MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State women's basketball team suffered a 78-61 setback to Minnesota State Moorhead on Friday night in the Minot State Dome, but all wasn't lost as the Beavers clinched the fifth seed in the NSIC Tournament with Northern State's loss at Mary tonight.
 
The Beavers drop to 13-14 on the season and 8-13 in NSIC play while the Dragons improved to a conference-best 22-5 (18-3 NSIC).
 
Leaders
Minot State
Mariah Payne: 14 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds
 
MSU Moorhead
Megan Hint: 19 points, 13 rebounds
 
How It Happened

• MSU Moorhead connected at 50 percent shooting clip in the first quarter, including knocking down five treys to take a 24-12 lead after the first 10 minutes.
• The Dragons maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second quarter as Minot State trailed 44-29 at halftime.
• Haley Hildenbrand hit a jumper after the Dragons opened the half with a score to keep the deficit to 15 before MSU Moorhead reeled off a 10-2 rally to stretch the lead to 56-33.
• Trailing by as many as 26 in the second half, three-pointers by Azaria Reed and Payne trimmed the Dragon lead to 13 with 3:16 left.
• That was as close as the Beavers would get as the Dragons notched the 17-point victory in the MSU Dome on Friday night.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Minot State shot 44.9 percent from the field, including 47.1 percent from beyond the arc while the Dragons connected on 49.2 percent of their field goals.
• MSU Moorhead outrebounded Minot State 35-24 and both teams committed nine turnovers apiece.
• Behind Payne's 14 points, Kari Clements and Azari Reed chipped in nine points each.
• Payne and Clements led the Beavers with five rebounds while Reina Strand added seven points and four boards.

 
What's Next
Minot State wraps up the regular season tomorrow afternoon, hosting Northern State on Senior Day at 3:30 p.m. in the Minot State Dome.