Bulldogs report: Big fourth quarter lifts No. 16 UMD to women’s basketball victory

ABERDEEN, S.D. — Senior forward Brooke Olson led four Minnesota Duluth players in double figures in scoring as the No. 16 Bulldogs pulled away for a 75-62 victory over Northern State Saturday in NSIC women’s basketball before 2,787 at Wachs Arena.

Olson added six rebounds and scored her points in just 24 minutes of action.

Taytum Rhoades added 14 points and Maesyn Thiesen and Madelyn Granica chipped in 10 apiece for the Bulldogs (20-3 overall, 17-1 NSIC), who only led 51-49 before outscoring the Wolves 24-13 in the fourth quarter.

Kailee Oliverson (16 points), Rianna Fillipi (13) and Laurie Rogers (10) also scored in double figures and all had at least five rebounds for Northern State (13-11, 8-10).

UMD outshout the Wolves 49% to 39% percent, including 60% (6 of 10) to 33.3% (5 of 15) in that pivotal fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs return home to play Mary in an NSIC game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Romano Gym in Duluth.

Sam Masten had 26 points, six rebounds and seven assists to lead Northern State to an 89-75 men’s basketball victory over Minnesota Duluth in a matchup of two of the top teams in the NSIC North Division before 3,651 at Wachs Arena.

Jacksen Moni and Jordan Belka added 17 points apiece and Josh Dilling had 15 for the Wolves (19-5 overall, 15-3 NSIC), who led 49-44 at halftime before outscoring UMD 40-31 the rest of the way.

Drew Blair and Joshua Brown scored 22 points apiece to lead the Bulldogs (16-8, 12-6), with Brown providing a spark off the bench, while Austin Andrews was also in double figures with 10 points.

Northern State outshot UMD 50% to 45% from the field and 94% (16 of 17) to 56.5% (13 of 23) at the free-throw line.

The Bulldogs return home for an NSIC game against Mary at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Romano Gym in Duluth.

Kat Burkhardt’s two-run triple in the top of the 11th inning lifted the Minnesota Duluth softball team to an 8-5 victory over Missouri Western State as the Bulldogs went 4-0 at the season-opening Mankato (Minn.) Dome Invitational at Maverick Sports Dome.

Burkhardt finished with two hits and three RBIs to lead the Bulldogs while Allyssa Williams allowed just three hits and one run in six innings of relief to earn the pitching win.

In Saturday’s early game, Ava Johnson scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning on Sidney Zavoral’s fielder’s choice, lifting UMD to a 5-4 victory over Lewis. Corrie Weise finished with three RBIs, including a two-run home run, and Williams pitched four scoreless innings of relief to earn the pitching win.

In late action from Friday, the Bulldogs opened the season with a 2-1 victory over Concordia-St. Paul in their season opener followed by a 9-2 victory over Northwest Missouri State.

Esko’s Dea DeLeon singled to score Burkhardt and Nicole Schmitt in the top of the seventh inning as the Bulldogs rallied from a 1-0 deficit to win their opener. Lauren Dixon went the distance, allowing two hits with seven strikeouts to earn the win.

Cloquet’s Kiana Bender had a three-run home run and added an RBI double to power UMD to the victory over Northwest Missouri State. Four Bulldogs pitchers combined to hold the Bearcats to six hits.

Next up for UMD is the St. Cloud Dome Invite next weekend in St. Cloud, Minnesota.