didn't fare much better, shooting just 34.5 percent. WSU, however, was 8-of-16 from 3-point range, while the Mustangs were just 2-of-8.
Alexis Foley hit a 3-point shot – the first of her game-high 10 first-half points – to put the Warriors on the board with a 3-2 lead, but neither team shot the ball well early as both teams started just 2-of-9 from the field.
Kali Hackmann hit a 3-pointer to put the Warriors up 10-5 with 12:10 to play and two minutes later
Jenny Tuttle hit one to make it 15-11. After Foley hit another 3-point shot to make it 20-15, the Warriors went on a burst capped off by a
Tara Roelofs jumper to take a 27-18 lead, a score that would hold true until halftime.
Senior
Caitie Zepczyk scored to begin the second half to give the Warriors their first double-digit lead at 29-18, which proved to be the start of a 10-2 run to open the period. After a Roelofs triple and later a Foley 3-pointer, the Warriors found themselves up 37-20.
Kali Hackmann soon after hit a 3-pointer to make it 40-24, but SMSU would go on a 19-9 run from that point to cut the WSU lead to just six at 49-43 with 2:20 to play. The Warriors were efficient from the charity stripe, as Roelofs and Foley both made a pair of free throws to bring the lead back to 53-43 with 1:29 left and iced the game from there.
Foley – who scored 27 points in the first meeting with SMSU this season – finished with a game-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from long distance. Foley also added six rebounds, an assist and a block.
Roelofs added 10 points for the Warriors on 3-of-8 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers, while grabbing four rebounds an assist and a block.
Connor Nagle, meanwhile, dished out a career-high six assists to add to her four points.
Winona State (11-3, 7-3 NSIC) completes its four-game homestand next weekend when it hosts the University of Mary and Minot State on Friday and Saturday in McCown Gymnasium.
