Brittani Wiese helped UMC snap a seven-game losing streak with a weekend sweep of Sioux Falls (76-59) and Southwest Minnesota State (76-72). Wiese averaged 21.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists on the weekend. She shot 14-of-32 for 43.8 percent from the field and was 4-for-10 from beyond the arc. Wiese started the weekend with a near double-double with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists as the Golden Eagles defeated Sioux Falls. Wiese had 11 of her points in the second half against the Cougars to help the team to a big victory. On Saturday, Wiese had 24 points, six rebounds and three assists in an overtime win over SMSU. Wiese took the game into her own hands after the first half. The quick guard scored 18 of her 24 points between second half an overtime including nine points in just five minutes of overtime as she was 3-of-4 from the floor helping the Golden Eagles close out a victory over the Mustangs. Wiese came into Saturday averaging 11.7 points on the year.

AUGUSTANA COLLEGE -  No. 18 Augustana responded well to losing two games last weekend with a pair of key wins as they try to hunt down an NSIC title. The Vikings did not shoot well the entire weekend, but came away with a convincing victory against Minnesota Duluth on Friday evening. Alex Feeney and Cami Koehn each scored 11 points to fuel an Augustana run in their 63-43 victory.  The following evening, the Vikings were faced with a St. Cloud State team coming off a loss the night before and were battling with the Vikings for position in the NSIC standings.  For just the third time, Augustana trailed at halftime and were down nine points early in the second half.  Seniors Faith Tinklenberg and Feeney performed their best at the most crucial point of the game.  Feeney hit three of four shots in the closing minutes and Tinklenberg corralled Feeney’s only miss for a putback to give Augustana a four-point led they would not relinquish.  Tinklenberg hit two free throws to ice the game and give the Vikings a 60-57 victory.
#44 Alex Feeney (F, 6-0, Sr., Bismarck, N.D./Bismarck H.S.) averaged 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in two victories for No. 18 Augustana as she climbed up the Vikings’ career scoring chart.  Feeney began the weekend with a 15-point, nine rebound performance to lead the Vikings in a 63-43 win over Minnesota Duluth.  Her 15 points were enough to leap two players as she finished Friday’s game with 1,506 career points and she sat in sixth place on Augustana’s all-time scoring list.  The following evening, Feeney battled shooting woes to hit some clutch shots in the waning moments of the game.  Feeney entered the final five minutes of the game shooting 5-16 on the night, but she hit three of her final four shots to carry the Vikings over St. Cloud State, 60-57.  Feeney scored 18 points and remains in sixth place on the Augustana all-time scoring list with 1,524 points.

BEMIDJI STATE - #3 Lanae Rash (G, 5-8, Jr., Milwaukee, Wis. / Rainy River CC) posted 20.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game with a 65.5 percentage from the field in a 1-1 NSIC home weekend Feb. 1-2. She added six steals and five assists in the two games. In a win against Southwest Minnesota State University, Rash scored a season-high 26 points on 12-for-16 (75%) shooting from the field that established a season-high for field goals made. She also had five steals and three assists in the game. The next night she scored 14 points on 53.8 percent shooting and added four rebounds with two assists.  
BSU went 1-1 Feb. 1-2 in a conference home weekend that moved its record to 9-11 overall and 5-11 in NSIC play. BSU defeated Southwest Minnesota State University Feb. 1 by a 57-52 margin for its second consecutive win. The bid for a third-straight win was foiled in overtime by University of Sioux Falls 82-70. The Beavers split the four-game homestand 2-2 and now hit the road for four games, starting Feb. 8-9 at Minnesota State University, Mankato and Concordia University, St. Paul. BSU is 13-25 all-time against Minnesota State. The Beavers defeated the Mavericks at home 72-71 and lost in Mankato, Minn. 81-50 a season ago. BSU tails the all-time series with CU 11-25 and have lost the last nine meetings, dating back to 2007. Last season, BSU fell at home to the Golden Eagles 93-69.

