MINOT, N.D. - Sam Knecht's career-high 25 points erased and early deficit and helped push the University of Sioux Falls to 8-0 on the season with a 71-61 victory at Minot State on Friday night. The Cougars' eight wins to open the season matches the 8-0 start of the 2002-03 team which advanced to the NAIA Final Four. USF also improves to 4-0 in the NSIC and maintains tied atop the standings.
The start of the game wasn't a good indicator of how Sioux Falls would play. Minot State (5-4, 0-4 NSIC) opened the game on an 8-0 run and capitalized on USF's poor shooting to take an 18-8 lead less than seven minutes into the game. Knecht broke the Cougars' scoreless start, but it was the USF bench, specifically Jaicee Ulmer, who would lead them back into the game.
Ulmer scored four points less than a minute after she entered the game and spread the floor for Taylor Varsho and Teagan Molden to hit 3-pointers, which cut the Minot State lead to five. After Knecht re-entered the game, the Cougars were able to take control.
Three consecutive layups put USF within a basket and Ulmer delivered to tie the game at 22-22. A pair of Knecht free throws capped off an 8-0 run for the Cougars following the tie. With momentum on their side, Ulmer hit a 3-pointer and the Cougar first-half lead reached nine. Sioux Falls held onto their lead but a Katie Hardy triple for Minot State brought the score to 37-31 in favor of Sioux Falls.
Knecht's 14 points led all scorers after intermission and she needed just three more to match her career best. The Cougar lead never dipped below a single possession as Varsho started to heat up. The junior guard and leading scorer for the Cougars in conference play hit a three to push the USF lead to nine early in the half and Knecht answered an MSU layup to surpass her career-high.
Christina Boag began Minot State's comeback with a couple of free throws and a layup, which inched her towards her team-high 23 points. The Beavers crept within five points, 49-44, but that is the closest they would get as Molden and Marie Malloy answered with layups.
Molden scored six of her nine points in the second half and finished one point and rebound each short of a double-double. USF's lead reached its summit at 15 points when Ulemer's free throws preceded a Molden three at the 2:29 mark of the second half to bring the score to 69-54.
Knecht added a layup to reach her quarter-century mark to close the second half, and Minot State's time for a comeback had dwindled with their final seven points reaching a 71-61 final score.
The Cougars shot 45.2 percent on the night, including 6-of-13 on three-point field goals. However, the Cougars left several points at the free throw line, connecting on just nine of their 17 attempts for a 52.9 percent mark.
The Cougars close out their road trip with a 4 p.m. game at University of Mary on Saturday, Dec. 13.
