FAIRBANKS, Alaska. - The cold-shooting Anderson women's basketball team opened play at the Mt. Mckinley Bank North Star Invitational with a 61-46 setback to Winona State Thursday night at the Patty Center.

Anderson shot a season-low 30 percent from the field, including just 25 percent in the final 20 minutes, as the Trojans slipped to 2-3 on the season at the event hosted by the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. AU dropped its second consecutive decision, while Winona State improved to 3-1 overall with its third consecutive win.

The Trojans opened the game by sandwiching a pair of 3-pointers around a jumper by Winona State's Abby Busch to gain an early 6-2 lead, as senior guards Alissa Diaz and Amanda Parris combined for the back-to-back treys.

But the Warriors countered to take their first lead, at 8-6 with 15:29 left in the first half on a 3-pointer from senior Katie Wolff and with Anderson holding a narrow 11-10 edge at the 14:27 mark of the half, Winona State went on a 16-4 run to open the first of two 11-point leads with less than seven minutes left in the first half.

Winona State pushed out to its largest lead of the half, 36-21, on a trey from Becca Friestleben with 2:27 remaining in the first half, but the Trojans refused to go away, trimming the Warriors' cushion to 38-28 at the break.

Anderson senior Tilde Ahlin drained her second 3-pointer of the frame with less than two minutes left, and after a jumper by Winona State's Busch, Diaz dropped in a layup and added a pair of free throws following a technical foul on the Warriors' bench.

Winona State was hot from the field during the first half, connecting on 54 percent (13-24) from the field, including 5-of-11 from beyond the arc and held a decisive 20-10 rebounding advantage at the break, pulling down six offensive boards.

Neither team was able to score for the first two minutes of the second half, with Winona State's Michelle Tobin breaking the ice with a layup to give the Warriors a 40-28 lead with exactly 18 minutes left in the game.

Anderson was scoreless for nearly the first five minutes of the second half, misfiring on its first five shots of the frame, with Ahlin snapping the drought with a layup at the 15:28 mark and Diaz followed with another layup to cut Winona State's lead back to single digits, 40-32, but eight was as close as the Trojans would get, as the Warriors scored seven unanswered points midway through the half to regain a 15-point lead with 9:15 remaining.

Diaz finished with a team-high 17 points, including 13 in the first half, and dished out a game-high five assists. Ahlin added 10 points and shared team-high rebounding honors with Breonda Shannon, as each pulled down six boards.

Wolff led all scorers with 19 points, with Friestleben netting 15 and Tobin chipping in 12 for Winona State. Tobin also grabbed 11 rebounds to notch the double-double.

Anderson continues action in the tournament by squaring off against the host Nanooks Friday night at 11:30 p.m. (Eastern).