Fort Lewis, ranked No. 7 nationally, jumped out to an early lead and kept the advantage for much of the first half, but No. 4 Minnesota State rallied for a 72-61 victory in the NCAA Division II Central Region women’s final Monday in Mankato, Minn.
Alison Rosel scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Fort Lewis (28-4), the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion. Minnesota State (29-2) got 15 points from Joanne Noreen.
The Skyhawks led by as many as six points early and led 26-24 after Rosel’s layup with four minutes left in the first half. But the Mavericks went on an 11-4 run to end the half and never trailed again.
FORT LEWIS (28-4)
Rosel 12-20 5-8 29, Kerr 4-13 0-0 12, Schreibvogel 2-4 3-3 7, Mackey 2-8 1-3 5, McCulloch 1-1 0-0 3, George 1-6 1-2 3, Paiz 1-1 0-0 2, Haugen 0-5 0-0 0, Jackson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-60 10-16 61.
MINNESOTA STATE (29-2)
Noreen 2-11 10-14 15, Johnson 4-9 3-4 12, Barber 3-4 0-0 8, Andrews 3-10 2-4 8, Moe 4-12 0-0 8, Korton 2-4 4-4 8, Foster 3-7 0-0 7, Walsh 3-6 0-0 6. Totals 24-63 19-26 72.
Halftime — Minn. St. 36-30. 3-point goals — Fort Lewis 5-16 (Kerr 4-10, McCulloch 1-1, Mackey 0-2, Haugen 0-2, Jackson 0-1), Minn. St. 5-17 (Barber 2-3, Johnson 1-5, Foster 1-2, Noreen 1-2, Walsh 0-1, Moe 0-4). Fouled out — George, Mackey. Rebounds — Fort Lewis 40 (Rosel 14), Minn. St. 44 (Noreen 7). Assists — Fort Lewis 12 (Rosel, George 4), Minn. St. 17 (Moe 5). Total fouls — Fort Lewis 21, Minn. St. 15. A — 2,039.
