WINONA, Minn. - A hot start, a double double from Sloan Turner, and 11 blocks as a team weren't enough to secure the victory as the University of Mary Women's Basketball team fell to Winona State University tonight, 70-65.
 
Turner got the ball rolling for the Marauders as her layup to start the game kicked off a 14-6 run that lasted until the first media break of the first half. The Warriors struggled to find an answer for U-Mary's offense as the Marauders held onto the lead at the second media break with an 18-12 advantage over their conference opponent.
 
Unfortunately for U-Mary, the momentum started to shift to the home team and the Warriors finally tied the contest at 24-24 with 5:22 remaining in the first. The Marauders fired off a few baskets of their own before halftime but Winona State held on for a 31-28 advantage going into the second half.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Marauders fought to keep the score close as they Warriors maintained a 40-38 lead at the first media break of the second half. The Marauders finally got over the hill with a decisive three-pointer from Haley Hibbs at 12:26 to climb back on top 45-43, but the Warriors were quick to respond and got off a layup at 10:25 to regain the lead 48-47.
 
From there, Winona State built up a comfortable 62-56 lead by the third media break of the second half, and the Marauders narrowed the deficit down to 62-61 with 1:29 left in the game. Regrettably, that was as close as U-Mary would get as the Warriors got off a layup and four straight free throws to put the game away. The final score was 70-65.
 
Turner registered her second double double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the line. She also added two blocks in her 29 minutes of action.
 
Brittney Dietz inched closer to the 1000-point career mark with 17 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe. She also finished with four rebounds, four assists, and one steal in 37 minutes.
 
Hannah Larson had a busy night on all ends of the court with 12 points, five blocks, four rebounds, and two assists in 30 minutes played. She finished the game shooting 5-of-9 from the field, including a 2-of-4 mark from beyond the arc.
 
This is the third time this season that the Marauders have reached double-digit blocks. They recorded 12 against the University of Sioux Falls back on December 13, and 10 against University of Minnesota Crookston on January 2, along with their 11 blocks tonight.
 
The Marauders (7-10, 5-6 NSIC) will stay on the road tomorrow to take on Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa.
 
#marauders#