SIOUX FALLS – Led by a career-high 24 points from senior guard Taylor Varsho, the University of Sioux Falls women's basketball team (5-0, 1-0 NSIC) opened their NSIC season with a dominating 74-42 home conference win over Southwest Minnesota State (0-4, 0-1 NSIC) at the Stewart Center.
The Cougars, which received votes in the most recent USA Today DII Women's Basketball Coaches Top-25 Poll, has opened 5-0 for a third consecutive season. A year ago, USF had an 8-0 start.
The Cougars, which defeated the Mustangs for the seventh time in eight outings at the DII level, jumped out to a quick 14-4 lead and were never threatened. USF led, 43-23, at halftime and built the lead to 32 points with 1:50 to play in the game.
“I will say this, we got out to a fast start,” said USF women's basketball coach Travis Traphagen. “We hit the boards hard and shot the ball well early,” he said.
Varsho, who is averaging 17.3 points per game, recorded her third 20-point outing of the season. She hit 10-of-15 shots from the field, including 3-of-7 from three-point range while adding six rebounds, five assists and six steals in 31 minutes of action. Varsho, who scored 21 points in the first half, matched her career best, also set against SMSU on Nov. 25, 2014, almost exactly a year ago.
Also for the Cougars, junior point guard Madi Robson had a season-high 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds. She was 5-of-5 from the field.
Overall, USF was 28-of-68 for 41.2 percent, although the Cougars hit 51.6 percent in the first half. On the night, USF made 7-of-23 three-point shots for 30.4 percent and were 11-of-16 from the foul line. Key to the game was the Cougars' dominance on the boards, owning a 51-33 edge, including 19-to-11 on the offensive glass. They also forced SMSU into 25 turnovers.
Meanwhile, SMSU was held to 29.8 percent shooting on 17-of-57 from the field. The Mustangs hit just 2-of-13 from the foul line. They were led by Hope Bonlander with 13 points and seven rebounds.
From the start, USF gained control as Amber Paden hit a pair of free throws for a 14-4 lead at the 4:13 mark of the first quarter. But it was a quarter controlled by the Cougars as Varsho scored 12 points to lead USF to a 22-13 advantage.
After SMSU cut the lead to 24-18 at the 9:25 mark of the second quarter, the Cougars answered. Using an 11-0 run, spurred by a Marie Malloy three-pointer and five points from Varsho, USF raced to a 39-20 lead.
In the third quarter, USF jumped out with the first six points to take a 58-32 lead after Varsho scored on a layup. A three point play by Robson with 3:10 left in the quarter extended USF's advantage to 28 points at 69-41. From there, SMSU was unable to sustain any offense surges as the Cougars picked up the conference win.
Next for USF will be a pair of games in Florida when they face Florida Tech at 11 a.m. on Nov. 27 and Embry Riddle at 3 p.m. on Nov. 28.
