BISMARCK, N.D. - Taking a quick breather from their NSIC foes, the University of Mary Women's Basketball team hosted Valley City State University tonight for the final non-conference game of the season.
 
The Marauders (6-4) dusted off the cobwebs on the offense as they built up a lead early in the second quarter en route to a convincing 66-42 win over the Vikings.
 
Both teams struggled on the offensive half of the court early on in the game as Valley City made the only basket in the first 4:29 of the game with the teams going a combined 1-for-14 from the field to begin the game. Hannah Larson recorded the first field goal at 5:31 to get U-Mary on the board as the teams traded baskets through the remainder of the quarter with the Marauders holding the edge at 14-13 heading into the second.
 
U-Mary's offense sputtered a bit at the start of the second frame despite a 9-2 run thanks to five points from Dani Williams, two from Brittney Dietz, and two from Larson to extend the lead out to 23-15 at the 4:09 mark, but the Marauders offense finally sprang to life to close out the half with 12 points in the final three and a half minutes for a comfortable 35-21 lead at the break.
 
Valley City opened up the third quarter on an 8-2 run, but the Marauders employed their stringent defense that limited the Vikings to five points in the final six minutes of the third while U-Mary methodically extended their lead out to 49-34 heading into the fourth.
 
The Vikings couldn't get within 14 points of the lead in the final frame as U-Mary gradually subbed out the starters in the final minutes en route to a 66-42 win to snap the two-game skid.
 
Brittney Dietz continues to shine for U-Mary as she led all scorers with 18 points on 7-for-16 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes played.
 
Dani Williams helped out on the offensive end of the court as she recorded 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting to go with six rebounds and two steals in 28 minutes on the court.
 
Hannah Larson had a hand in every phase of the game as she recorded six points, grabbed nine rebounds, stole two passes and swatted two shots in 22 minutes despite playing in foul trouble through most of the game.
 
U-Mary got 26 points from the bench led by eight from Haley Hibbs and seven from Hayley Niles.
 
The Marauders will head out on the road at the end of the week as they travel to Marshall, Minn., to take on Southwest Minnesota State on Friday, December 11, starting at 6:00 PM.
 
#marauders#