Northern State’s balanced attack paid major dividends on Saturday night.

The Wolves held off 14-ranked Minnesota State-Mankato for a 92-87 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women’s basketball win at Wachs Arena. The win snapped the Mavericks’ 19-game winning streak dating back to November in the process.

The Wolves were able to turn back the Mavericks for the win thanks to clutch free throw shooting in the closing minutes.

“Mankato’s a really good team so just keeping ourselves composed and just playing our game was a big key to the win and how we came out on top tonight,” said Northern’s Decontee Smith.

Tempo played a key role in the contest.

NSU senior Rianna Fillipi said the Wolves needed time to settle into the game early on.

“They play a really fast-paced game, so that entire first half we were still just getting settled in,” Fillipi said. “It wasn’t until the third quarter where we finally relaxed. That’s just kind of the game they play, but we really found where we needed to be.”

It was a back and forth first quarter as both teams jockeyed for momentum. Despite the Wolves leading 23-22 after the opening period, they struggled against the Mavericks’ pressure defense.

“We knew they were going to have active hands and we knew the press was coming,” Northern coach Paula Krueger said of the Mavericks’ defense. “We just told our kids we’ve got to get the ball to the middle of the floor as often as we can (because) it’s harder to trap from there.”

Once the Wolves figured out the press, they used hot 3-point shooting from junior Alayna Benike and Smith to open up a 41-31 lead. Each drilled a pair of threes, and Smith, who came off the bench early in the game, said staying composed helped in the shooting effort.

“When I came in in the first quarter, I was obviously kind of nervous, so I knew that I needed to keep myself composed,” Smith said. “When I got in in the second quarter, my team needed me and I kept myself composed and just played my game.”

However, the Mavericks cut the deficit down to four in the final minutes of the first half, giving the Wolves a 46-42 halftime advantage. Despite the lead, Krueger said offensive adjustments were needed at halftime to prepare for the second half.

“We just talked about keeping some spacing on the floor and being able to pass the ball around and then finding Maddie (Bragg) in some different openings to kind of get something in the paint so that we didn’t feel so much to have to create it from the perimeter,” Krueger said.

The Wolves believed in the game plan and went back to what has worked for much of the season by working the ball inside to Bragg, while Smith and Fillipi knocked down shots from seemingly every area on the floor. Fillipi said the team took a lesson from the Wolves’ loss earlier in the season to the Mavericks and applied it to Saturday’s contest.

“The first time we played them we were really sped up,” Fillipi said. “We didn’t get the ball inside, so to find Bragg on the inside and to see that work, that’s just what we needed.”

The win not only avenged a setback to the Mavericks, it also put a bow on senior night. Krueger noted how much the seniors mean to her.

“To me, it’s the most genuine and authentic group of humans that I’ve ever met,” Krueger said. “They are selfless, they are strong, they are determined. My only hope is that one day, I told them in the locker room, I said I love and adore them so much, and I hope that they have some time when they are finally done, they can look back on this with the same kind of love that I already have.”

Bragg led Northern with 23 points, while Fillipi and Smith each finished with 18 points. Fillipi also collected 11 rebounds, while Benike tallied 17 points.

Krueger said the Wolves (19-7) will take a break before traveling to Augustana on Friday and Wayne State on Saturday in the regular-season finale.

“We’re going to enjoy this for a couple of days and going to rest our bodies,” Krueger said. “We have two games this weekend and some people only had one and so we’re going to take two days here and recoup and come back and then we’re going to practice hard on Tuesday and hard on Wednesday, do the walkthrough Thursday, and take off and go one game at a time.”

For a complete box score, click on the following link:

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2023-24/minnesota-state/boxscore/13360