DULUTH, Minn. - Playing perhaps their best quarter of basketball all year, the University of Mary Women's Basketball team mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback against the University of Minnesota Duluth this afternoon.
 
The Marauders (11-11, 5-9 NSIC) faced a six-point deficit by the end of the third, but the defense sprang to life and held the Bulldogs (5-12, 5-9 NSIC) to three points in the final frame to earn the weekend split at 54-44.
 
U-Mary appeared to have their offense in gear early in the game as the trio of Brittney Dietz, Hannah Larson and Dani Williams combined for the first 11 points for the Marauders. Coupled with a Rachel Weir three-pointer and layup from Hayley Niles, U-Mary held a 16-8 lead by the 3:57 mark of the first quarter, followed immediately by a driving layup from Williams to extend the lead out to 18-8 with 3:31 remaining in the period.
 
Minnesota Duluth ensured the game would not get out of hand as they closed out the frame with eight unanswered points, cutting the Marauders' lead to 18-16 going into the second.
 
The Bulldogs put together another 14-3 run at the start of the second as U-Mary went cold from the field, missing their first seven shots of the frame and managed one free throw from Weir and two from Williams.
 
Williams brought a stop to the famine as she made the mid-range jumper at the 4:35 mark to keep U-Mary within striking distance at 30-23. Weir and Dietz narrowed the score further at 30-26 with 1:32 to go in the half, but the Bulldogs had the last say as they added two free throws of their own before the break to hold onto the lead at 32-26.
 
The Marauders came out of halftime with another mini-run of their own as they fired off nine points while the defense limited the Bulldogs to two for a 35-34 lead by the 3:09 mark, but the offense hit another as U-Mary failed to record a point during the rest of the frame while Minnesota Duluth added seven more for a 41-35 lead going into the final quarter.
 
Minnesota Duluth seemingly had a firm grip on the momentum as they extended their lead out to 44-37 at the start of the fourth, yet defense proved to be the catalyst to stop the scoring drought as the Marauders forced contested shots across the floor and held the Bulldogs scoreless through the remainder of the game.
 
Meanwhile, the offense took advantage of the stout defense as U-Mary slowly chipped away at the lead. Three points from Weir, paired with two free throws from Dietz, cut the Bulldog lead to 44-42 with 6:50 remaining in the game, and two more free throws from Larson at the 5:46 mark meant the game was tied once again.
 
Williams proved the go-ahead shot at the 5:13 mark as she nailed the perimeter shot to give U-Mary a 47-44 lead, a lead they would not surrender. The Marauder defense held the Bulldogs to a 0-for-13 mark from the field in the last 8:49 of game time while recording their last seven points from the charity strip to complete the comeback at 54-44 over Minnesota Duluth.
 
Hannah Larson provided the spark on both ends of the court as she recorded 15 points and 13 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the year in 26 minutes of play.
 
Dani Williams finished with 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor to go with three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 36 minutes on the court.
 
Brittney Dietz notched 13 points in the contest, 11 of which came from the free throw lines, to go with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in 40 minutes played.
 
Rachel Weir ended up with nine points, seven rebounds, two steals and one block for the all-around effort in 30 minutes as she added another start to her season total.
 
The Marauders will stay on the road next week as they pay a visit to Sioux Falls, S.D., on Saturday, January 30, to take on Augustana University.
 
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