SIOUX FALLS, SD (NSUWolves.com) – The Northern State University women’s basketball team dropped the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament to Augustana by a final score of 64-80. Wolves finish the season with a 10-19 record.

Augustana started the game on a 10-2 run before the Wolves answered with a mini run of their own to cut the lead to 7-12. The Wolves would trail by 10 heading into the second quarter. Jessi Marti hit a bucket with 33 seconds left in the second quarter to cap off a 10-3 run to end the quarter and trail by six heading into the intermission. The Wolves shot 44.8 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from behind the arc, and a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line.

NSU were out-scored 22-9 in the third quarter by the Vikings, and down 19 points heading into the final quarter. Northern State went on an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter but it was not enough, as the Wolves lose by 16. The Wolves shot 41.1 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from behind the arc, tallied 40 rebounds, 26 points in the paint, and 19 bench points.

Brianna Kusler led the Wolves with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, one block, and two steals. Lexi Wadsworth recorded 11 points, two rebounds, and one block in the loss. Jessi Marti tallied nine points, three rebounds, and three assists. Anika Fredrick in her last game for NSU tallied eight points, three rebounds, and two assists. Tori Mekash also played her last game for NSU, she finished with six rebounds in the loss.

Brooke Luitjens led the Wolves off the bench with eight points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Alayna Johnson picked up six points, two rebounds, and one assists in the loss. Kendall Kohler off the bench tallied three points, one rebound, and one steal. Zoe Hardwick recorded two points, and two rebounds off the bench. Joie Spier tallied five rebounds and one steal in the loss.

Tori Mekash and Anika Fredrick played their last game in a Northern State uniform. They were a part of teams that won the NSIC Tournament in 2016-17 and regular season champs in 2017-18. Qualified for the Central Region Tournament the past two seasons.