BISMARCK, N.D. - The University of Mary Women's Basketball team took to the court tonight in the first of two exhibition matches as the Marauders hosted fellow North Dakota school Dickinson State University. U-Mary played a steady all-around game and came away with a win over the Blue Hawks 73-56.
 
The first half had a bit of a hiccup for the Marauders as they gave up the first basket of the game off a three point shot at 19:03. U-Mary quickly rebounded and rallied off a 13-0 run over the next four minutes after some solid post play from Sloan Turner gave the Marauders seven points, Hannah Larson got off a few layups for four points, and Haley Hibbs netted a jumper for another two points to put U-Mary ahead 13-3.
 
The Marauders built a lead from there, only giving up eight points over the next eight minutes while utilizing solid ball movement to net 15 points of their own to go up 28-11, the largest lead in the first half for U-Mary. The Blue Hawks fought back to close the gap to 32-23, but the Marauders stayed comfortably ahead 36-23 at half.
 
Dickinson State capitalized off a U-Mary foul to begin the second half with two easy free throws narrowing the Marauders' lead to 36-25. U-Mary kept the pace up, though, and went on another big 10-2 run capped off by a three-point play from Dani Williams at 15:26 to keep the Marauders ahead at 46-27.
 
U-Mary systematically extended the lead from there, jumping out to a 53-33 then 63-37 advantage with 8:50 remaining the game. The Blue Hawks matched the Marauders shot for shot from that point and U-Mary coasted to an easy 73-56 victory in the first exhibition match of the year.
 
Turner led all Marauder scorers with 15 points, and she also added seven rebounds, two blocks and four steals in 22 minutes of action. She finished the game shooting 6-9 from the floor and 3-5 from the charity stripe.
 
Brittney Dietz was active as well with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and 24 minutes on the court. Dietz shot 2-4 from three-point range and finished 7-8 on the free throw line.
 
Larson was close to a double-double as she finished with nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and 19 minutes on the floor. She finished the game shooting 3-7 from the field and 3-4 for free throws.
 
Hibbs also had a good game with eight points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal and 25 minutes played. She shot 3-8 from the field and 2-6 from beyond the arc.
 
The Marauders will play their second exhibition match on Friday, Nov. 7, when they host Concordia College.
 
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