ST. CLOUD, MN - Despite a gritty defensive effort, another cold night of shooting hindered the University of Mary Women's Basketball team (13-10, 12-8 NSIC) in a 45-57 defeat to St. Cloud State (16-8, 13-7 NSIC) Saturday night. The win gives the Huskies a one-game edge on the Marauders for second place in the NSIC North standings, and also a first-round postseason bye as it currently stands.
The game began tight with a 16-15 score at the end of the first quarter. The Marauders ended the first on a six-point run with
Ryleigh Wacha and
Reese Wishart hitting big scores off of turnovers.
The scoring run extended to 8-0 after
Carly Kottsick started the second quarter with a layup, giving UMary a 17-16 lead. However, the Marauders then went nearly seven minutes without a score while Kelsey Peschel paced the Huskies with 16 points and four treys in the first half. SCSU entered halftime with a 32-23 edge.
UMary played a clean third quarter with only one turnover and
Julia Fitterer helped the effort with a trey and 5 points in the frame. However, UMary could only hit 2-12 for 16.7% in the third.
The Marauders continued to chip away in the fourth quarter, getting back within five points thanks to a big three-pointer by
Megan Zander with 3:31 left in the game. Katrina Theis would answer on the ensuing drives with a pair of scores, and two four-point runs would help the Huskies keep a comfortable distance down the stretch.
SCSU would hold on to win 57-45 in a high-stakes game with playoff implications. UMary shot 28.3% to St. Cloud's 40.9% and was outrebounded 44-27.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Megan Voit hit three treys for the team-high nine points. Voit also grabbed five rebounds and a steal.
Addison Rozell played hard for eight points, five rebounds, and a team-high three steals.
Julia Fitterer and
Moriku Hakim both added seven points off the bench.
UP NEXT
UMary Women's Basketball returns to the MAC Thursday, February 16 for their final home game against Northern State University (15-11, 10-10 NSIC). After Thursday's 7:30 pm contest, the Marauders will then close the regular season out on the road against MSU Moorhead Saturday, February 18 with a 5:30 pm tip-off.
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