The Northern State women’s basketball team looked right at home in a venue that was foreign to most of the current players.
The Wolves took down Dakota State 89-66 in exhibition action Monday night during a Retro Night game at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.
Only two members on the NSU squad had ever played at the legendary facility, former Roncalli standouts Madelyn Bragg and Morgan Fiedler.
“Growing up in Aberdeen you know about the rich history that is Northern State basketball and you feel it, especially with all the people that used to play here and they’re all telling you how exciting it is that they get to come back and watch one more time,” Bragg said. “It was a really good feeling to come in here and play, and especially to get the W.”
The Wolves set the tone early by getting out in transition and quickly building a double-digit advantage. Northern scored 20 points in the first seven minutes of the contest as point-guard Rianna Fillipi pushed the ball at every opportunity.
“That’s what we’ve been practicing all preseason. We want to push the pace. We have all the people to do it,” Fillipi said. “We have a lot of returners. We have a lot depth this year. That’s not something we’re really used to, so we can get people in and out, quicker shots. It’ll be fun.”
Northern continued its torrid scoring pace throughout the first half, finishing with 49 points and taking a 20-point lead into halftime.
The Wolves then went on a 16-0 surge to start the third quarter, holding the Trojans scoreless for more than five and a half minutes.
“I thought really what set the tone was coming out in the second half when we got 10 straight stops. That was huge,” said Northern coach Paula Krueger. “Three stops in a row, we call it a turkey and we got three turkeys. That’s big to start the half.”
However, Dakota State did not go quietly. The visitors from Madison scored 10 unanswered points of their own and eventually sliced a 36-point deficit down to 74-54 with seven minutes remaining in the final period.
The Trojans repeatedly got into the lane, and eventually got to the free-throw line for 25 free-throw attempts. Krueger said allowing dribble penetration was part of the defensive strategy to prevent open three-point attempts.
“We wanted to push them off the 3-point line,” Krueger said. “It was matter of running beside them and making them finish through. I thought that we did a really good job of that. We kept our feet.”
Last year the Wolves struggled against teams that had potent 3-point shooters, including Southwest Minnesota State which ended Northern’s season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament.
“That’s exactly why we set up this exhibition. They play a lot like SMSU that’s in our league and we struggled with last year,” Fillipi said of the facing Trojans. “They shoot the three really well and they penetrate the middle. That’s one of our defensive focuses, and I thought we did a really good job of that tonight.”
Bragg led the Wolves with 20 points as Dakota State had its hands full with the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year. The junior often muscled her way inside for high-percentage shots.
“The coaches have really emphasized that I need to be more aggressive in the paint,” Bragg said. “My thing is the fade away, but they said I need to go at my defenders more, and then when that double team comes, look for my teammates, it will be open.”
Fillipi contributed 16 points, and Michaela Jewett followed with 15. Decontee Smith and Izzy Moore each finished with nine.
The Wolves now have a short break before hosting Pittsburg State on Friday, Nov. 8 and Nebraska Kearney on Saturday Nov. 9 at Wachs Arena.
“The teams that are coming in on the 8th and 9th are no slouches. … We’ve got out work cut out for us,” Krueger said.
To see a complete box score from the game, click on the following link:
https://nsuwolves.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2024-25/dakota-state-ex-/boxscore/13792
