MARSHALL, Minn. – Relying on veteran performances, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball used big games from Kaely Hummel and Jacey Huinker to overcome Southwest Minnesota State, 69-54, on the road Saturday night. Beating the Mustangs for the second time this year, USF completes their fifth straight season sweep of SMSU and the Cougars improve to 7-2 this season with a 5-1 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
 
Hummel posted a game-high 23 points, her third 20-point game this season, and Jacey Huinker notched her first career double-double, scoring a career-best 15 points while grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. Both Hummel and Huinker were crucial to a trio of game-clinching runs. Spanning the end of the first quarter and start of the second, Hummel led a 19-1 run over eight minutes. Huinker hit a pair of jump shots in the end of the third quarter to help USF retake the lead with a 10-5 run. And for the final five minutes of the game, the Cougars out-scored the Mustangs, 17-5, en route to their sixth consecutive double-digit win over SMSU on the road.
 
USF shared the ball extremely well, assisting on 18 of their 27 field goals and all five USF starters had at least three assists in the game. As a team, the Cougars shot 38.6 percent (27-70) from the field and were 9-for-26 (34.6 percent) from behind the arc with Hummel hitting four threes and Lauren Sanders connected on three. Defensively, USF limited SMSU to 33.9 percent shooting and after allowing three threes in the final minutes of the second quarter, the Cougars held SMSU to 28.6 percent (6-21) shooting on threes.
 
A slow offensive start only prefaced the offensive explosion that Hummel led. The sharp-shooting sophomore guard hit a trio of 3-pointers as part of USF's 19-1 run to re-take the lead. However, it was Mariah Szymanski, who made her first career start, who sparked the run. Szymanski got a kick-out pass from Jacey Huinker and drilled a three to trim the SMSU lead to 15-12 with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
 
Just before the first quarter break, Hummel hit her first three to tie the game at 15-15 entering the second quarter. Hummel would not be denied to start the second period and it was USF's selflessness that helped the offense fly. Sanders found Hummel for her first three before end of the first quarter and Moira Duffy set up Hummel for her second triple for USF's first lead of the game. Huinker kept the Cougars rolling with jumper then Hummel took over.
 
Following a Mustang layup, Hummel's and-one layup extended USF's lead and put Hummel into double digits for the ninth time this season. Hummel kept cruising with a pair of free throws then she assisted on a Sanders 3-pointer to cap off the 19-1 run and give USF a 28-16 lead. SMSU broek up the USF spree with a three, but Hummel was quick to answer with her third three of the game. Szymanski and Augusta Thramer connected on jump shots to preserve USF's lead while SMSU connected on three more 3-pointers to cut the COugar lead to 35-31 at the half.
 
Both teams struggled in the third quarter and SMSU closed their deficit to two points by out-scoring the Cougars, 13-11, in the third period. With a six-point burst, the Mustangs took a 43-42 lead, but Huinker's jumper regained the lead for Sioux Falls and Hummel hit a jumper in the final minute to break a tie and give USF the 46-44 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
 
In the final frame, USF again used their unselfish passing to go on a run that featured five different players scoring. Of the nine field goals USF made in the fourth quarter, eight were assisted. Following two Huinker layups that SMSU managed to answer each time, Duffy scored her second basket of the game then Andi Mataloni drilled a big three for a six-point advantage.
 
Seizing the opportunity to close out the Mustangs, Hummel knocked in her fourth three of the night and Duffy followed with another layup to cap off an eight-point run that took just more than a minute. Finishing off her career night, Huinker sparked another run with her third basket of the period. Szymanski kept it rolling with a layup and Sanders hit two free throws then a three in the final minute to bring the Cougars to their 69-54 victory.
 
USF will host their final non-conference game of the season, welcoming Chadron State to the Stewart Center on Tuesday, Dec. 19, for a 6 p.m. game