WAYNE, NE – Clutch plays by Bergan Kinnebrew helped the University of Mary women's basketball team (9-5, 6-4 NSIC) bounce back in their 53-51 victory over Wayne State College (8-7, 5-6 NSIC).

With the game tied at 51-51, Kinnebrew drove to the basket and finished high off the glass with her left hand to give the Marauders a two-point lead with eight seconds left.

The Wildcats would get two opportunities to tie or take the lead. The first chance was stopped by great defense by Eden Fridley, who stayed in front of Tate Norblade as the shot went out of bounds. WSC would get another chance after a turnover by the Marauders. With just three seconds left in the game, the swarming defense of Ryleigh Wacha and Addison Rozell prevented the Wildcats from getting a shot off before time expired.

Kinnebrew finished the game with a team-high 14 points and brought down three rebounds. Wacha had nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

The Marauders received good production from their bench as Emily Jaenke scored eight points. Moriku Hakim posted seven points and seven rebounds off the bench.

UMary shot 8-of-13 from the field in the first quarter to take an 18-14 lead. The Marauders would go into halftime with a 30-25 lead.

The third quarter saw UMary hold an 11-point lead with 4:42 remaining. The Wildcats finished the quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the Marauders lead to five. The fourth quarter was tight as both teams exchanged leads, but great defense and clutch plays sealed a UMary victory.

UMary shot 19-of-55 (34.5%) from the field and 2-of-17 (11.8%) from three, while WSC went 13-of-54 (24.1%) from the floor and 6-17 from behind the arc.

The Marauders went 13-of-19 (68.4%) from the charity stripe and the Wildcats shot 19-of-24 (79.2%) from the free-throw line. UMary won the rebounding battle 46-37 over WSC.

The Marauders travel to Sioux Falls, SD, to take on the University of Sioux Falls on Friday, January 17, at 7:30 pm.

#marauders#