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL -#40 Anika Whiting (F, 6-2, So., Ashland, Wis./HS) averaged 20.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in a pair of road wins for the Golden Bears at Minot State and U-Mary. Whiting topped 20 in both games, giving her eight 20-plus point games on the year. On Saturday, she added fifth double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, which was her first 20/10 double-double. Whiting shot 54.5% (18-33) from the floor and 83.3% (5-6) from the stripe, adding three steals and a block on the weekend. She’s scored double-digits every game this year for the NSIC leading Golden Bears.
Concordia had eight players average at least 5.0 points and seven average at least 7.0 points over the weekend.
The Golden Bears improved their winning streak to seven games, the longest active streak in the league … Concordia has also won eight straight on the road and only has one NSIC road loss … Concordia has won 12 of the last 13 games after a 3-4 start to take control of the NSIC Overall and South Division standings … this weekend, Concordia returns home to host Minnesota Crookston on Friday and Bemidji State on Saturday … Concordia is 19-4 all-time against Minnesota Crookston including a 10-2 mark at home … Concordia has won 11-straight against the Golden Eagles and have a 7-game home winning streak against UMC … UMC’s last win at Gangelhoff Center was March 5, 2003 and their last win in the series was Jan. 8, 2005 … Concordia is 25-10 all-time against Bemidji State and 13-1 at Gangelhoff Center … the Golden Bears have won 9-straight overall and 13-straight at home against the Beavers … Concordia has won 22 of the last 23 in the series against BSU dating back to Feb. 16, 2001 … Concordia’s last loss at home to BSU was Jan. 15, 2000.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY - Trailing by 12 at halftime against Minnesota State the University of Mary battled back and forced overtime as Ali Collins (G, 5-9, Sr., Mandan, N.D./Illinois Central CC) hit the game-tying basket with six seconds remaining. In overtime, however the Marauders offense sputtered as they fell 65-61. Collins was one of three U-Mary players to score in double figures as she finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Brittney Dietz (F, 5-10, RS-Fr., Beach, N.D./Beach) scored 12 point and Lindsey Sand (G, 5-8, Jr., Steele, N.D./Kidder Country) added 11. Seemingly out of the game, U-Mary responded with a 14-2 run to make the score 53-51 with 1:55 left to play. During the run the Marauders hit their only three, three-point shots of the night. Trailing by two with 10 second left to play Collins took the inbound pass and went the length of the floor to score the game-tying basket and send the game into overtime. U-Mary set a school record (since joining NCAA Division II in 2006) with 13 blocks. Shaunna Knife (F, 5-11, Sr., Bottineau, N.D./Bottineau) contributed six of those blocks as she tied her career-high.
For the second straight night the University of Mary entered halftime trailing by double digits and for the second straight night they were unable to surmount a comeback as they fell 78-63 to Concordia-St. Paul. Knife notched her league leading ninth double double of the season as she finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Dietz also finished with 14 points. Collins and Shanara Clark (F, 6-2, Sr., Palmdale, Calif./Antelope CC) were the two other Marauders to score in double digits with 13 and 10 respectively. U-Mary started out strong in the first half extending their lead to six on a three from Knife, which would prove to be their largest lead of the night. Concordia proceeded to go on an 11-2 run and took that lead at 18-15. CU would extend their lead to 10 as they entered the break leading 36-26. Concordia extended their lead to as many as 15 in the second half and U-Mary was unable to bring the lead to fewer than eight.

MINNESOTA, CROOKSTON  -  Brittani Wiese (Sr., G, Albertville, Minn.), one of seven players to score 1,000 points in program history, helped her team snap a seven-game losing streak with a weekend sweep of Sioux Falls (76-59) and Southwest Minnesota State (76-72). The sweep is the first of the season for the UMC women’s basketball team in conference play. Wiese averaged 21.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists on the weekend. She shot 14-of-32 for 43.8 percent from the field and was 4-for-10 from beyond the arc. Wiese started the weekend with a near double-double with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists as the Golden Eagles defeated Sioux Falls. Wiese had 11 of her points in the second half against the Cougars to help the team to a big victory. On Saturday, Wiese had 24 points, six rebounds and three assists in an overtime win over Southwest Minnesota State. Wiese took the game into her own hands after the first half. The quick guard scored 18 of her 24 points between second half an overtime including nine points in just five minutes of overtime as she was 3-of-4 from the floor helping the Golden Eagles close out a victory over the Mustangs. Wiese came into Saturday averaging 11.7 points on the year.

MINNESOTA DULUTH  -  UMD came up short on both ends of its weekend road trip, falling at Augustana and Wayne State on Friday and Saturday. The Bulldogs, who are mired in their only six-game losing streak since head coach Annette Wiles took over in 2008, fell below .500 in NSIC play in the process. Junior forward Katrina Newman posted an 11-point, 13- rebound double-double (her sixth of the year) on Friday night but could not help UMD get by Augustana. Newman added 12 points and nine rebounds on Saturday, narrowly missing another double-double as the Bulldogs fell to Wayne State 62-47. UMD will look to get back on track this weekend against Upper Iowa and Winona State at Romano Gymnasium.

