by Tom Froemming
November 17, 2005
Last December, the Minnesota State women’s basketball team had an offensive explosion against Viterbo University, winning 92-50 in the Taylor Center. Tuesday night, MSU grinded out a 65-58 win against Viterbo in La Crosse, Wis.
The team played a sloppy game, turning the ball over 28 times, but according to head coach Lori Fish, a win is a win.
“I’ll never complain about getting a win,” Fish said. “On our part, it wasn’t the prettiest way to get it done.”
MSU senior center Arin Andrews was forced to leave the game with a sprained ankle in the first half, but fellow senior Heather Peterson stepped up and carried the team, scoring 16 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists — all of which were team-highs.
“The next couple days, [Andrews] will live in that training room,” MSU head coach Lori Fish said.
The two-time All-NCC honoree expects to play in the Pepsi Tip-Off Friday and Saturday.
“I would say [my chance of playing is] 90 percent as of right now,” said Andrews after practice Wednesday. “Surprisingly, it does feel good ... it’s gotten a lot better.”
Junior guard Alanna Wahl chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and three assists in a team-high 36 minutes on the floor.
The Mavericks posted a plus-18 rebound margin and their defense held the V-Hawks to a 38.2 shooting percentage. MSU struggled to pull away, however, partly due to a meager 60.7 free throw percentage — a key aspect of MSU’s game because it doesn’t rely on three pointers, going 0-2 in the game from behind the arch.
“In tight games like [Tuesday night], it puts a lot more pressure on us when were not making our free throws,” Fish said.
Freshman Flecia Foster was a perfect four-for-four from the charity stripe and tallied ten points in the victory.
MSU hosts Wisconsin-Stout Friday and Minnesota-Crookston Saturday. Tip-off for both games is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Taylor Center.
