SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team suffered a heart wrenching 60-59 loss to #12 Winona State after a technical foul was called on the Cougars bench when fans rushed the floor at the buzzer following a go-ahead three-pointer by senior guard Taylor Varsho with less than a second to play.
With 4.9 seconds left, USF inbounded the ball, trailing 58-56. USF's Teagan Molden flipped the ball to Varsho who hit an NBA range three-pointer from the right of the key with under a second to play. When her shot went in and the buzzer sounded, fans rushed the court. After officials reviewed the play, they assessed a technical foul on USF, ruling fan interference. Then, WSU's Alexis Foley, who scored 25 points, hit both free throws for the lead and the win.
With the loss, the Cougars dropped to 12-3 overall and 6-3 in league play. Winona State improved to 15-1 and 8-1 in league play.
Varsho had 17 points, scoring 16 after halftime, to lead USF. She made 6-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three point range. Junior Alison Klostergaard had her second double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars, which had a 37-32 advantage in the second half. Also for USF, junior center Sam Knecht scored seven points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Overall, USF was 20-of-60 from the floor for 33.3 percent, including 7-of-25 from three point range and 12-of-20 from the foul line. USF, which had seven steals won the rebound battle, 40-36.
Winona State, which had 12 points and 10 boards from Hannah McGlone, hit 21-of-52 field goals, including 5-of-17 from three-point range. They were 13-of-17 from the foul line.
After USF opened on a 5-0 run, the Cougars struggled from the floor and Winona State answered with a 12-0 run and a 12-5 lead at 3:43 mark of the first quarter. USF's Marie Molloy stopped the run with a drive and score with 2:25 left in the first quarter. WSU took a 16-9 at the quarter break.
Early in the second quarter, WSU took a 20-12 lead on a three by Foley. Then, the Cougars responded with 6-0 straight points, including a three pointer from Teagan Molden, who finished with eight points and four rebounds. Molden's basket cut WSU's lead to 20-18 at the 5:41 mark. With 3:53 left, Madi Robson hit 1-of-2 FTs to continue 7-0 run and cut USF's deficit to 20-19. But the Warriors responded with six straight for a 26-19 lead at the 2:45 mark.
By halftime, USF had cut the margin to six at 28-22. However, USF hit just 8-of-31 for 25.8 percent, including 2-of-15 from three-point range. Alison Klostergaard had five points and six rebounds to lead Cougars. Alexis Foley scored 10 points to lead the Warriors, which made 9-of-26 from the field for 34.6 percent. They were only 2-of-9 from three-point range but held an 8-to-4 edge from the foul line. The Cougars, which had eight turnovers, had a 22-20 edge on the board, including 8-to-3 on the offensive glass, which led to a 10-4 edge in second chance points.
USF opened the second half on 8-0 run with a Knecht basket tying game and Varsho's first basket of night providing 30-28 lead with 6:10 to play. But Winona State had the answer with a 6-0 run for a 36-30 lead with five minutes left in 3rd quarter.
USF responded with six straight points, including a three from Varsho to tie game at 36 with 2:22 to play. After three quarters, USF took a 41-40 lead over Winona State after 2 frfee throws from Teagan Molden. Then early in fourth quarter, USF had a 43-40 lead before WSU had a 9-4 run and 49-47 lead with 6:28 to play. After Klostergaard hit a three, WSU answered with five straight for a 54-50 lead at the four minute mark.
In the final two minutes, the teams traded leads with a Varsho three provided a 55-54 lead at the 1:46 mark. A foul shot from Foley gave WSU a 57-56 lead and she added 1-of-2 free throws for a 58-56 advantage with four seconds left. Then USF went through the highs of a potential game-winning shot by Varsho and the lows of a defeat after a technical foul enabled WSU to pull out the win.
On Saturday, the Cougars will host Upper Iowa at 4 p.m. at the Stewart Center.
