The Sioux Falls women's basketball team's game tonight
against Southwest Minnesota State was very different from its NSIC opener against SMSU on Dec. 1.
In their first matchup versus the Mustangs, the Cougars used
multiple scoring runs, including a 21-3 spurt, to seize control and stymie any comeback by the Mustangs.
It was the exact opposite situation this evening as SMSU (2-13, 1-9 NSIC) went on an 18-4 second half burst to upset
USF (8-6, 5-5 NSIC) at home by a 66-52 score.
The win is SMSU's first NSIC victory of the season and also snapped the Mustangs' 10-game losing streak.
Chrissy
Strassburg finished 10 points and was the lone double-digit scorer for
USF, which shot 32 percent and hung around
early by going 4-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first half. But the
Cougars had no answer after halftime for SMSU's Bree Holleman and Alison
Nagel, a duo that helped the Mustangs lead all second half.
Both
teams got off to a slow start, putting up only five total points in the
first four-plus minutes of the game. Mikenna
Greathouse hit a mid-range jumper to put USF in front 2-0 before a
grueling three-minute stretch where both teams went scoreless. The
Cougars missed their next six shot attempts while Southwest Minnesota
State posted a 10-0 run aided by turned back-to-back
USF turnovers to jump in front 10-2 at the 14:12 mark of the first half.
A
three-pointer by Jaicee Ulmer ended the scoring drought and after
Strassburg hit a pair from the stripe, the Cougars
drained three buckets in the paint to go up 13-12 with under nine
minutes to play. A Bailey Bouman three-ball would put the Cougars up
five but USF didn't have much else to cheer about as SMSU battled back
and used a Holleman jumper to tie the game at 25 at
the end of the first half.
After
intermission, Holleman knocked down a jumper to give SMSU the 27-25
advantage. Protecting a 33-31 lead with 15:25
on the clock, Holleman and Rebekah Rolling combined for a 7-0 run that
pushed SMSU's lead to 10 points. On the next possession, Holleman
muscled the ball up between two defenders, and in a blink of an eye SMSU
scored 10 in a row to push its biggest lead to
63-43 with 4:49 left.
The
Cougars got no closer than 14 the rest of the way. SMSU was able to
empty its bench late in the second half and every Mustang player that
dressed played at least two minutes.
USF was outrebounded 42-31 by SMSU, including 13-8 on the offensive glass. The USF bench was outscored for just the
fourth time this season as they were edged 21-20 by their SMSU counterparts.
USF finished 32 percent from the floor, 23.5 percent from three-point range and went 14-for-17 from the line.
Strassburg
paced the Cougars' production, finishing with a team-high 10 points
along with five assists and three steals.
Laura Johnson was held to seven points on 2-for-8 shooting and pulled
down a team-best six rebounds. Holli Aggen chipped in seven points while
Amber Paden had five.
The Cougars travel to MSU-Moorhead on Friday.
