BISMARCK, ND – Power won out over finesse as the University of Mary found itself back in the win column with a 76-66 home win over Bemidji State University.
Gabbie Bohl led a quartet of Marauders in double figures with a team-high 23 points.
The Beavers poured in 11 3-pointers in 25 attempts while the Marauders connected on just 3-of-17 attempts beyond the arc. Mary offset the outside imbalance by outscoring BSU in the paint 44-22 to snap a four-game losing streak. The Marauders also finished the night 19-of-26 at the free throw line while the Beavers went 9-of-15.
On a night that featured just four lead changes and three ties, the Marauders began to pull away early in the third quarter.
Rachel Weir scooped up a missed Mary shot and laid it back in to break a 39-39 tie.
Hannah Larson doubled the Marauders lead with a layup on Mary's next possession.
Following a Beavers basket by Sierra Senske,
Lauren Rotunda scored in the paint on back-to-back layups for a 47-41 Marauders lead. A Bohl basket and two
Cassie Askvig free throws capped a 12-3 Mary run to push the Marauders out front 51-42.
Hanna Zerr closed the gap to 52-47 early in the fourth quarter before another Mary surge pushed the game out of reach.
Dani Williams connected on a 3-pointer and Bohl and Weir both scored inside to give Mary its largest lead of the night at 59-47 with just over seven minutes remaining. The Beavers managed to get within six points inside of two minutes remaining but the Marauders continued to respond.
Bohl finished 8-of-15 from the floor and 7-of-10 at the line. She also had three rebounds and a pair of steals.
Larson continued to stuff the stat sheet. In addition to 14 points, the senior forward had a game-high eight rebounds, six assists and five blocks.
Weir also had a strong all-around game. The senior guard scored ten points on 5-of-7 shooting, had seven rebounds, distributed six assists, made two steals and didn't commit a turnover.
Lauren Rotunda chipped in 10 points and three steals. Askvig made all six free throws and scored 8 points and Sawyer kluge drained two treys and added six points.
Tatum Sheley was 4-of-9 behind the arc and scored 25 points for the Beavers. Aimee Pelzer made 5-of-8 trey attempts to score 15 points. She also had six assists.
The Marauders improved to 10-12 overall and 5-9 in the Northern Sun with the win. The Beavers slip to 6-12 and 3-11.
Mary next plays at Upper Iowa and nationally-ranked Winona State on Jan. 27-28.
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