MANKATO, Minn. - The University of Mary Women's Basketball team faced a tough road test tonight against Minnesota State University, and a close contest turned into a runaway as the Marauders fell to the Mavericks, 85-64.
 
The Marauders jumped out to an early 9-3 lead on the Mavericks, but Minnesota State came right back to tie the game up at 9-9 by the first media break of the first half. The Mavericks tried to pull away but now it was U-Mary's turn to gain some momentum after fighting back from a 15-12 deficit to climb back on top 16-15 by the second media break.
 
The Marauders offense hit a rough patch en route to the third media break and the Mavericks took advantage of the lull in scoring and surged ahead 31-22 by the third media break. U-Mary fought tooth-and-nail, however, to keep the score close but remained on the bottom, 41-33, at halftime.
 
The second half started similarly to how the first one ended, as Minnesota State maintained a 10-point advantage by the 17:54 mark at 48-38. However, the Marauders battened down the hatches to climb back into the game as they pulled off a 9-1 run to close in on the Mavericks at 49-47 at the 15:18 mark of the second half.
 
Unfortunately, U-Mary's offense got stuck in gear as the Mavericks fired off a 23-7 run to extend their lead to 72-54 with less than eight minutes remaining in the game. The shift in momentum turned out to be too much for the Marauders as they ended up falling to the Mavericks 85-64.
 
Sloan Turner kept up her incredible pace as she earned 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field, her fourth straight game with double-digit points. She also finished with five rebounds, two blocks, and one assist in her 30 minutes on the court.
 
Hannah Larson proved effective in multiple phases of the game tonight as she finished with 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting from the field with a 2-for-4 mark coming from the perimeter. She also added seven rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and one assist in 28 minutes of action.
 
Haley Hibbs added some points to the board for U-Mary as she ended up with 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the floor with a 3-for-6 mark from long range. She also added three rebounds to her total in 28 minutes played.
 
Dani Williams got her fifth start in a row and responded with nine points on 3-for-5 shooting from the floor. She added three rebounds, three assists, and a block to her total in 31 minutes.
 
Brittney Dietz was key in moving the ball around as she finished with only seven points, but added six assists, four steals, two rebounds, and one block in 33 minutes of action.
 
The Marauders (8-15, 6-11 NSIC) have one more game on the road tomorrow as they take on Concordia University-St. Paul on Saturday, February 7.
 
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