MINNESOTA STATE - MSU took to the road this past weekend as it traveled to the Peace Garden State where the Mavericks were able to pick-up two crucial NSIC wins, and they improved to 16-4 on the season and 12-4 in the league. MSU downed the University of Mary 65-61 in overtime on Friday evening, then it was able to hold off the Beavers of Minot State 83-82 Saturday, completing the weekend sweep and extending its win streak to five as it looks to host Bemidji State and Minnesota, Crookston this weekend.
Sophomore guard Aubrey Davis (5-7, Bloomington, Minn.) led the way for the Mavericks as they swept the University of Mary and Minot State by sores of 65-61 and 83-82 respectively. Davis recorded 13 points, five rebounds, two steals and an assist against the Marauders and followed that performance up with a 20 point, five rebounds, two assists and one steal outing against Minot State University, helping the Mavericks earn the 83-82 win, giving them their 16th win of the campaign. On the weekend Davis averaged 16.5 points, five rebounds and shot 52% (11-21) from the floor and 45% (5-11) from behind the arc.

MSU MOORHEAD - Megan Strese (F, 6-0, Jr., Evansville, Minn. / Brandon HS) had a pair of solid games in helping the Dragon women to a 1-1 mark on the road last weekend. In a 78-54 rout of Upper Iowa on Feb. 1, Strese had 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. She hit 7-of-10 shots from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. A night later at Winona State, Strese had 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals.  For the weekend Strese averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals while shooting 54.5 percent from the field (12-of-22) and 91.6 percent from the free-throw line (11-of-12). She leads MSUM in scoring and rebounding this season.
Additional note: Redshirt freshman Meghan Roehrich had a pair of solid games off the bench for MSUM. Against Upper Iowa, Roehrich had four points and three rebounds in just seven minutes. She finished 2-of-2 from the field. A night later at Winona State, Roehrich set a career-high with seven points on 2-of-2 shooting from three-point range.

MINOT STATE - Minot State University battled both Concordia University, St. Paul and Minnesota State but finished the weekend with two defeats, losing 85-65 Friday against CU and 83-82 Saturday vs. MSU at the Minot State Dome. The Friday contest was much closer than the final score as a run by the Golden Bears early in the second half broke open an otherwise close game. On Saturday, MSU went on a similar run, only to have Minot State rally, missing a solid look at the game winner as time expired. The Beavers were paced by #21 Morgan Klose (G, 5-9, So., Fairview, N.D. / Fairview High School), who combined for 33 points, including a career-high 23 points Saturday, hitting five 3-pointers in the two games. #40 Carly Boag (F, 6-2, Jr., Tamworth, Australia / Abbotsleigh High School) saw her consecutive double-double streak end on Friday, but finished with weekend with a double-double average of 14.5 points and 14.0 rebounds as she pulled down 17 boards against CU. She also had two assists, two blocks and seven steals on the weekend. Boag also reached a milestone, becoming the 11th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points, and is the fastest Beaver to do so, scoring it in her 72nd game.

NORTHERN STATE -  Sarah Hintz (F, 5-11, Sr., Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury HS) averaged 14.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game to lead the Wolves to a split on a tough weekend road swing through Winona State and Upper Iowa.  Hintz, averaging just 7.6 points per game heading into the weekend, put up a season-best 19 points in a narrow 44-49 loss to Winona State on Friday night.  The senior also had nine rebounds in that game, as a furious NSU second-half rally fell just short.  Hintz added nine points in a win over Upper Iowa on Saturday and finished the weekend going 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) from the floor and 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) from the line.  Five of her 11 total rebounds came on the offensive end of the court.  She also added six assists, five blocks and two steals to her line.

SIOUX FALLS -  Laura Johnson (F/6-0/Jr. Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) averaged 16 points, seven rebounds and 2.5 assists this weekend and the Cougars split their most recent NSIC road swing, falling at Minnesota, Crookston on Friday before bouncing back to defeat Bemidji State on Saturday Johnson tied a season-high with 24 points and Alyssa Rushton delivered a career-high 23-point effort as USF erased a nine-point second half deficit to outlast the Beavers 82-70, at BSU Gymnasium in Bemidji, Minn. Johnson added 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. It was the second overtime game of the season for the Cougars (11-9) and allowed USF to even its NSIC record at 8-8. It is also USF’s first overtime victory since Dec. 29 2009, when they edged Jamestown College 61-60. USF went 12-for-24 from beyond the arc in the contest and continue to be the league’s best defensive unit on the perimeter. USF held BSU to just 5-for-21 on its three-point attempts (23.8%). The Cougars return home to host Minot State and the University of Mary this weekend.

