Box Score Minot, ND—Starting 0-for-8 from the field, the University of Mary women's basketball team found themselves in a 15-point hole to start the game. Minot State University (5-0, 1-0 NSIC) started the game 6-for-7 on its way to a 79-72 win over U-Mary (2-2, 0-1) in both team's conference opener.
 
Out scored by 17 in the first half, the Marauders controlled the second half shooting 50 percent from the field and going 5-for-7 from deep, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.
 
One of four players in double figures, Sophomore Brittney Dietz did her best to keep U-Mary in the game playing all 40 minutes, while scoring a game-high 24 points. Dietz set a career high in both three-point attempts and makes going 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.
 
Drawing the bulk of U-Mary's defensive attention, Minot State's Carly Boag scored 19 points, but was forced into five turnovers by the Marauders. Alisha Jones lead the Beavers with 20 points courtesy of a 10-for-11 shooting performance from the free-throw line.
 
It was nearly five minutes into the game when the Marauders finally broke through. Linda Murray, who finished the game with 16 points, scored inside to cut the deficit to 13. Lindsey Sand, who finished with 15 points, hit a free throw to close the gap to 12. However, after trading baskets on the ensuing two possessions, the Beavers responded with a 9-0 run as they hit three consecutive three-pointers to open their lead to 21. U-Mary scored the next four points, but Minot State held strong going into the break leading 43-26.
 
The Beavers took advantage of 13-second chance points and eight points off of turnovers in the first half. Eleven first half offensive rebounds for Minot State allowed them to attempt six more shots than U-Mary as they went 15-for-34 to the Marauders 9-for-28. U-Mary missed four free throws in the first half as Minot State connected on all seven of its attempts.
 
Looking to put an abysmal first half behind them, the Marauders did just that as they came out of the locker room with a 16-3 run to close the gap to four less than four minutes into the half. U-Mary shot 5-for-7 during the stretch including a perfect 3-for-3 from deep.  Forced to call a timeout, Minot State responded with a 7-0 run to open its lead back to 11. Down 10 with 11:08 left to play, the Marauders used an 8-0 run to close the game to within a basket for the first time since they trailed 2-0.
 
Waiting to strike, U-Mary was able to keep the game within two possessions and eventually cut the lead to one with 2:09 left to play on a lay-up by Murray. Forcing a Minot State miss, U-Mary had the ball with 1:50 left to play and a chance to take its first lead. However, a costly turnover gave the ball back to the Beavers, which eventually led to a lay-up with 1:16 remaining. Missed field goals on each of their ensuing two possessions forced the Marauders to play the foul game. Minot State went 4-for-4 from the line in the final minute to seal the victory.
 
Controlling the paint, U-Mary scored 18 points in the paint and held an 18-11 advantage on the glass. The Marauders outshot the Beavers from the field 50 to 41 percent in the second half and went 5-for-7 from deep to the Minot State's 3-for-8. However, Minot State held on by way of 15-for-18 shooting from the free throw line. The Beavers missed just three free throws the entire night to the Marauders 10.
 
Dietz scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the second half and Murray 11.
 
Grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds, Murray notched her second double-double of the season. In her first career conference game, freshman Hannah Larson reached double-figures for the first time scoring 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
 
U-Mary will be back in action next weekend as it hosts MSU Moorhead on Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.