Article

USD Uses Second-half Rally to End Women's Hoops Season

Career high 27 points for Mavs' Noreen not enough as Coyotes move on to Wells Fargo Finals.

by Andrew Miller

Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Womens Sports

Beating a conference foe three times in one season is a difficult task, but the No. 22 South Dakota Coyotes were up to it, defeating the Minnesota State women's basketball team 68-60 at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D.

The loss abruptly ends the Mavericks' season with a 16-12 overall record just as things seemed to be turning around. MSU entered the first round of the NCC Tournament with impressive wins over Augustana and Nebraska-Omaha, but didn't have enough in the tank to get it done Wednesday night.

Playing before an unfriendly host crowd of 1,148, the Mavericks hung tight for all 40 minutes before falling just short in the end.

After trading blows for the first 15 minutes of play, the Mavericks jumped to a 20-19 lead at 4:55 remaining on a fastbreak layup by sophomore guard Alex Andrews. The Mavs were able to extend the lead to 32-26 at halftime, thanks to a stingy 1-2-2 zone that held USD to 36 percent from the field in the first half.

Sophomore guard Joanne Noreensurpassed her career-high 10 points in the first half alone with 12 at the break.

USD was able to pull even within five minutes into the second half as the two teams went shot-for-shot.

Coyotes point guard Shannon Daly led a frantic USD offense that pushed the lead to eight points at 11:39 remaining. Daly scored only five points, but dished out 11 assists.

The Mavs knotted things at 60 with 2:11 remaining, but could not score the remainder of the game.

Noreen posted 27 points for the Mavericks and was the only player to get to the free-throw line, hitting on 9-of-12. USD combined for 25-of-32 from the charity stripe.

Andrews scored 14, while the normally reliable bench was good for only two points on the night.

Four Coyotes starters scored double-digits, with Bridget Yoerger tallying 19. USD generated 19 points off turnovers while MSU managed only 6. The Coyotes continue on to the semifinals of the NCC Tournament with a game Saturday in Grand Forks, N.D.

The Mavericks close out one of the program's better seasons of late and return a bevy of talent next season.

Sixth-man Alanna Wahl and reserve Jessica Stanek are the only two Mavericks to graduate, while the season-ending starting lineup of freshman Tiffany Moe, sophomores Heather Johnson, Noreen and Andrews along with junior Anna Voltmer all return.

Andrew Miller is the Reporter Editor in Chief