After beating Minot State by more than 40 points one day ago, USF struggled to find the bottom of the net Saturday, but their stingy defense which was responsible for 20 Beaver turnovers helped the Cougars come out on top in a 62-58 nail bitter at the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. With the victory, USF extends its win streak to six and moves to 21-3 on the year. Minot falls to 10-14.
Similar to last night's game, the opening period was close, however this time it stayed that way throughout the entire first half which featured six ties and seven lead changes.
USF claimed the largest lead of the first half near the 18 minute mark, when Holli Aggen sank a 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 7-2 advantage. Minot fought back, taking the lead on three different occasions and maintained it going into the break, as they handed USF just their fourth halftime deficit this season. USF trailed 28-27.
With 20 minutes in the books, it was clear USF had to do one thing if they wanted to win and that was stop Minot's star forward Carly Boag, who accounted for 12 of the Beaver's 28 points. She also contributed to Minot's 23-19 advantage on the glass, as she tallied eight rebounds before intermission.
The Cougars seemed to find some rhythm in the second half and actually secured a seven point lead with just under nine to play, following a huge 3-pointer from Jamey Hofer, but three consecutive turnovers by USF and more Boag action helped the two teams secure an eighth tie of the game at 48-48.
Minot recaptured control with just over two minutes to play, when Morgan Klose split a pair of free throws to give the Beavers a 55-52 lead, but the Cougars would not back down in front of a home crowd.
Their comeback started with Alyssa Rushton. She scored a near impossible acrobatic runner in the lane to cut it to one and followed her basket with a monster rebound and put back, giving USF a three point cushion with 50 ticks left on the clock.
USF converted four consecutive free throws down the stretch to pull out their fourth win against Minot this season.
The two team's statistics were practically even across the board; however, USF outscored Minot 28-24 in the paint and converted 21 points off of Beaver turnovers, while Minot turned in 18 from the Cougars mistakes.
Carly Boag and Morgan Klose were the only two Beavers in double-figures. Boag, who was a headache all night for USF, recorded an unreal double-double with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Klose added 10 points and three steals for Minot.
USF also had two players finished in double-figures, with one recording a double-double. In her final home game as a Cougar, senior forward Jamey Hofer played a big part in USF's win. She posted 18 of her 22 point in the second half alone, including a momentum changing three late down the stretch. She was perfect at the line (7-7) and pulled down 11 rebounds to record her second double-double this season. Alyssa Rushton was the second Cougar with double-digits. She finished 6-10 from the floor to tally 10 points and five rebounds.
Next, USF heads to Las Vegas, Nev. to compete in the D2 Vegas Showdown Saturday and Sunday.
