SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - In a battle of unbeaten teams, University of Sioux Falls had three players score in double figures in an 82-65 win over Winona State on Saturday evening. The Cougars maintain their unblemished record at 7-0 0verall with a 3-0 mark in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition.
Sam Knecht fought in the post with WSU's Kayla Timmerman, and while Timmerman would finish with a game-high 22 points, Knecht shot 6-for-10 from the field which led to a USF-high 17 points. The Cougars never trailed in the game, thanks in part to timely three-point shooting, and ran away to their sixth double-digit win of the season.
Alyson Johnsen was a big part of USF connecting on eight of its 16 three-point field goals and she started the game off with a corner three. The Warriors (6-1, 2-1 NSIC) would answer USF's surges early in the contest, tying it at 10-10, but the Cougars reeled off an 11-0 run with Jaicee Ulmer hitting one of her four 3-pointers and Knecht adding six points.
The USF lead would hover between seven and 13, mainly from Timmerman's first-half 16 points. Taylor Varsho and Teagan Molden finished the first half with seven and six points, respectively, and the halftime lead was ten, 41-31, after Ulmer and Johnsen both drilled threes later in the first period.
The Warrior reserves didn't score a point in the first half and no one managed more than five points beside Timmerman. The Cougars would finish with a 27-13 advantage in bench points as well as outscoring WSU 34-28 in the paint.
After five minutes of play in the second period, USF's lead was trimmed to seven points, 50-43, when Timmerman poured in six more points to reach her total of 22. A quartet of Cougar free throws halted the WSU surge before Knecht hit consecutive buckets and Ulmer rattled in a three to give USF a 61-45 advantage.
The USF lead never dipped below double digits again and Molden began to heat up for USF. The junior forward out of Montevideo, Minn. recorded ten second-half points by going 3-for-4 from the free throw line to push USF lead to 19 points before she was subbed out in favor of the USF reserves with the game safely in tow. Molden finished with 16 points on the night and Varsho would reach 12.
Haydn Becker drilled a baseline jumper which brought the Sioux Falls lead to its pinnacle at 20 points with a minute to play. Amber Paden was one bucket short of a double-double at eight points, but her 13 rebounds were a game-high and helped USF out-rebound the Warriors, 37-26.
The Cougars head to the road for their first weekend road trip of the 2014-15 season when they head north to face Minot State and University of Mary on Dec. 12 and 13.
