No. 4 UMD women’s basketball advances to the semifinals with win over Southern Nazarene

The race is on for the University of Minnesota Duluth women’s basketball as they have their eyes set on winning the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championship, but they would first need to get past No. 8 Southern Nazarene.

The Bulldogs led through two quarters until the Crimson Storm started making some noise and inching close to catching the Bulldogs around the halfway mark of the third quarter. In the 4th quarter, the Bulldogs continued their offensive and defensive run till the very game, winning 66-50. This was the Bulldog’s first NCAA Tournament win since the 2020-21 season when they defeated Emporia State 76-70 in overtime.

The game was played at a fast and tough pace, as Head Coach Mandy Pearson mentioned how her team needed to play the game at their pace. “I was just really proud because we talked about it right at the end of the second quarter, just slow down, make these plays, and I think we had three or four possession where they did that leading into halftime.”

Graduate Forward Brook Olson led the team with 32 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Maesyn Thiesen with 10 points and Taytum Rhoades with six points.The Bulldogs racked up 46 points in the paint compared to Southern Nazarene only shooting 30.

“It was a really fun game, and there’s always going to be runs in basketball, but luckily we just maximize ours to the fullest,” said Olson.

The Bulldogs will face off against Minnesota State in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championships on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Click here to see the full bracket.