Kusler Reaches 1,000 Points as NSU Holds on to North Division Lead

1/4/2014 6:03:00 PM

By: NSU Sports Information

| Box Score (.pdf)

Alison Kusler became the 29th member of the 1,000-point club in Northern State program history as she led the Wolves with 26 points Saturday afternoon in a 64-57 win over Sioux Falls. Kusler, who needed 13 points in the game to reach 1,000, went 6-for-11 from the floor and had a great day at the free-throw line going a perfect 12-for-12.

The win is the Wolves' fifth-straight and improves their record to 10-2 overall and 6-2 in NSIC play. Rachel Krogman recorded her seventh double-double of the season as she scored 19 points and tied a career-high with 16 rebounds in the victory.

Megan Mutchler added eight points and 12 boards against the Cougars while Paige Waytashek added 11 points of her own.

Northern shot just 31.8 percent from the floor (21-for-66) while USF was 22-for-63 (34.9 percent) but the Wolves were dominate on the glass Saturday as they pulled down a season-high 56 rebounds while the Cougars recorded 33 boards. NSU also had a 26-18 advantage in points in the paint and a 12-5 edge in second chance points.

NSU scored 10 points off of 11 USF turnovers while the Cougars failed to take advantage of Northern miscues scoring just a single point off turnovers. The Wolves also shot a season-best 85.7 percent from the charity stripe, making 18-of-21 at the line while USF was just 1-of-2.

After a Krogman layup to begin the second half pushed Northern's lead to 26-16, USF caught fire and went on a 14-3 run and grabbed a 30-29 lead with 16:08 to play in the game. The Cougars pushed their lead to 39-33 with 12:02 to go. Kusler hit a big three for the Wolves to reignite the Northern offense and also pushed her over the milestone.

NSU trailed by as many as eight points later in the half before going on a 20-4 run to go up 56-48 with 1:53 remaining. Northern iced the game away at the free throw line going 6-for-6 the final minute of the game.

Northern returns to action next weekend with a pair of home games. No. 23 Minnesota State comes to Wachs Arena Friday for a 6 p.m. game while Concordia-St. Paul will be the opponent Saturday in a 5 p.m. contest.