Photo by Samantha Davis: Southwest Minnesota State University's Allie Haabala begins to drive toward the lane on Dec. 19, 2025, against Minnesota State.

DULUTH — The Southwest Minnesota State University womens basketball team came close to handing Minnesota Duluth its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference loss this season, but fell just short 69-65 on Saturday in the final minute after the Bulldogs hit a late 3-pointer that sealed the game.

The Mustangs and UMD were locked at 65 points apiece with 43 seconds remaining following a pair of free throws from Nicole Maenke. But, Grace Counts hit the 3-pointer with 14 seconds left on the clock for the Bulldogs, forcing SMSU to intentionally foul after the Mustangs missed a shot on the opposite end.

UMD made a final free throw to put the dagger on the win and prevail for the win.

The game didn’t see larger than a 10-point lead, obtained by the Bulldogs in the third quarter, as the two fought in a back-and-forth battle all 40 minutes.

Kylan Gerads led SMSU with 20 points, her fourth game this season scoring 20 or more, along with six rebounds. She shot 7 for 10 from the field and 2 for 2 from deep.

Nicole Maenke followed with 13 points, as did Maddie Thorfinnson with another 12 behind a team-high trio of 3-pointers. Elizabeth Wagner led the Mustangs with eight rebounds.

Both teams made 6 3-pointers, but UMD made a difference inside with 40 paint points to SMSU’s 28. The Bulldogs also had significant contributions from its bench with 38 additional points, while the Mustangs’ bench produced 10.

The Mustangs in return made a defensive impact between their five steals and three blocks, while UMD was limited to a pair of steals and one block.

Gerads hit two free throws to end the first half to cut SMSU into a 37-35 deficit.

UMD built an 8-point lead three separate times throughout the third quarter and eventually led 53-43, but the Mustangs fought back in the fourth on a 12-3 run to trail 58-55 with just over six minutes to play.

Allie Haabala grabbed a steal for a Gerads’ fastbreak layup to tie the score 63-63 with 2:29 to play, and again at 65 with two Maenke free throws prior to UMD’s 3.

Overall, SMSU shot 46% from the field and 6 of 15 from the perimeter. UMD finished the game shooting 46% and 6 of 17 from the arc.

SMSU moves to 8-7 overall and 6-4 in conference play, and currently sit in fifth of 16 teams in the NSIC standings. The Mustangs will next look to get back on track with a pair of home games this week, hosting Minot State [7-10, 4-6 NSIC] at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and UMary [14-5, 7-3] on Saturday at 7 p.m. Saturday’s game is slated to be a White-Out, with fans encouraged to attend the game wearing white.