Sam Thiel/Winonan
The Winona State University women’s basketball team dropped its matchup against Minnesota State 73-57 Friday in the semifinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament in Rochester.
Katie Wolff made seven triples on the day, also tying her career-high 27 points. With those seven 3-pointers, the senior finished her Winona State career with 242 made treys, the second-most in program history.
Michelle Tobin had another strong performance, posting 12 points and 12 rebounds, her tenth double-double of the season and the third game in a row of recording at least ten points and rebounds.
The senior averaged 15.7 points and 12.0 rebounds throughout the NSIC Tournament, netting a double-double in all three of Winona State’s games.
Abby Busch added ten points and grabbed seven rebounds, giving Winona State a trio of players that reached double figures in scoring. Busch also led the Warriors in the passing department, handing out five assists.
Wolff led the way for the Warriors to start the game, recording 11 of the team’s first 13 points, including three triples in the first half.
Both teams shot the basketball extremely well in the opening period, with the Warriors knocking down 43 percent of its shots from the field and Minnesota State hitting 46 percent.
The Mavericks took a nine-point advantage at halftime and were able to increase its lead to 12 points with 11 minutes to play in the game.
The Warriors stayed close throughout the game, with Wolff drawing the foul on a 3-pointer and knocking down all three free throws to decrease the Minnesota State lead to just six with a little over eight minutes to go.
Minnesota State answered right back, increasing their lead to double digits only one minute later and would ultimately build a lead as large as 17 in the closing minutes.
“The first half, Katie Wolff was getting a lot of great looks and was hitting pretty much anything she shot,” senior Marieanna Dulas said. “In the second half, Mankato tried to contain her harder, making her looks limited whereas the rest of us just couldn’t seem to find a way to get it in the hoop. A lot of that has to do with how hard Mankato was playing us. They are a great team and we wish them luck in the NCAA tournament.”
Winona State ends their season with a 21-11 record overall, which is the second-most number of victories in a season by a Warrior team.
“It was a challenging season with the loss of two significant post players for the entire season due to injuries and the loss of another guard until January. However, because of the leadership and high character of the people on this team we were able to bound together and find ways to be successful most of the time,” said Coach Scott Ballard. “Our four seniors really took ownership of this team and showed their teammates how to work hard, be committed and compete at a high level. I am very proud of how they all represented the University, community and athletic department during their careers and set a standard of excellence on and off the basketball floor!”
Dulas, one of the team’s senior players, said it was one of the best senior seasons she could have asked for, and will miss playing for the Warriors.
“It hasn’t really sunk in that my career here at Winona State is over, but the amazing friendships and bonds I have made with teammates and coaches is something I will never forget,” Dulas said. “Even though we had our ups and downs, lost some games we shouldn’t have and won some games we weren’t supposed to, this team worked hard through everything and proved to ourselves that we could play with the very best.”
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