BISMARCK, ND – Six weeks ago the University of Mary women's basketball went on the road and picked up a win over Concordia-St. Paul. The Golden Bears returned the favor as the visitors knocked off the homestanding Marauders 53-46 in a meeting between two of the top teams in the Northern Sun.
The loss drops the Marauders (17-10 overall, 13-6 NSIC) out of a 3-way tie for second place in the NSIC to a 3-way tie for fourth place with St. Cloud State and Southwest Minnesota State. The Golden Bears (18-7, 14-6) jumped into 3
rd place.
With both teams locked in defensively and points hard to come by in the opening half, the largest lead was a 5-point UMary advantage at 19-14. The Marauders entered intermission leading 19-18 as
Lexie Schneider (11 points) and
Megan Zander (8) provided all the scoring punch for UMary.
The Marauders built a 5-point lead early in the second half but the Golden Bears used a 13-4 run to gain a 34-30 lead entering the 4
th period.
Soon down nine points, a pair of layups by
Ryleigh Wacha and a 3-pointer by
Mariah McKeever keyed a 10-1 run by UMary to close within 41-40, the closest the Marauders would come the remainder of the game. The Golden Bears hit 8-of-12 free throws in the final three minutes to hold off the Marauders charge.
Both teams shot 34% in the contest and were 3-of-13 on treys with UMary holding a 39-37 edge in rebounds. CSP used a +9 edge in turnovers to outscore UMary 17-7 in points off turnovers.
Schneider had her 12
th double double of the season with 16 points and 15 rebounds. The leading scorer in the NSIC also had two assists and two steals.
Zander also had 16 points and added seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Wacha chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Lauren Wilson led CSP with 14 points. Lindsey Becher added 11.
The Marauders next host the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs for Senior Day on Saturday, February 17, at 3 pm. The Bulldogs (16-8, 13-7) are one-half game behind the Marauders in the NSIC standings.
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