GOLDEN, Colo. – With a last-second layup from freshman
Jasmine Harris, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball defeated Colorado School of Mines, 54-52, on Saturday evening. The Cougars improve to 2-1 on the season, splitting games at the Tony Corbetta Classic, which was hosted by Colorado School of Mines.
With just more than a minute to play, freshman
Lauren Sanders hit a three from the corner to give the Cougars a two-point lead, 52-50, but Colorado School of Mines (2-2) answered with a jumper in the paint. Sophomore
Kaely Hummel forced a turnover and USF had 4.3 seconds on the clock with the ball near halfcourt. Catching the inbounds pass from
Andi Mataloni, Harris drove hard right, absorbed contact from the CSM defender and her layup crept over the rim, falling through the net as time expired to break the tie and give USF a two-point victory.
USF's freshman backcourt duo of Harris and Sanders provided the Cougars with the final push for the victory, but it was an all-around team effort that was necessary for the win. Nine different players scored and senior
Moira Duffy's defensive work and rebounding efforts nearly resulted in a double-double. Duffy finished with career highs in both areas, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking an impressive seven shots, which helped USF's defense clamp down on the Orediggers and hold them to 29.3 percent shooting.
Still forming an identity as an offense, the Cougars shook off a slow shooting night on Friday and connected on nine 3-pointers as Hummel and Mataloni each finished with three. Hummel led the Cougars with 11 points and three other Cougars pitched in with nine. Harris had a balanced evening with nine points, six rebounds and three assists while committing just one turnover in more than 30 minutes on the court. Mataloni earned all nine of her points from behind the arc, connecting on three of her eight attempts from deep.
Providing a major spark from the bench,
Augusta Thramer scored nine points, seven of which came in the second half that helped USF build and preserve a lead. Sanders's clutch three brought her to five points and Duffy added four to go along with her key rebounding and defensive numbers.
Feeling each other out, the USF and Colorado School of Mines were deadlocked at 9-9 after the first quarter. Harris hit a three to open the scoring for the Cougars and three more Cougars each made two-point shots, while the USF defense force CSM into 4-for-18 shooting in the opening period.
The Cougars trailed by four points after a six-point run by the home team, but Sanders halted the run with a pull-up jumper in transition.
Mariah Szymanski followed with a key 3-pointer that gave USF the lead. A pair of
Mari Smitsdorff free throws expanded on that, but CSM again pulled ahead with a run. Seizing the momentum before halftime, Hummel hit her first three then Harris followed with two foul shots and USF took a 23-19 lead into the break.
USF really started rolling in the third quarter, using Duffy's defense to spark their three-point opportunities. Hummel scored five straight for USF with a layup and three, then a Duffy swat led to Mataloni's first three of the game. Hummel kept USF pushing ahead with the third three of the quarter, putting the Cougars up 34-27 less than five minutes into the quarter.
Thramer converted a layup and Mataloni answered CSM's jumper with her second three, giving the Cougars a double-digit lead. The USF advantage was cut to six points before Thramer set Duffy up for a layup that put USF up 41-33 entering the fourth quarter.
USF were able to answer the Orediggers' scores early in the fourth quarter, but a string of jumpers pulled CSM back in the game. Thramer scored USF's first five points of the final period, keeping them up seven, 46-39, with just more than six minutes left in the game. Harris found Mataloni at the top of the key for the sophomore forward's third 3-pointer of the game, which put USF back up eight with four minutes remaining.
After Mataloni's three, Colorado School of Mines scored nine straight points, hitting three jumpers to pull within one before Nicole Archambeau gave CSM a 50-49 lead with 2:02 on the clock. Proving their mettle in just their third collegiate game, Harris found Sanders for her three then Harris scored the buzzer-beating layup two possessions later.
Sioux Falls returns home to the Stewart Center for their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Opener when the Cougars host Southwest Minnesota State at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25.
