"It's very important to start NSIC play with a win because wins in this league are hard to come by," USF head coach Travis Traphagen said, who is now 2-2 in conference openers. "There are definitely no nights off and any road win you're going to take.”

“We told our kids at halftime, this is the first time that a University of Sioux Falls basketball team has ever played a Northern Sun game so go down in the books as a win and our kids competed,” he added. “I'm very proud of them.”

The Cougars used a 21-3 run midway through the first half to seize control after the Mustangs jumped out to an early 7-2 advantage. Laura Johnson's three-ball kicked off the six-minute long surge. After the Mustangs missed a free throw, Johnson pulled down the board and dished it to a streaking Ulmer who connected from deep to tie the game at 8-8.  Mikenna Greathouse converted a transition layup to put the Cougars up 10-8 with 15:43 left in the half.

Three SMSU turnovers and solid rebounding kept the run going for Sioux Falls. Alyssa Rushton stole the ball and drained a three-pointer to put the Cougars in front 20-10 and Ulmer drove the lane for a 22-10 margin with 11:35 to play. SMSU continued to be one-and-done with shots on its possessions until the 10:01 mark of the half, when the Mustangs went on a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to three points at 27-24. The Cougars responded with a 10-point spurt with six points from McKinnis and four from Johnson, who went 4-for-4 from the stripe during the nearly six minute stretch. The Mustangs could not gain any ground and USF took a 39-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.

USF outscored SMSU 20-4 in the paint in the first half despite being out-rebounded by the Mustangs, 25-23. 

The Cougars struggled early out of the break, going 2-for-8 from the floor and committing three turnovers in the first four minutes of the second half. The Mustangs took advantage and went on a 15-5 run to get within two points at 44-42 with just under 13 minutes left in the contest. USF pushed the margin to seven points at 54-47 before McKinnis went on a personal 9-0 run, knocking down three jumpers and a trey in a two-minute span to give USF its largest lead of the game at 63-49 with 6:49 left to play.

“I'm so proud of Lauren; I'm pretty hard on her,” Traphagen said. “I put some pressure on Lauren and told her that we needed her, and she really came out and had some big hoops in the second half.” 

SMSU kept chipping away and trailed by just five, 68-63, before Chrissy Strassburg found Bailey Bouman for a 3-pointer from the right wing for a 71-63 advantage with 1:04 left to play and the Cougars never looked back.

The Cougars shot 38.5 percent from the field for the game, including 42.9 percent in the second half. They went 6-for-20 (30 percent) from the 3-point line. USF scored 34 of its 77 points in the paint, and took advantage of a slim 41-40 rebounding edge to score 16 second-chance points.

The Cougar reserves outscored their Mustang counterparts, 40-23 and are now 4-0 this year when winning the bench point battle.

Nine players on the Cougars' active roster saw time in the game with eight finding their way into the scoring column. Ulmer's 18 points led four Cougars in double figures as McKinnis had 17 and Johnson and Rushton joined them with 15 and 11, respectively. Johnson went 10-for-12 from the stripe and also grabbed 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Greathouse finished with eight points to go with six rebounds.

Alison Nagel led the Mustangs' offensive effort with 17 points on 7-for-19 shooting. Rebekah Rolling chipped in 15 points.

USF is back in action on Dec. 7, when they travel to Wayne State College.