WINONA, MN – Facing one of the Northern Sun's leading defensive teams, the University of Mary women's basketball team kept pace with #22 Winona State University early before fading late in a 65-47 road loss to the Warriors.
 
Held to one of their lowest point totals of the season, Mary (11-13 overall, 6-10 NSIC) shot just 38.3 percent from the floor with a 5-for-17 mark behind the arc. The Warriors (18-4, 13-3), the top shooting team in the NSIC, made only 44.6 percent of their shots but connected on 9-of-22 3-pointers.
 
Turnovers also proved to be a major issue for the Marauders, who lost possession of the ball 18 times to 11 for the Warriors. Winona State turned the Mary miscues into a 21-8 edge in points off turnovers.
 
Sharing the lead much of the first half before Tara Roelofs hit a trey with nine second left before intermission, the Marauders entered the locker room down 25-22.
 
The Warriors began to pull away in the third quarter, building an 11-point advantage at 39-28 before the Marauders dug in and charged back into the fray. Behind a 9-2 run started by a Hannah Larson 3-pointer, Mary whittled the deficit to four points.
 
Regaining its footing, Winona State started pulling away late in the third quarter and ended up outscoring Mary 22-8 until the end of the game.
 
Larson led the Marauders with 12 points. The senior all-conference player added four assists, three rebounds, two blocks and two assists.
 
Gabbie Bohl chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds. Rachel Weir scored nine points and Lauren Rotunda had seven.
 
Jenny Tuttle drained five treys and led WSU with 19 points. Roelofs added 12 points.
 
The Marauders return home to start a 4-game home stand against Sioux Falls on Friday, Feb. 3.
 
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