The Northern State Women’s basketball team closed out the regular season with two key wins over the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State last weekend to punch its ticket to the upcoming Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls

The Wolves beat the Cougars on Friday in a game that had major postseason implications. As a result of the 75-72 victory, Northern secured the fourth seed and a first-round bye in the tourney.

In a game that went down to the wire, veteran point guard Rianna Fillipi helped to seal the deal for the Wolves. With NSU up one point with just a minute to go, Fillipi drove into the paint and scored a layup for the final margin of difference.

Fillipi finished with a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Madelyn Bragg with 25 points.

Last Saturday, the Wolves pulled off a 78-75 upset over the 17th-ranked Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs. Izzy Moore gave the Wolves a 7-point lead with 3:52 left on a 3-pointer. A couple of possessions later, Morgan Fielder intercepted a pass and scored to extend the lead to nine points.

Fillipi finished with 25 points, followed by Bragg with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Michaela Jewett with 15 points.

Fillipi was named the NSIC Player of the Week, with Bragg joining her on the NSIC Shining 5.

The men’s squad dropped both games at Wachs Arena. On Friday, they lost to Sioux Falls 77-66 despite having a 10-point lead at half. James Glenn led the way for the Wolves with 17 points, followed by Kaleb Mitchell with 15.

Southwest Minnesota State jumped out to an early advantage and led 60-23 at halftime on the way to a 103-71 victory. Glenn and Mitchell led the Wolves with 16 and 11 points, respectively.

On Sunday Northern announced it will be parting ways with coach Saul Phillips and has begun a national search.

The Wolves Track and Field squad competed at the SDSU Last Chance Meet with three gold medal finishes. Jayden Munroe won the long jump, Julian Scott won the 200m, and Alli Jackson won the 400m. Other key performances included Eli Radtke with a new season best and provisional mark in the pole vault taking third, and a new record for Renea Taylor, Anna Skachenko, Elisabet Osk Jonsdottir, and Kyanna Collymore in the 4x400m relay and a third-place finish.

The Wolves Baseball team got onto the field for the first time this year with a four-game series against Minnesota State (RV) that took place Monday through Wednesday. The Wolves dropped all four games, by scores of 6-1, 14-7, 8-5, and 15-3. Nick Friedges ended the series with two home runs, and Drew Benson added one.

Wolves softball hit the field later than anticipated due to weather, and concluded its Kansas trip going 0-5. They dropped the first game 4-0 to Central Missouri on Sunday, and lost to Emporia State 16-3 and Northwest Missouri State 14-0 on Monday. The squad lost to Fort Hayes 5-2 and Washburn 4-0 on Tuesday.

Coming up this week, three NSU teams will be in postseason action. The men’s and women’s Track and Field teams will compete in the NSIC Indoor Championships in Mankato on Friday and Saturday.

The wrestling team will compete at the Super Region V Tournament in Sioux Falls on Saturday. The top three in each weight class will advance to the NCAA DII Championships in Indianapolis on March 15.

The NSU women’s basketball team will play the University of Sioux Falls for the third time this year in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament. Tipoff is set for Sunday at 11 a.m. in a win-or-go-home scenario. The semifinals of the tourney start at 11 a.m. Monday, followed by the championship game at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The Wolves go into the NSIC Tournament ranked 8th in the Central Region Rankings.

The baseball team is back on the field taking on Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell on Sunday for a double header.