MANKATO, Minn. - For the second straight night, University of Sioux Falls women's basketball's comeback effort came up a few points short and the Cougars fell 78-72 at Minnesota State on Saturday evening. Suffering their second straight defeat, Sioux Falls drops to 13-5 overall with a 9-5 mark in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

A balanced effort by the USF on Saturday featured four starters in double figures led by Jaicee Ulmer with 17. Marie Malloy, Taylor Varsho, and Teagan Molden all scored at least 10 points, but the 16 Sioux Falls turnovers were turned into 18 Minnesota State points. The Mavericks (13-5, 10-3 NSIC) were paced by Sammie Delzotto, who hit five threes to record a game-high 20 points.

The Cougars didn't look ready to rebound after a gut-wrenching defeat the night before, but again Ulmer would be the catalyst for a comeback created from self-inflicted mistakes. Ulmer committed a pair of early turnovers which allowed Minnesota State to hop out to an 11-0 lead four minutes into the game, then she led the responding charge.

Varsho and Mackenzie Dahl connected on 3-pointers to break the scoring drought, yet the Cougars still struggled to limit Minnesota State from scoring. Down 15-6, Ulmer scored six of the next eight points, drawing USF within three points. She then added a second 3-pointer and a layup to reach 11 for the half and tie the game at 21-21 with 6:36 remaining.

The Cougars never grabbed a lead, and the Mavericks scored nine straight with Lexie Ulfers leading the charge to finish with 10 points in the first half. Moira Duffy gathered a rebound and converted the ensuing layup and Malloy hit a layup on USF's final possession of the first half, bringing the halftime score to 32-26.

Another slow start to open the second half set the Cougars back and a comeback became more difficult. MSU's lead was back to double digits in two minutes and reached a pinnacle at 50-35 points 13:53. Varsho and Malloy combined for eight quick points to cut it to seven, but the Cougars again struggled to keep the ball in their own hands.

Turnovers helped Minnesota State build a 14 point lead again just minutes later, and the Mavericks were in control by 13 points at 70-57 after Delzotto hit her final three-point field goal with less than three minutes left. Varsho connected on a layup to star the late push and Amber Paden hit her own to cut the lead to nine.

Malloy sank a pair of free throws drawing the Cougars ever closer, but with a minute to play the Cougars were forced to foul in order to extend the game. Aubrey Davis hit a pair of free throws, but Molden answered with a timely three. Getting the ball back after a missed Delsotto jumper, Malloy hit another two freebies and USF would draw within four, 72-68 with 46 seconds to play.

The Cougars lucked out when MSU went 1-for-2 at the line and Malloy cleaned up a pair of missed free throws with a layup after Alison Klostergaard's offensive board. One possession later, Malloy drew the Cougars within two points with another layup to cut the MSU lead to 74-72 with 21 seconds remaining.

Davis pushed their lead to two possessions by making her two free throws and the Cougars would turn the ball over with 13 seconds remaining. Davis then sank two more free throws and USF couldn't do more than shoot a three at the buzzer before the 78-72 loss was finalized.

The Cougars return home to the Stewart Center to host Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State on Jan. 30 and 31, respectively.