SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Winona State University travels to the Sanford Pentagon for the second round of the NSIC Women's Basketball Tournament for a matchup against Northern State University. Tipoff between the Warriors and Wolves is slated for 12 p.m.
Northern State is currently ranked No. 3 in the Division II Central Region.
The Wolves defeated the Warriors earlier this month in their only regular season meeting, 70-63. The tightly-contested game came less than 24 hours after Winona's four-overtime marathon against Moorhead. Allie Pickrain led the WSU with 14 points on 4-7 shooting from downtown in the loss.
The Warriors will be looking for redemption as Northern State also defeated Winona in overtime of last year's NSIC semifinals, 69-64.
NOTES
ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES: The NSIC announced their All-Conference teams this past Thursday and two Warriors made the list. Senior Hannah McGlone was named to the First Team All-NSIC list for the first time in her historic career. McGlone led the NSIC in rebounding (10.2), ranked eighth in scoring (14.1) and owns the second-best shooting percentage in the league (53.7%). Collecting 13 double-doubles this season, McGlone ranks 17th among Division II players this season. Freshman Allie Pickrain caught the eyes of many and was named the NSIC Freshman of the Year as well as making the Second Team All-NSIC list. Pickrain is averaging 12.5 points per game this year and has led the league in three-point shooting. Her 42.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc ranks 18th among Division II players this season.
FIRST ROUND RECAP: The Warriors took the long bus ride to Minot for Wednesday night's first round game against the Beavers. Allie Pickrain and Rachel Novotny combined for 28 of Winona's 40 points in the first half. In the second half, Minot State clawed its way back and tied the game with four minutes to go. A couple clutch baskets by Kayla Schaefer and solid defense down the stretch secured the Warriors' hard-fought road win.
SCOUTING THE WOLVES: Northern State comes into Sunday's matchup as the top seed in the North Division after finishing the regular season 24-4 (19-3 NSIC). The Wolves are led by two First Team All-Conference selections Miranda Ristau and Jill Conrad. Ristau leads the league in scoring (19.7) and is seventh on the list in rebounds (7.6). Conrad averages 12 points per game and dishes out 2.8 assists per game. Northern State will be a tough test for the Warriors as they are ranked in the top five in field goal percentage (47.5), three-point field goal percentage (39.4), and assists per game (19.3).
ONE MORE CHANCE: Senior Hannah McGlone comes into Sunday's game with 925 career rebounds. She needs just four boards to break Lisa Parsons' all-time rebound record (928). This record would be the icing on the cake for an already historic career for McGlone. Just recently, the senior became a member of the 1,000 point club and now sits 17th on the all-time scoring list (1,053). Eclipsing that mark, she also joined Lisa Parsons as the only other women's basketball player in Winona State history to score over 1,000 points and collect 900 rebounds in their career. Wednesday also marked her 120th career game which places McGlone at the top of the list for most games played in by an individual in program history.
