Article

Moe Pushes Mavs Past Augustana

Moe nails game-winner in final minute to upset Augustana; season finale against UNO set for Saturday.

by Andrew Miller

Issue date: 2/20/07 Section: Womens Sports

The Minnesota State women's basketball team upended No. 10 Augustana 62-60 at the Sioux Falls, S.D. Arena on Thursday, but it was freshman point guard Tiffany Moe's flare for the dramatic that punctuated the upset.

Playing before 16 family members in what was essentially a homecoming for the Brookings, S.D. native, Moe peeled off a vicious screen by junior forward Anna Voltmer and connected on the game-winner with 4.5 seconds left.

"I just took the shot - put it up there - and it went in," Moe said.

Moe finished with seven points and five assists while Voltmer scored eight and pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds.

Despite the last-second dramatics, it was a 40-minute effort for the Mavericks who held the Vikings to a season-low 31.3 field-goal percentage and earned a 53-39 rebounding advantage.

"We just worked harder than them," Voltmer said.

The Mavericks jumped to a 7-0 lead after a three-pointer at 18:50 by sophomore guard Heather Johnson and held to a 29-26 advantage at the half.

After trading shots the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Mavericks jumped to a 10-point lead on a free throw by sophomore forward Alex Andrews with 5:16 remaining.

The Vikings made a late charge, and a lay-up by senior center Ashlie Holiday knotted the game at 60-60 with 24 seconds remaining. But it was Moe's short-jumper that iced a much-needed MSU win.

"I'm just so happy for our team," Fish said. "They felt so good after that because it was such a hard-fought win against a very good opponent."

The Mavericks (15-12 overall, 3-8 NCC) play their final regular season home game versus Nebraska-Omaha Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Taylor Center.

Andrew Miller is the Reporter Editor in Chief