SIOUX FALLS - Behind an outstanding defensive effort and timely three-point shooting, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball defeated Augustana, 75-57, to win the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament championship. The Cougars earn the NSIC's automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament, which is held on March 11-14 by the No. 1 seed. The NCAA Division II Women's Basketball selection show will air on Sunday, March 6 at 9 p.m. CT, where the Cougars will find out what seed they earned with their 27-5 record.

Taylor Varsho, Sam Knecht and Alison Klostergaard were named to the All-Tournament team with Varsho collecting tournament MVP honors to sweep the NSIC postseason awards with her NSIC Player of the Year honor earned last Thursday. The victory gives the USF athletic program their first NSIC title in any sport as they are in their fourth season as a member of the 16-team athletic conference.

Sioux Falls' stout defense held Augustana to 16-for-66 shooting, a 24.2 percent mark, in the game and limited the damage by allowing just four 3-pointers by the Vikings, who had hit double-digit threes in their previous two games.

On the other end of the floor, USF was clutch with their long-range shooting, led by NSIC three-point record holder Taylor Varsho knocking down five of her seven attempts from behind the arc. She finished with a game-high 21 points and flirted with a triple double as she handed out seven assists and grabbed eight rebounds.

Klostergaard was key in the Cougars' second-half push, using a flurry of and-ones for 18 points and a 6-for-7 effort from the free throw line. Marie Malloy's on-ball defense carried over from USF's win over Northern State in the tournament semifinal and she finished with a critical eight points off the bench to pair with a pair of rebounds, and a steal and assist each.

The Cougars trailed 29-26 at halftime with Varsho's nine first-quarter points helping them stay within reach. After the break, USF cranked up their defense and outscored Augustana 29-8 to build an 18-point lead through three quarters.

Varsho connected on two more threes to score eight points in the decisive third quarter. Klostergaard and Molden both added eight points each in the third as USF shot 9-for15 and 3-4 from behind the arc to put the game away.

In the opening quarter, Varsho went 3-for-3 from behind the arc to lead the Cougars to a 15-11 lead after the first 10 minutes of action. AS the Cougar offense was clicking with Varsho's long-range threat stretching the Augustana zone, she picked up her second foul and the Vikings used a pair of threes to take back the lead in the second quarter.

USF stretched their lead to eight points early behind two Sam Knecht layups before AU's Allie Koehn knocked in a pair 3-pointers to erase the USF lead. Sophie Kenney hit a layup for the Vikings and Koehn followed with her second three to help Augie to a six-point lead before Klostergaard converted one of her three and-ones of the game.

Taking the lead back on USF's first possession, Molden hit a baseline jumper to spark a 12-2 run in the first three minutes of the quarter. Klsotergaard connected on another old-fashioned three-point play, while Molden was fouled on a three and converted all three of them. Varsho capped the run with a fast break layup off a touch pass from Molden, who received a deep throw from Malloy.

Varsho again connected from behind the arc after the teams traded free throws to give USF their first double-digit lead. Molden followed the next possession with her only triple of the game and Varsho replicated that with her fifth three of the game. As Augustana tried to respond, USF answered every shot, holding a 55-37 lead after three quarters.

Sioux Falls stretched their lead to 20 points right off the bat with a Varsho layup. Marie Malloy answered Augie's layup with a three from the corner to give USF a 21-point advantage. Four minutes later as USF's lead dropped to 16, seniors Malloy, Molden, and Varsho combined for five points to push the lead back to its largest at 21 points, 70-51.

Converting free throws down the stretch, the Cougars were in complete control. As the PA announcer informed the crowd of 2,987 fans that one minute remained, the Sioux Falls faithful erupted with joy of winning the first conference title since USF joined the NSIC four years ago.