BISMARCK, N.D. - In a season where she seemingly sets a new record every week, Brittney Dietz added one more title to her belt as the University of Mary Women's Basketball team opened up their Alumni Weekend against the University of Minnesota Duluth.
 
Dietz finished with 21 points in the contest to set the NSIC single-season scoring record as she now has 463 points in conference games to surpass Minot State University's Carly Boag who finished with 460 back in 2013-14.
 
The Marauders (14-15, 8-13 NSIC) jumped out to an early lead on the Bulldogs (6-18, 6-15 NSIC) and had to endure a furious second half en route to an 81-75 win to get a great start on the final conference weekend of the regular season.
 
Both teams traded shots to start the game with Minnesota Duluth holding an early 11-7 edge in the first quarter, but an 8-0 run sparked by Dietz's driving layup put the Marauders on top at 15-11 by the 3:07 mark of the frame as Dietz bookended the run with a fast break layup. The Bulldogs knotted the score at 15-15 off a midrange jumper from Sammy Kozlowski and a fast break layup from Taylor Dillinger, but Dietz sunk the trey, Dani Williams made the driving layup, and Hannah Larson added a driving layup of her own to keep U-Mary ahead at 22-18 going into the second quarter.
 
U-Mary methodically built up their lead to 36-27 with 4:03 remaining in the first half, capped off by a Haley Hibbs perimeter shot, but the Bulldogs came storming back with an 8-0 run of their own to cut the Marauders' lead down to 36-35 with 1:54 left in the second.
 
Larson ensured U-Mary would have a comfortable lead as she started a 7-0 run with a driving layup with 59 seconds on the clock, followed up by a steal from Rachel Weir into a fast break layup, and capped off by a steal from Dani Clarke into a trey from Williams before the buzzer to put the score at 43-35 going into halftime.
 
The Bulldogs proved they would be difficult to shake in the contest as they opened up the third quarter on an 8-3 run to narrow their deficit down to 46-43 by the 7:31 mark of the frame. Dietz sunk a pair of shots from the charity stripe to keep Minnesota Duluth at bay, but the Bulldogs kept pushing the pace and eventually took over the lead at 52-51 with 3:33 on the clock with a fast break layup from Anna Monke.
 
U-Mary's offense failed to make a shot in the final three minutes but still managed to retake the lead on six shots from the free throw line, four from Dietz and two from Clarke, to inch the Marauders ahead on the scoreboard at 57-55 heading into the fourth.
 
Minnesota Duluth tied the score at 57 apiece with a running jumper in the paint from Monke, but it would be the closest they would get the rest of the way as U-Mary's offense kicked into high gear.
 
Ignited by a running jumper in the paint from Weir, the Marauders fired off a 16-4 run as they got 10 from Larson, four from Weir and two from Dietz to catapult U-Mary into a 73-61 lead by the 4:01 mark of the final frame.
 
Minnesota Duluth narrowed the gap down to 73-65 by the 3:23 mark, but the Marauders turned to the free throw line as they made six shots from the stripe, coupled with a jumper from Clarke, to hold on for the 81-75 win.
 
Brittney Dietz finished with 21 points to put her season total in conference games to 463, setting a new NSIC record in the process, and moved her career total to 1,793, merely five points away from tying Betsy Emerson's mark of 1,798 set from 1982-86. Dietz also finished with three rebounds, two assists and two steal in 35 minutes on the night.
 
Hannah Larson led all scorers with 23 points on 8-for-17 shooting from the floor, in addition to six rebounds, six blocks and four assists in 37 minutes played.
 
Dani Williams rounded out the trio as she was the third Marauder to finished with at least 20 points in the contest. Williams ended the game with 21 on a blistering 6-for-8 mark from the floor, including a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, to go with four assists, three rebounds and two steals in 34 minutes on the court.
 
Rachel Weir and Dani Clarke rounded out the starters as Weir notched nine points and three steals, while Clarke ended with four points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals on the evening.
 
The Marauders wrap up the regular season tomorrow night as they host St. Cloud State University starting at 4 PM.
 
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