The University of Sioux Falls women's basketball team opened their 2013-14 season with a narrow 66-63 victory over the College of Saint Mary on Friday night at the Stewart Center.
The contest counted as an exhibition for the Flames.
Sixth-year head coach Travis Traphagen is now 4-0 all-time against the College of Saint Mary.
The College of Saint Mary jumped out of the gate to a 9-0 lead as Deaundra Young either scored or assisted on four of the first five baskets.
The Cougars then slowly cut down the lead and a Taylor Varsho three-point shot with just over two minutes left in the first half gave USF their first lead of the game.
The game went into halftime tied with each team scoring 35 points. The Cougars struggled offensively in the first half, shooting 31.4% from the field while allowing the Flames to shot 51.9%.
The Cougars buckled down defensively in the second half as they forced 16 turnovers and held the Flames to 40.7% from the field.
With just under seven minutes to play in the game, the College of Saint Mary's Tiffany Anzalone hit her fifth three-point shot of the night to give the Flames a six point lead.
The Cougars continued to fight back, as they finished the game on a 12-3 run to earn the victory thanks to two three-pointers from senior Bailey Bouman and one from Taylor Varsho.
Varsho, a Colorado State transfer, had an impressive debut for the Cougars as she scored 19 points and grabbed 7 boards.
Laura Johnson also helped chip in for the Cougars as she scored 14 points and had seven rebounds. Johnson is currently 20 points away from joining the 1,000 point club.
The Flames Deaundra Young provided a presence inside as she came up three blocks short of a triple-double. Young scored 17 points, grabbed 13 boards and blocked 7 shots against the Cougars.
Tiffany Anzalone also made big contributions for the Flames as she led all scorers with 21 points.
13 players saw action for USF in the game with 8 of those players scoring.
USF will travel to Black Hills State next Friday with the game set to start at 8 p.m.
