Bismarck, N.D. (NORTHERN) – After drawing the foul on the offensive rebound with five second remaining, Kailee Oliverson stepped to the line and knocked down the two game-winning free throws to give Northern State the 63-62 victory over UMary. The NSU defense also stepped up in critical moments on Thursday night, putting together a stop with 14 seconds remaining to give themselves a chance to win and collecting steal on the Marauders final possession. With tonight’s win and a loss by MSU Moorhead, the Wolves moved into sole possession of fourth place in the NSIC North Division with only one regular season game remaining.

THE QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: NSU 63, MARY 62
Records: NSU 16-11 (11-10 NSIC), MARY 13-11 (12-9 NSIC)
Attendance: 300

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Northern State jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game with a pair of baskets by Laurie Rogers and another by Kailee Oliverson, the Northern defense held UMary without a field goal until the 7:17 mark of the first quarter
  • The Marauders gained momentum moments later as Megan Zander scored the first 11 points of the game for UMary; the teams exchanged the lead three times in the opening period, however the Wolves trailed 18-17 after ten minutes of play
  • Alayna Benike gave NSU the lead back just a little over three minutes in the second quarter with her second 3-pointer of the game; UMary briefly took a 26-24 lead before Northern State ended the first half on an 8-2 scoring run
  • The Wolves entered the halftime break with a 32-28 lead after an official review waved off a 3-pointer by the Marauder’s Ryleigh Wacha that would have made it a one point game
  • Northern pushed the lead to 11 points (44-33) mid-way through the third period with a 10-2 scoring run and eight consecutive points by Jordyn Hilgemann
  • The Maruaders quickly responded to cut the Wolves lead back down to four points (50-46) at the end of the third period, out-scoring NSU 13-6 in the final five minutes of the quarter
  • The Wolves opened the final quarter of play with a 6-2 scoring run to push the lead back to seven points, their largest lead of the fourth quarter, before a 3-pointer by Megan Voit capped a 9-3 UMary run to cut the Northern lead back to one
  • A layup by Zander gave the Maruaders a 62-61 lead with 47 seconds remaining, their first lead since mid-way through the second period
  • After a missed layup the Northern State defense locked down the UMary offense, forcing a desperation 3-pointer to beat the shot clock while Oliverson completed the possession with a defensive rebound with 14 seconds remaining
  • Oliverson once again stepped up by corralling the offensive rebound while getting fouled with five seconds remaining, she then proceeded to step up to the free throw line and make two clutch free throws
  • The Northern defense once again locked down UMary on the final possession of the game as Benike secured a steal as time expired to seal the win
  • With 19 points Oliverson notched her tenth consecutive game in double figures, while Rianna Fillipi recorded her second double-double of the season and seventh consecutive game in double figures scoring with 13 points and ten rebounds
  • The Wolves won the turnover battle by forcing 14 Marauder turnovers while committing only seven, improving to 9-3 when committing ten or fewer turnovers in a game
  • NSU out-rebounded UMary 35-28 and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in the win
  • Five players dished out three or more assists for the Wolves as they recorded 19 assists in the game, tying for their second most in a game this season

NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Kailee Oliverson: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Rianna Fillipi: 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals
Jordyn Hilgemann: 10 points, 3 assists, 2 steals
Laurie Rogers: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block

UP NEXT
Northern State wraps up the 2022-23 regular season with a home match-up against Minot State on Saturday evening. The Wolves and Beavers are scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip-off for Senior Night in Wachs Arena.