BEMIDJI, Minn. - A putback layup from Teagan Molden with two seconds left, University of Sioux Falls women's basketball completed a comeback to earn a 70-69 road win over Bemidji State on Saturday night. The Cougars hold their spot in the NSIC standings at 15-7 overall, 11-7 in conference play, in fourth.
In his 200th game as a head coach, Travis Traphagen needed all 40 minutes to log a victory, pushing his career record to 127-73 in his seven seasons, all at the University of Sioux Falls.
Down 69-68, USF corralled a missed Bemidji State (6-17, 3-15 NSIC) jumper with 14 seconds remaining, and drove the floor with Taylor Varsho missing a layup seven seconds later. Sam Knecht missed a putback after grabbing Varsho's miss and Molden came in, snatched the rebound, and sank her game-winning layup with two seconds left on the clock. Bemidji State's half-court heave caromed off the rim to ensure the USF victory.
The Cougars were forced to play from behind for much of the game, due in part to the three-point shooting by Bemidji State. The Beavers hit 8-of-11 three-point attempts in the first half and reeled off a 13-2 run to take the lead 43-39 at halftime.
The Bemidji State lead reached eight points at the midway point of the first half, but USF was quick to tie it up three minutes later with a three-point play by Sam Knecht. The Beavers shooters quickly countered and pushed the lead back to eight before Jaicee Ulmer scored to make it the four-point margin at halftime.
Five minutes into the second half, USF tied the game after an Alison Klostergaard layup and Ulmer's three-point shot a minute prior. The teams traded blows for much of the half, reaching 11 ties until Varsho hit one of her four threes to give the Cougars a cushion.
Varsho's triple gave Sioux Falls a 58-56 lead with eight minutes to play ,but Bemidji State continued to stay close enough to strike. Molden and Varsho pushed USF's lead to five but Sierra Senske scored two of her game-high 16 points on free throws a minute later.
Tatim Sheely hit a layup with 2:30 left in the game, cutting the lead to one point, but Varsho answered with a 3-pointer. Two BSU jumper quickly erased that margin for the 12th tie of the game at 68-68 and 70 seconds on the clock.
Senske gave Bemidi State a 69-68 lead with 52 seconds left in the game and Molden turned the ball over 11 seconds later. Electing to not foul and knowing the 30-second shot clock would give USF a chance, Aimee Pelzer's jumper rimmed out and was grabbed by Molden for the rebound that started the Cougars winning sequence when it was passed to Varsho to start the break.
Varsho ended with 15 points with 11 assists for her third double-double this season, first with assists as the secondary stat. She nearly had a triple-double, leading the Cougars with eight rebounds. Knecht tallied 12 points and Ulmer finished with 10.
USF returns to action next weekend when they travel to take on Wayne State on Friday, Feb. 13 then face Augustuana in the Sioux Falls Arena on Saturday, Feb. 14.
