BISMARCK, N.D. - A slew of three-pointers in the first half kept the game interesting, but the University of Mary Women's Basketball team couldn't keep the momentum going as the offense stalled in the second half and the Marauders dropped a difficult game to #6 Northern State University in a 73-56 loss.
 
The Wolves demonstrated why they are the premier team to beat in the Northern Sun as they opened up the game on a 15-0 run all the way to the first media break at 14:40. The Marauders are al to familiar with big runs and they responded with one of their own.
 
U-Mary rallied off a thorough 18-4 run that carried them all the way to 5:34 left in the half and the Marauders found themselves down 19-18. The Wolves broke their dry spell with a quick jumper, but U-Mary came right back down the court and fired off just one of their many perimeter shots to knot the score at 21-21 with 4:58 left in the half.
 
Northern State kept pulling away, however, and the Marauders did what they could to keep the score close, but the Wolves held onto a 31-27 lead going into halftime.
 
What's curious about the Marauder's first half performance is that not a single basket was made inside the three-point arc. U-Mary shot 9-16 from long range in the first half, a feat they haven't accomplished in nearly two years. The last time the Marauders were on this kind of pace was February 15, 2013, when they made 13 three-pointers as a team against University of Minnesota Crookston, but only six in the first half.
 
Unfortunately, the game still had a second half that needed to be played, and it was in the second half where the floodgates opened.
 
Brittney Dietz continued the Marauder's three-pointer pace in conventional fashion as she nailed a layup and drew a foul. Her free throw kept U-Mary close behind the Wolves at 31-30 and the Marauders were able to keep the score that close until the 15:38 mark.
 
Northern State turned the pressure up and extended their lead to 54-45 at the second media break. From there, they fired off a 15-1 run all the way to the 5:07 mark and kept the Marauders on their heels as the score was 65-46 in favor of the visitors.
 
With the offense stalling out, the Marauders eventually fell 73-56 to the #6 Wolves.
 
Haley Hibbs and Dani Clarke led the Marauders on the scoreboard tonight. Hibbs finished with 14 points, three rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals in her 34 minutes of action. Clarke also tallied 14 points and added four rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 27 minutes on the court. Hibbs finished shooting 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and Clarke followed suit with a 4-of-7 performance from long range.
 
Hannah Larson returned to form in the game as she finished with eight points, six rebounds, four assists, and one block in 38 minutes played.
 
Dietz found herself in foul trouble for a decent portion of the game but still managed six points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 31 minutes on the floor.
 
As a team the Marauders shot 13-for27 from the perimeter for a 48.1 percentage.
 
U-Mary (7-9, 5-5 NSIC) will head back out on the road next week as they take on Winona State University on Friday, January 16, and Upper Iowa University on Saturday, January 17.
 
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