The Winona State University women’s basketball team’s season officially came to a close after falling short in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) tournament.

Last Wednesday, the Warriors tipped off the first round of the tournament with a home game against the Minnesota State University-Moorhead Dragons.

The first time these two teams met, the Warriors battled back in the final minutes to send the game to overtime and ultimately secured the victory.

Junior Emma Fee had a career night in that win.

This time around roles were switched up a bit, as the Warriors headed into halftime up by nine.

Coming out of the break the Warriors kept their foot to the Dragons’ necks, increasing their lead to 16 at the end of the third.

Seeming like the game was well in hand, the Warriors stepped off the gas pedal a little bit.

But, the Dragons were not ready for their season to be over, as they came scorching back in the fourth hitting from all angles for 31 points in the quarter.

Luckily for the Warriors, Junior Taylor Hustad decided she wanted to be a walking bucket, dropping 32 on the Dragons on 13 of 18 from the field.

The Warriors managed to hold off the comeback effort, winning 82-77.

Next was Sioux Falls where the team went for the Quarterfinals of the NSIC tournament.

The Warriors, being the five seed, were slated to battle against a familiar opponent in the one seed Sioux Falls Cougars.

The Cougars, who were ranked nationally all season, only had five losses on the season, but two of those were to the Warriors.

Going into the game, the energy was great and all the women seemed more than ready for battle.

It was going to be extra tough this time around though, as the Cougars were out for revenge and had a sea of the wrong shade of purple backing them in the crowd.

The game tipped off and it was as fast paced as ever, trading bucket after bucket until the quarter buzzed; it was 22-18 Cougars.

The team was hoping for more in the second, but the Warriors just could not keep up with the transition offense of the Cougars, losing the quarter 20-10, and heading into the break down 14.

The Warriors came out of the break a bit sluggish, and the usual leading scorers were having an off night as the third went the Cougars way as well 16-13.

With hope and time running out, the Warriors showed no quit in the fourth, going on one run after the next, but the Cougars always seemed to have an answer to stop the momentum swing.

Winona State would win the quarter 18-13, but loses the game 71-59.

Junior Emma Fee led the way with 14 points, with sophomore Sydney Lodermeier right behind her with 11.

Luckily for this Warriors team, they had no seniors on the roster.

So to the rest of the NSIC, watch out, these Warrior women will be back with more vengeance and determination next season, and with another year of experience under their belt.

The opinions expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of Winona State University, the Minnesota State Colleges and University system, or the Winona State University student body.