SMSU - Rebekah Rolling (Jr., G, 5-9, Bancroft, Iowa / North Sentral Kossuth / Iowa Central CC) hit a 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds to send the Mustangs and Golden Eagles of Minnesota, Crookston to overtime on Saturday night. Rolling’s 3-pointer was her second of the game as she hit back-to-back jumpers to even SMSU and UMC after SMSU trailed by six with 30 seconds to go. Rolling finished the week 5 of 8 from behind the arc, 11 of 22 from the field and 28 points. Rolling went 7 of 11 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range to finish with 18 points in SMSU’s loss to Bemidji State on Friday.

ST. CLOUD STATE -  St. Cloud State University hit the road for two South division match ups over the weekend. The Huskies fell to Wayne State 65-69 on Friday evening. Posting a low shooting percentage in the first half and with four Wildcat players finishing in double figures, Wayne State came out on top. Freshman forward Lexy Petermann came off the bench to provide the Huskies with a much needed spark. Petermann grabbed nine rebounds... four of those on the offensive end and also added seven points. Saturday night the Huskies lost a close battle to Augustana, 57-60. Petermann finished with 15 points on six of eight shooting from the field. She also grabbed two crucial offensive boards late in the game to keep a win within reach for the Huskies. The Vikings forced SCSU into 18 turnovers and concerted those into 24 points scored. Augustana committed just 5 total turnovers. The Huskies fell to 14-6 overall, 10-6 in the NSIC. They will return home to Halenbeck Hall to host Winona State and Upper Iowa University on Feb. 8 and 9.

UPPER IOWA - The Upper Iowa offense struggled this past weekend in a pair of home games against MSU Moorhead and Northern State.  The Peacocks were led by sophomore Whitney Kieffer, who averaged 12 points and 4.5 rebounds.  UIU dropped a 78-54 decision on Friday night and then went cold over the final minutes of Saturday’s contest to lose 60-46 to the Wolves.  Freshman Carly Pagel added 9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while junior Sam Thrapp recorded 8 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.  The team will travel to face the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth on Friday and the Huskies of St. Cloud State on Saturday.

WAYNE STATE - Ashton Yossi, a 5-8 sophomore guard from Dallas Center, Iowa (Dallas Center-Grimes HS), averaged 20 points, 3.5 steals and 2.0 rebounds per game in leading the Wildcats to home wins over St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth.  Yossi poured in 21 points with four steals in Friday’s 69-65 win over St. Cloud State, going 7 of 13 from the field and 5 for 9 from three point range.  She added 19 points with three steals in Saturday’s 62-47 win over Minnesota Duluth, going 6 of 15 from the field and perfect 5 for 5 at the foul stripe.  For the weekend, Yossi shot 46.4 percent from the field (13 of 28), 7 for 17 from three point range and a perfect 7 for 7 at the charity stripe.

WINONA STATE - Michelle Tobin, Sr., C, 6-1, Eden Prairie, Minn. (Eden Prairie) nearly averaged a double-double, netting 19.0 points and 9.5 rebounds as the Warriors earned two key NSIC victories over Northern State and MSU Moorhead. Tobin shot 57 percent from the field (16-of-28) on the weekend to lead the Warriors. Tobin opened the weekend with a career-high 22 points in the team’s win over Northern State. Tobin was 9-of-14 from the floor on the game while grabbing eight rebounds as well. She followed with a double-double the next night against MSU Moorhead, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. She was 7-of-14 on the day while also handing out two assists, blocking three shots and recording two steals.


Past NSIC Players of the Week
11/13/12: Whitney Keiffer - UIU
11/20/12: Becca Friestleben - WSU
11/26/12: Morgan Lee - BSU
12/3/12: Carly Boag - MISU
12/10/12: Ali Wilkinson - MSU
12/17/12: Ali Collins - MARY
1/2/13: Jordan Spencer - WSC
1/7/13: Anika Whiting - CU
1/14/13: Carly Boag - MISU (2)
1/21/13: Alex Feeney - Augie
1/28/13: Whitney Keiffer - UIU (2)
2/4/13: Brittani Wiese - UMC

#NSIC#