The first six minutes of the second half proved to be pretty special for the Northern State women’s basketball team Friday night.

The Wolves not only outscored Wayne State 13-2 to break open a tight game during that stretch, Rianna Fillipi scored her 1,000th career point in the process. The point guard had team high totals of 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to help lead Northern to a 62-53 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory at Wachs Arena.

“We’ve struggled a lot in the third quarter,” Fillipi said. “You’ve seen it every single game. We don’t ever throw the first punch, so kind of relieving in a way to come out and throw the first one, and kind of get a cushion under us a little bit.”

Leading 36-32 at the half, Northern allowed just two points to start the third period, while producing 13 of its own to open 49-34 lead, a margin that never got under nine the rest of the game.

“We talked about starting the third quarter strong, getting a stop and a score,” said Northern coach Paula Krueger. “And we strung three or four scores together before they scored. That’s kind of what stretched the game apart.”

Four different Wolves scored to start the second half. Meanwhile, the Wildcats went 1 for 9 from the field during that pivotal stretch and never recovered.

“We did some good things on defense, but we didn’t give them any second chances during that stretch,” Krueger said. “It was one and done. So when we do that, and you score on top of it, that allows you a little bit of breathing room.”

The Wolves outrebounded Wayne by a whopping 47-30 margin. Rebounding is a statistic that has historically been a strong point for Northern through the years.

“That’s another thing we preach. Every drill is a rebounding drill,” Fillipi said. “That’s one of the things we take pride in, if we can beat a team 10-plus on the glass, we’re doing something right.”

As the Wolves were busy denying Wayne access from scoring, Fillipi gained access to the NSU record books with her milestone point coming on a drive to the basket with 5:52 left in the period.

“Coach said it in the locker room, that’s an elite club here at Northern State, because we share the ball and you see that with this team,” Fillipi said. “It doesn’t matter who scores, so to be a part of that 1,000-point club, in that elite club here at Northern, it’s pretty dang special.”

Krueger, a former point guard herself, knew it was special the day the former Lennox standout committed to come to play for the Wolves.

“It’s not an easy thing to come in and be the point guard for the point guard. She gets coached hard,” Krueger said. “It was a really big day for us in recruiting when she said this is where she wanted to go.”

Krueger said Fillipi is a team-first player and has made a big impact during her time at Northern.

“Its been really fun to watch ‘Rio’ grow, but the team to grow around her has been even more fantastic,” Krueger said, “and she would give all the credit to the people she plays with for sure.”

Madelyn Bragg added 15 points to the NSU total and Decontee Smith contributed 10 off the bench.

Northern, which improved to 11-4 overall and 7-2 in the NSIC, hosts Augustana at 6 tonight in another conference contest. The Vikings are just 4-10, but are coming off a solid win over Mary on Friday night.

“They’re coming with some juice and some energy. They know they’re better than what their record is. We know they’re better than what their record is,” Krueger said. “We’ve got to come out here and play solid (Saturday). It’s going to be a dog fight.”

To see a box score from Friday’s game, click on the following link:

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2023-24/wayne-state/boxscore/13348