Sam Thiel/Winonan

Michelle Tobin posted her eighth double-double of the season as the Winona State University women’s basketball team cruised by Minnesota Duluth 74-56 Wednesday in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament in Winona.

Tobin netted 21 points, one away from her career high as Winona State went into halftime with a 14-point advantage and never allowed UMD to come back in the second half to seal the game.

Tobin had 13 rebounds, marking the third game in a row where she has recorded double figures in the rebounding department. The senior has now 277 rebounds on the year, only five away from the Winona State record.

The Warriors started with a quick lead in the opening period, playing stifling defense throughout the game.

They held UMD to a shooting percentage of just 20.7 percent in the first half, with the Warriors also recording four steals. The defense allowed WSU to take a 14-point lead at the half, 38-24.

Winona State’s advantage would never dip below 11 for the rest of the game and built the advantage to as many as 26 after consecutive triples by Becca Friestleben with just five minutes left in the game.

The Bulldogs shot only 35 percent throughout the contest, hitting just 19 percent (4-of-21) of its attempts from 3-point range. The Warriors shot 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from 3-point land, while shooting 42.6 percent overall from the floor.

Friestleben finished her night with 12 points, dialing in four shots from beyond the 3-point line. She is the first player in Winona State history to make 100 shots from behind the arc in a single season and currently has connected on 102 triples this year.

Marieanna Dulas chipped in ten points and four assists for the Warriors, while Katie Wolff hit three treys to record nine points. Kate Hartman also had an impressive game, posting nine points in only six minutes of playing time.

The victory brought the Warriors to 20-10 on the season, marking the fourth time in school history that a Warrior team has won at least 20 games. The win advanced the Warriors to the second round of the NSIC Tournament.

Dulas nailed a 3-pointer with just seven seconds to go to give the Winona State University women’s basketball team a 47-45 victory over St. Cloud State Saturday in the second round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament in St. Cloud.

With the Warriors down by one, Katie Wolff found a wide-open Dulas in the corner for the game-winning shot. The 3-pointer, her second on the night, pushed the Warriors to victory lane and earned them a ticket to the NSIC Tournament semifinals.

“Offensively we need to continue to play within ourselves,” Dulas said. “When we move the ball among all five players on the court, that is when our shooting is the best.”

She went on, “On Wednesday we were finding our posts who were kicking it back out to the guards which allowed for better shots. We did this on Saturday as well but couldn’t get the ball in the hoop as often. Because of this Coach pointed out that we needed to drive the lane. Our posts would be open for a dish or our three point shooters open for good shots. St. Cloud plays in your face aggressive defense so by driving the lane, we were causing them to have to help off of our shooters.”

The Warriors forced 13 turnovers,Wolff leading the way with three steals.

“We just need to keep playing physical and giving good help side team defense and rebound the ball,” Coach Scott Ballard said. “We will have to try and slow Mankato down on offense by keeping them in a half court game and not allow them many transition or easy scoring opportunities. They are a tough matchup for us but I am confident we will play them better than we did in our last meeting.”

The Warriors took a five-point lead at the break but the Huskies charged back, knotting the game at 36 with a little over five minutes to go. Both squads traded baskets, with SCSU taking a 45-44 advantage with only 30 seconds to play after a basket by Morgan Lof.

After Dulas hit the game-winner, the Huskies had one final opportunity to tie or win the game but didn’t get a shot off before the buzzer.

Becca Friestleben led the way offensively for Winona State, recording 15 points while Michelle Tobin posted her second consecutive double-double game, netting 14 points and 11 rebounds. Abby Busch also recorded double digits in the rebounding category, grabbing ten.

Dulas, Busch and Kelsey Andrist each added six points as WSU increased their record to 21-10 on the season. The Warrior’s 21 victories are tied for second with the 2007-08 and 2010-11 teams for second-most victories in a season. WSU will now face Minnesota State on March 8th.

Contact Sam at [email protected].