The University of Mary Marauders

BISMARCK, N.D. - Brittney Dietz was a force to be reckoned with in every phase of the game, and the University of Mary Women's Basketball team needed one extra period to keep Southwest Minnesota State University winless on the season.
 
The Marauders bounced back from a 23-6 Mustang run that bookended halftime to send the game into an extra frame and utilized a stout defense to secure the victory, 76-70 over Southwest Minnesota.
 
U-Mary struggled to get the offense going in the early portion of the first half, but they did have a 7-5 lead at the first media timeout thanks to some interior play from Dietz and Sloan Turner. The Marauders found their groove, though, and fired off an 8-2 run that gave them a comfortable 15-7 lead at the media timeout with Turner and Dietz again taking advantage of a lack of defense in the paint.
 
Both teams finally found their pace and opened up the scoring late in the first half but the Marauders were still on top 27-19 at the final media break in the half. Both teams traded baskets and U-Mary was on the plus end of a 30-23 margin, but the Mustangs finally found an offensive look that was tough to stop and started to chip away at the lead for the remainder of the half. Southwest Minnesota scored 15 of the final 17 points of the half and pulled the switcheroo on U-Mary to surge ahead 38-32 to close out the period.
 
Coming out of the break, Dietz did what she could to slow down the attack, but her two free throws to start the second half did little to stop the stampede of Mustangs as Southwest Minnesota kept the pressure up with back-to-back threes to stay on top 46-36 with 17:12 remaining in the half.
 
A key timeout from the Marauders gave head coach Rick Neumann the time he needed to make some small adjustments and the players responded with a 9-1 run to close the gap at 47-45 in favor of Southwest Minnesota.
 
The Mustangs maintained their lead at the first media break with a 49-45 advantage, but the Marauders kept crawling their way back into the game and tied the score at 50-50 with 13:02 remaining in the half. The Mustangs responded and held onto the lead at the second media break, 56-53, but the Marauders kept pace and never let Southwest Minnesota get too far away.
 
The Marauders employed a stalwart defense, however, and found themselves down by two at the final break, 64-62. U-Mary tied the score at 64-64 with 3:37 left on the clock off two free throws from Dani Williams, but the Mustangs responded with two free throws of their own. Dietz ensured that the lead would not stay and netted another crucial layup to tie the score at 66-66 with 3:08 left in the game.
 
Hannah Larson put the Marauders ahead with a layup of her own with 1:27 remaining, but the Mustangs responded in kind only 25 seconds later to keep the score tied at 68 apiece. Southwest Minnesota had a chance for a game-winning shot but the Marauder defense forced a shot clock violation after a missed Mustang shot bounced off the bottom of the backboard. With four seconds left, U-Mary had their chance with an inbound play underneath their basket, but Dani Clarke missed the shot and the game went into overtime.
 
Both teams struggled to score the first points of the extra period but Southwest Minnesota got the first points of the frame off a layup with 3:37 remaining in the game.
 
It was the last lead the Mustangs would see.
 
Dietz capped off her night with a clutch three-pointer to put the Marauders ahead at 71-70 with 2:35 remaining, Larson added a layup of her own to extend the lead to 73-70, Haley Hibbs put the score out of reach with a free throw to make it 74-70, and Larson secured the win with two final free throws of her own. The final score was 76-70 in favor of U-Mary.
 
Dietz had been unusually quiet in the past few games, but she made a statement tonight with 28 points on 12-for-21 shooting. She grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists, stole the rock four times and even added a block in her 45 minutes of action.
 
Larson cooled off a bit from last week's games but she still managed 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, four rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in 28 minutes played.
 
Turner finished the game with eight points, six rebounds, and a staggering four blocks, three of which came in the first three minutes of the game.
 
Hibbs maintained her all-around play with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes played.
 
Dani Williams provided the spark off the bench as she finished with eight points and two assists in 36 minutes on the court.
 
The Marauders (4-6, 2-2 NSIC) will play their last home game of the 2014 calendar year tomorrow night when University of Sioux Falls comes to Bismarck.
 
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