Faced with the prospect of their season coming to an end, the Northern State Wolves not only rose to the occasion they soared to a convincing victory Wednesday afternoon.

The Wolves outscored Upper Iowa 18-2 in the final seven minutes to secure a 63-49 win over Upper Iowa during the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women’s basketball playoffs. As a result, Northern will advance to the quarterfinals this weekend in Sioux Falls.

After leading by as many 12 points in the first quarter and 10 in the third period, the Wolves found themselves tied heading into the final stanza before finding a way to finish off the stubborn Peacocks.

“That’s what we said when we started the fourth quarter: we have to find a way to finish,” said Northern coach Paula Krueger. “We deserve to be here playing at home, we deserve to get to Sioux Falls, but it doesn’t matter what you deserve, it’s what do you. And my kids put it out there and left everything they had on the floor. That’s a tired group of kids, but I can’t say enough about how hard they played.”

The Wolves received major contributions up and down their roster, from a true freshman to a senior.

Northern found itself trailing 47-45 with seven minutes and in need of a spark. That was supplied by Madelyn Bragg. Playing in her first postseason game for the Wolves, the former Aberdeen Roncalli standout made back-to-back turn around jumpers with a defender in her face to help the team regain the momentum.

“Madi Bragg came in and had two huge baskets,” Krueger said. “As soon as she starts to get some confidence and that kind of thing, you can see what kind of player she’s going to be. This is a big game.”

Bragg, who had not attempted a shot since the first period, said she let like she needed to do her part to help the squad.

“Honestly, I was mad at myself because I wasn’t performing the way that I wanted to and I knew that we needed that,” Bragg said. “We were down, so I just knew that our team needed that momentum.”

Nobody played with more motivation from start to finish than senior Kailee Oliverson. Not only did she help to set the tone with 14 first-quarter points, she sealed the deal with 14 more in the last period, including 11 of the team’s final 13 points.

“It felt really good,” Oliverson said. “I didn’t want to end my senior year not playing good, so I just went out and gave it my all today.”

Her all ended up producing a career-high 34 points to go along with 17 rebounds.

Krueger said the senior has been on a mission.

“Kailee Oliverson is just in a refuse-to-lose place right now,” Krueger said, “the way she’s practicing, the way she’s playing. It’s hard to stop her even with two people, because of her athleticism. What’s she doing on the glass right now is probably the most impressive thing.”

The Wolves appeared to be in good shape on a couple of different occasions, only to have Upper Iowa battle back. That’s when a sense of urgency took over.

“It was just like mental errors. A little bit of fatigue set in,” Oliverson said of team’s brief lapse late in the third quarter. “Then we realized if we don’t win this game, we’re done. So we just all went out, props to everyone on my team. I’m so proud of them. They just gave it their all. We just pushed through our whole tank.”

There’s little doubt that a post-season contest takes on a whole new meaning, even if it is played on a weekday afternoon without a normal size crowd in attendance because of a blizzard warning.

“This is a big game. It’s not like just another win or loss,” Bragg said. “This is if we go to the tournament. It’s important for us to come out and get the win today.”

While that may have been in doubt with seven minutes remaining, it definitely wasn’t at the final horn thanks to a determined effort by the maroon and gold.

“We just wanted that win so bad,” Oliverson said. “We’ve been working so hard this season. We want to see all of our hard work just pay off.”

Laurie Rogers contributed 10 points and nine rebounds to the NSU total, while Rianna Fillipi finished with nine points and eight assists.

As a result, the Wolves (18-11 on the season) move on to take on Augustana at 11 a.m. Sunday in the quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon. Northern, which has now won five in a row, defeated the Vikings earlier this season. Following that contest, Augie went on a 10-game winning streak.

Augustana enters Sunday’s semifinal at 24-4 in coach Dave Krauth’s 34th and final season.

“They’re playing at home in a conference tournament in Krauth’s last year. I’m sure they’ve got a sour taste from the loss that they took here,” Krueger said. “They’re playing pretty well, but I would venture to say, the Wolves are playing pretty well, too.”

To see a complete box score, click on the following link:

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2022-23/upper-iowa/boxscore/13142