SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The motto 'no lead is safe' is familiar to many involved with professional and amateur sports alike, and the University of Mary Women's Basketball team experienced that adage firsthand as they took on Augustana University this afternoon.
 
The Marauders (11-12, 5-10 NSIC) held a 17-point lead early in the third quarter, but the Vikings (16-5, 10-5 NSIC) mounted a furious comeback as they outscored U-Mary 60-33 in the second half for the 85-73 decision favoring the home team.
 
The teams traded baskets early on in the first quarter as the Vikings held a 10-8 lead with 4:35 remaining in the frame. U-Mary's offense found their stride, while the defense went into lockdown mode, as the Marauders fired off a 16-0 run to close out the quarter. Spearheaded by a barrage of perimeter shots, Dani Williams got things rolling with a mid-range jumper at the 3:33 mark to tie the contest at 10-10 and followed that up with the first three-pointer less than a minute later to give the Marauders a 13-10 lead with 2:38 remaining.
 
Hannah Larson added a mid-range jumper of her own at the 2:05 mark to extend the lead out to 15-10, Rachel Weir got in on the festivities with a trey of her own at the 1:28 mark and maintained the momentum with a steal and fast break layup just 15 seconds later for a 20-10 U-Mary lead at the 1:13 mark of the opening stanza.
 
Brittney Dietz capped off the run with a free throw with 46 seconds remaining and her own three-pointer with 12 seconds left to give the Marauders a comfortable lead at 24-10 going into the second quarter.
 
Augustana chipped away at the lead through most of the second as they whittled down the deficit to 30-22 with 5:26 to play, but the Marauders were resilient enough to match the Vikings through the remainder of the half and held a 40-25 lead at the break with Isabel Schmelzer's dual free throws to close out the frame.
 
U-Mary appeared to be in control of the game as Dietz added a running jumper to start off the third quarter to give her team their largest lead at 42-25 at the 9:49 mark. Yet the Vikings refused any talk of game over as they fired off a 17-3 run over the next six minutes of game time that cut the Marauders' lead down to 45-42 with 3:33 remaining in the quarter.
 
Dietz put a stop to the run with a trey at the 3:10 mark, but Augustana inched closer behind five straight points to put the score at 48-47 with 2:12 to play. The Vikings eventually tied the game at 50-50 behind a classic three-point play from Paige Peterson as she was fouled on the running jumper by Weir, and sunk the free throw with 1:37 left on the clock.
 
U-Mary rebuilt their lead to 54-50 in the final minute of the frame, but another three-pointer from the Vikings' Logan O'Farrell in the closing seconds kept the Marauders within a single possession to put the score at 54-53 going into the fourth.
 
U-Mary's offense came off the rails at the start of the final quarter as the Vikings opened up the period on an 11-2 run to seize the momentum and the lead at 64-56 with 6:24 remaining in the game. The Marauders got as close as 66-60 with 5:30 on the clock, but Augustana proved tough on their home court as they eventually won out at 85-73, sending U-Mary back below the .500 mark once again.
 
Brittney Dietz returned to form as she finished with 21 points on 8-for-18 shooting form the floor, in addition to eight rebounds and five assists in 39 minutes played.
 
Dani Williams added 16 points of her own on 5-for-12 from the field, to go with five assists, two rebounds and two blocks in 34 minutes on the court.
 
Hannah Larson recorded 13 points and five rebound before fouling out after 25 minutes on the court, while adding one block to her total that puts her at 151 on her career, three behind the top spot held by Shaunna Knife in U-Mary's NCAA history.
 
Rachel Weir notched 10 points and seven rebounds before also fouling out after 29 minutes on the floor, to go with two assists, one block and one steal.
 
Isabel Schmelzer made up for lost rebounds in Larson's absence as she finished with 10 to go with four points in 23 minutes off the bench.
 
The Marauders round out the two-week road trip with a visit to Wayne, Neb., tomorrow afternoon to take on Wayne State College starting at 1:00 PM CDT.
 
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