MOORHEAD, Minn. - A quick start in the first quarter seemingly put the University of Mary Women's Basketball team in control of the game, but a slow start to the third quarter sent U-Mary into an unrecoverable tailspin as Minnesota State University Moorhead came out on top.
 
The Marauders (8-9, 2-7 NSIC) saw their lead disappear in the last five minutes of the opening period, and the Dragons (9-3, 6-3 NSIC) gave U-Mary a dose of their own medicine by allowing only seven points on two field goals in the third and cruised to the eventual 75-58 decision.
 
Dani Williams had the hot hand in the early goings of the game as she recorded eight of the Marauders' first 10 points of the night on a jumper, two free throws, and a shot from downtown, coupled with a Dani Clarke perimeter shot, that put U-Mary ahead with a 10-5 lead by the 7:13 mark of the opening frame. Brittney Dietz ensured they would remain in the lead as she made the next seven points off a three-pointer of her own, a fastbreak layup, and two free throws to maintain the cushion at 17-14 with 3:47 remaining.
 
The Dragons tied the score at 17-17 off three straight free throws and took the lead away from U-Mary on a perimeter shot from Drew Sannes at the 2:23 mark for a 20-17 lead. Yet Williams single-handedly kept the score close for the Marauders as she tied it up with another shot from beyond the arc, to go with two more free throws in the final minute, that set the score at 24-22 favoring the Dragons heading into the second.
 
MSU Moorhead started to pull away with back-to-back layups in the paint to start the period, but Dietz wouldn't let the Dragons get away so easily as she added a running jumper to go with another trey at the 6:46 mark to keep U-Mary hot on the Dragons' heels at 28-27. A pair of three-pointers from MSU Moorhead proved to be rather destructive as the lead ballooned out to 34-27 with 5:41 left in the half, and the scoring drought struck early as U-Mary managed three field goals through the rest of the half that allowed the Dragons to extend their cushion to 43-34 at the break.
 
The lack of scoring continued to plague the Marauders at the start of the third as they missed their first four shots of the quarter while another pair of three-pointers gave the Dragons a commanding 49-34 lead at the 8:22 mark. Williams finally broke the scoreless streak with a driving layup with 6:20 to play, but the next field goal wouldn't come until 2:17 remaining on a three-pointer from Haley Hibbs. Meanwhile, MSU Moorhead methodically built up a 20-point lead and saw that lead through until the final period as the Marauders faced a 61-41 deficit heading into the fourth.
 
U-Mary couldn't chip away at the lead fast enough in the quarter as every shot they made was matched by the Dragons almost immediately, and the Marauders' last field goal of the contest came off a perimeter shot from Dietz at the 2:41 mark while MSU Moorhead closed out the game from the charity stripe en route to the 75-58 final score.
 
Brittney Dietz led all scorers as she is prone to do with 20 points on 7-for-19 shooting from the floor, coupled with three rebounds, one assists and one block, but faced foul trouble late in the game as she only recorded 31 minutes of play time.
 
Dani Williams provided a hand with 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting, to go with three rebounds, one assists and one steal in 33 minutes played.
 
Hannah Larson rounded out the trio with 12 points on a 5-for-11 mark, while adding three rebounds, three assists and one steal, but also faced foul trouble as she ended up with 30 minutes on the court.
 
The Marauders will head down to Aberdeen, S.D., tomorrow for a late afternoon matchup against Northern State University starting at 5:00 PM CDT.
 
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