BISMARCK, ND – A raucous crowd and stifling defense helped lead the University of Mary women's basketball team (16-11, 12-10 NSIC) to a dominant second-half performance in a 64-43 victory over the University of Minnesota Duluth (10-18, 8-14 NSIC) in the first round of the NSIC tournament.

The Marauders now advance to the NSIC quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, SD, where they will take on defending National Champions Minnesota State University, Mankato, at the Sanford Pentagon on Sunday, March 2, at 1:30 pm.

Bergan Kinnebrew was dominant, scoring 21 points as she shot 8-of-14 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. Chloe Pfau scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Addison Rozell and Moriku Hakim dominated on the glass. Rozell produced 11 rebounds, six points and one block. Hakim recorded 11 rebounds off the bench to go along with seven points.

The first half was about defense, with both teams struggling to score.. UMary held UMD to 3-of-16 (18.75%) shooting from the field in the first quarter to take an 11-10 lead. The Marauders extended their lead to 22-20 heading into halftime.

The difference between the two halves was three-point shooting. UMary went 5-10 from behind the arc in the second half after going 0-9 from three in the first half. The Marauders outscored UMD 17-6 in the third quarter to take a 40-27 lead. The offense continued to excel in the fourth quarter as UMary cruised to a 64-43 win.

The Marauders shot 21-of-59 (35.6%) from the field and 5-of-19 (26.3%) from behind the arc, while the Bulldogs went 16-of-58 (27.6%) from the floor and 0-of-7 (0%) from three.

UMary shot 17-of-22 (77.3%) from the charity stripe, while UMD went 11-of-17 (64.7%) from the free-throw line. The Marauders were great on the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs 48-35.

For more information on the NSIC tournament fans can go here

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