WAYNE, NEB. -- In a back and forth battle with #19 Wayne State, the University of Sioux Falls women's basketball team dropped a 76-74 decision in overtime before 764 in attendance at Rice Auditorium.

The Cougars, which received 22 points, five rebounds and four assists from Taylor Varsho, had a chance for the win but Jaicee Ulmer's shot was offline in the closing seconds. With the loss, USF fell to 15-8 and 11-8 in NSIC play. Wayne State, which made 9-of-12 free throws and just one field goal in overtime, won their 13th straight as they moved to 22-3 overall and 16-3 in the NSIC.

“We battled them tough but free throws and turnovers hurt us,” said USF head basketball coach Travis Traphagen. “We had a solid effort on the road but fell just short. I am might proud of the way we battled with Wayne State all night. We had our chances,” he said.

In the first meeting in Sioux Falls, Wayne State built a huge first half lead en route to 72-51 win. This time, the Cougars found more offense than that first meeting. USF rallied from a seven-point early deficit to take a 31-29 halftime lead when Varsho hit a three at the buzzer. Then, senior guard Jaicee Ulmer, who had 10 points, hit a jumper from the left side with 20 seconds left to force overtime. However, Wayne State had an 11-9 edge in overtime, including nine free throws, to take the win.

Also for USF, sophomore center Sam Knecht had 12 points and seven rebounds while Teagan Molden had eight points and a career-best 11 rebounds. Sophomore forward Alison Klostergaard also had 11 rebounds, tying her career high, for USF, which had a 54-to-45 rebound edge.

USF, which hit 24-of-65 field goals for 36.9 percent, was hurt at the foul line - hitting 19-of-29 for 65.5 percent - and with 22 turnovers. Led by Varsho's four three-pointers, USF was 7-of-32 from three-point range for 21.9 percent.

Wayne State was led by Millie Niggeling with 21 points while Jordan Spencer added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ashton Yossi had 17, including 7-of-8 from the foul stripe. Overall, the Wildcats were 22-of-64 from the floor for 34.4 percent, including 7-of-21 from three point range. They were 25-of-37 from the foul line for 67.6 percent.

Wayne State opened quickly, holding the Cougars scoreless and with a three-point shot from Niggeling took a 7-0 lead at the 15:54 mark. In the opening four minutes, USF had eight rebounds and five turnovers. Finally, USF's McKenzie Dahl broke the drought by hitting a jumper at 15:00 to stop the Wildcats opening run.

After the Wildcats took a 13-6 lead with 8:38 to play, USF had back-to-back three pointers from Varsho and Haydn Becker to draw within 13-12 at the 7:48 mark. Down six (20-14), the Cougars ripped off an 8-0 to rally to take a 22-20 lead on a layup from Maggie Malloy with 3:20 to play. The teams then traded baskets the rest of the half. In the closing seconds, Wayne State missed inside and Varsho hit a three-point field goal at the buzzer as USF took a 31-29 halftime lead. Varsho had 10 points to lead USF while Paden came off the bench to provide six points and five rebounds.

Early in the second half, Varsho hit a three with 18:34 for a 34-29 lead. But, Wayne State answered with a 9-3 run for a 38-37 lead with 15:18 left in the half. With about 12 minutes to go. Molden hit two free throws for a 46-44 lead. In the back and forth game, Wayne State grabbed the lead (53-51) on a three-pointer by Maggie Schulte with 6:20 to play. However, two free throws from Molden on the ensuing possession tied the game at 52 with 6:07 left. A little later the two teams started connecting from deep with Jaicee Ulmer's three with 3:57 answering one from Wayne State's Yossi who followed up a deep ball from Varsho as the Cougars led, 61-60. Once again, the home standing Wildcats answered with a 5-0 run. Then, Knecht scored inside with two minutes left to keep USF within, 65-63. Then after Wayne State faltered on offense, Ulmer's shot from the left side tied the game at 65 and forced overtime.

In the extra session, both teams struggled to score from the field but Wayne State took advantage at the foul line. After Knecht tied the game on a jumper at the 1:07 mark, Paige Ballinger hit two free throws for a 71-69 lead. Down four, Varsho was fouled beyond the three-point line and sank all three shots to keep USF within 75-74 with 12.4 seconds left. Yossi hit 1-of-2 free throws with 14 seconds to play  for a two-point edge but the Cougars were unable to answer at the other end and fell in arguably one of the best games in the NSIC this season..

On Saturday, USF will face rival Augustana at 4 p.m. from the Sioux Falls Arena.