Northern State overcame its shooting woes by collecting 20 offensive rebounds to help fuel a 64-46 women's basketball win over Southwest Minnesota State in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchup.
"That was obviously one of the keys," said Northern coach Curt Fredrickson. "When you miss 19 free throws, you should get a few misses and when you miss 38 shots, you should get a few misses."
It was Rachel Krogman who out-muscled and out-hustled the Mustangs for nearly every loose ball near the rim. Krogman finished with 19 points and a dozen rebounds, nine of the offensive variety.
"I knew coming in, if I worked hard enough I should be able to get a few," Krogman said. "I think that helped us out a lot. Obviously, when you're not shooting well you have to do something right."
The contest was close for most of the first half before the Wolves began to pull away. The host squad consistently got the ball inside where players like Krogman had their defenders pinned away from the basket. The entry passes resulted in either layups or foul shots and sometimes both.
"I've been trained since I was younger, just being able to post up like that," Krogman said, "swinging that leg around to get them pinned, so it's like an automatic for me."
Northern finished the night with 14 more rebounds than Southwest, a trend that has been a staple of Wolves' basketball for years.
"Rebounding has always been one of our key points every game," said Alison Kusler, who contributed 12 points to the Northern total. "For most of our games, we've rebounded really well and outrebounded teams and a lot of times that's why we've won games. To do that and play tough defense, that's what gets us through. We know the offense will come."
Fredrickson wonders just how tough his squad could be if it was able to combine a potent offense to go along with solid defense and rebounding.
"If we ever shoot the ball like we can shoot it and make some free throws, we could be a dangerous team," he said. "Man, we have to figure out a way to make free throws and we have to figure out a way to make layups."
The Wolves, 11-4 overall and 7-4 in the NSIC, will a get another chance to do that tonight when they host Sioux Falls at 5 p.m. at Wachs Arena.
"Tomorrow is our last home game for two straight weeks," Kusler pointed out, "so we have to do everything we can to protect our home court and get a win before we go back on the road for two weekends in a row."
SOUTHWEST STATE (2-14, 1-10): Mikayla Saathoff 1-3 0-2 3, Bree Holleman 5-11 1-2 14, Rebekah Rolling 3-8 0-0 7, Ellen Degler 1-4 2-2 4, Alison Nagel 3-7 1-3 8, Val Sahr 0-1 0-0 0, Megan DeRuyter 0-2 0-0 0, Jessie Watts 0-1 0-0 0, Hope Bonlander 2-9 0-2 4, Annessa Rosch 2-5 0-0 6. Totals 17-51 4-11 46.
NORTHERN STATE (11-4, 7-4): Devon Brecke 2-6 1-2 5, Alison Kusler 2-8 8-10 12, Megan Mutchler 2-10 0-1 4, Rachel Krogman 7-13 5-12 19, Sadie Stotesbery 2-7 2-4 6, Sami Smith 0-2 1-2 1, Kara Hofschild 2-2 0-0 4, Erin Rabenberg 0-0 0-0 0, MacKinzie Magner 0-1 0-2 0, Katrina Kjerstad 0-0 0-0 0, Sarah Hintz 2-5 4-6 8, Mykenzie Spaulding 0-1 0-0 0, Lauren Deadrick 1-2 1-2 3, Yvonne Freese 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-59 22-41 64.
Halftime score - Northern 32-24. 3-point field goals - Southwest 8-24 (Saathoff 1-3, Holleman 3-6, Rolling 1-5, Nagel 1-2, DeRuyter 0-2, Bonlander 0-2, Rosch 2-4); Northern 0-5 (Brecke 0-1, Mutchler 0-1, Smith 0-2, Magner 0-1). Total fouls - Southwest 28; Northern 14. Rebounds - Southwest 36 (Bonlander 7); Northern 50 (Krogman 12). Turnovers - Southwest 21; Northern 13. Assists - Southwest 9 (Saathoff 3); Northern 11 (Stotesbery 3). Blocked Shots - Southwest 3; Northern 4. Steals - Southwest 10; Northern 11 (Mutchler 3). Officials - Mike Gullingsrud, Mike Kolness, Brad Sylliaasen. A-1,513.