The first winter sports in Northern State Athletics saw competition this past week with NSU men’s and women’s basketball each playing exhibition games.
The week of NSU Athletics kicked off when the women’s basketball team defeated Valley City State last Thursday night 60-53 from Wachs Arena. Northern found itself trailing at half 42-30, but outscored the Vikings in the third and fourth quarter 30-11.
Izzy Moore led the way with 12 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Morgan Fiedler and Taylor Tool each with 11 points. Telia Graham and Carli Kuyper each added 10 rebounds on the night.
Action for the Wolves continued Friday as the cross country teams competed in the NSIC Championships in Wayne, Neb. The women’s team finished ninth, led by Emaleigh Olesiak who finished 14th, earning second team all-conference. The men’s team finished 14th, with a top finish from true freshman Carter Faltau.
Wolves Soccer was also down in Wayne, defeating the Wildcats 2-1. Wayne got on the scoreboard first with a goal at the 22:42 mark. Just over 12 minutes later, Alexis Phillips tied the match. Chloe Voss then scored the game-winning goal at the 40:15 mark.
Northern then dropped its next soccer game on Sunday to Augustana University 2-1. The Vikings got on the board just 10 minutes into the game. Chloe Voss scored for the second time on the weekend to tie it up at the 18:51 mark. The match stayed at 1-1 until the 83rd minute when Augie broke through to secure the victory.
Wolves volleyball split on the weekend facing two ranked opponents. Last Friday, the Wolves dropped a 5-set match to #11 St. Cloud State. The Wolves took away the first set 25-23, dropped sets two and three by scores of 25-20 and 25-17, took the fourth 25-22, and lost the fifth 15-12. Natalia Szybinska had 18 kills, followed by 13 from Abby Brooks and 12 from Linnea Nesheim. Brooks tacked on six blocks.
Saturday, the Wolves defeated 23rd-ranked Minnesota State in four sets. They won the first set 25-19, dropped set two 29-27, and then put the Mavericks away in sets three and four 27-25 and 25-22, respectively.
Szybinska led the way once again with 20 kills, followed by Cara Cyr and Nesheim with 13 each. Nesheim also tacked on five aces in the match.
The women’s swim & dive squad took third at the Knight Invite in Jamestown, N.D. Jacie Flockhart qualified for nationals hitting the qualifying score for the 1-meter 11 dive in her first place finish.
Wolves football was able to stop the MSU Moorhead Dragons on an extra point in overtime to secure its third win in a row cappin their three-game home stretch. It was a shootout as 97 points were scored in the contest, with the Wolves outlasting the Dragons 49-48.
Going into overtime, the Wolves scored first thanks to Wyatt Block’s second touchdown of the night, a 12-yard run. A Jeremy Caruso PAT kick put the Wolves up seven points with Moorhead needing a touchdown to stay in the game. The Dragons got that touchdown on an 11-yard pass and then decided to go for two points to try to win the game. NSU’s Graham Borden knocked down a pass to give the Wolves the one-point victory.
Wyatt Block rushed for 192 yards for the Wolves, marking his fifth straight game of more than 100 yards. Daniel Britt tacked on 132 yards on the ground and 210 through the air along with two scores. Trey Birdsong finished with 132 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Cooper Logan led the way defensively with 10 tackles and one sack. Jeremy Caruso went perfect on the day going 5-for-5 on PATs and 2-for-2 on field goals, including a 23-yarder to tie the game with nine seconds left in regulation, which earned him NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Men’s basketball finished out the week for the Wolves with a 112-74 loss to Murray State in an exhibition game. Joshua Book led the way, scoring 14 points, shooting 50% from the field. Simon Akena followed with 13, and Marshawn Smith put up 10. The Wolves shot 42.4% from the field, 33.3% from the 3-point line and 50% from the free-throw line.
Wolves Athletics will continue at home on Halloween with soccer taking on Bemidji at 5 p.m. and volleyball taking on the 9th-ranked Concordia-St. Paul at 6 p.m. The volleyball squad will continue its homestand against Winona State at 2 p.m. on Saturday, and soccer will host Minnesota Duluth at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Wolves football will travel to Sioux Falls to take on the 5th-rated Augustana Vikings at 1 p.m. as the Wolves look to keep their playoff hopes alive. On Sunday, Wolves wrestling will be in action at the Jimmie Open in Jamestown. On Monday, Wolves men’s basketball will face another Division I program as it heads west to take on Wyoming in another exhibition contest.
