SIOUX FALLS – Keyed by a hot-shooting first half and 20 points from Lauren Sanders, the University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (5-1, 3-0 NSIC) rolled to their fourth straight win with a 83-41 NSIC victory over Upper Iowa (2-7, 0-3 NSIC) on Saturday at the Stewart Center.

With the victory, USF finished off a league home stand at 3-0 as the Cougars pushed their record to 5-1. In addition, the Cougars retained a spot at the top of the NSIC South standings at 3-0.

"We really came out and played with a lot of intensity right away," said USF Head Women's Basketball Coach Travis Traphagen, who collected his 100th career home win (100-29). "After an emotional win last night (61-60 over Winona State), we came out fast and built a lead against a solid team. I am very pleased with our effort tonight," he said.

Sanders, who had 20 points for the second time in her career, also had seven rebounds. She made 7-of-11 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from three point range. Also reaching double digits in scoring for USF was sophomore guard Kaely Hummel with 14 points and freshman guard Jasmine Harris, who added 12 points, four steals and two rebounds. Junior forward Jacey Huinker had a solid all around performance with a game-high 12 rebounds, five points, five assists and two steals.

USF, which scored 80 points for the second time this year, opened the contest with a blistering shooting performance in building a 29-9 first quarter lead and building on it throughout. In the opening quarter, the Cougars hit 78.6 percent from the field on 11-of-14 shooting. After a 23-11 edge in the second quarter, USF led 52-20 at halftime and the matter was decided.

Besides the outstanding shooting from Sanders and crew, USF also applied shutdown defense. For the game, USF had a commanding 47-34 advantage on the boards while forcing 16 turnovers with 10 steals. For the second time this season, USF had 15 or more three-point field goals as the Cougars connected on 15-of-36 for 41.7 percent.

After the Peacocks opened the game with a trey, USF ripped off 19 straight points, including 12 points from Sanders, to take a 19-3 lead at the 3:58 mark. In that opening salvo, the Cougars hit 7-of-9 from the field while clamping down on defense.   Later with 1:28 on the clock, Andi Mataloni who finished with eight points, drove into the lane and hit a jumper followed by a three for a 26-6 lead (:55). Hummel jumped into the fray with a three with seven seconds to play for a 29-9 lead, which they took to the break.
 
Early in the second quarter, Hummel had a pair of free throws and Sanders knocked in her fourth trey as the Cougars built the lead to 36-12. Later, Harris connected from deep as lead grew to 45-16 with under four to play. A three from Harris in the final minute and two free throws from Huinker with less than a second to play accounted for the final points as USF led, 52-20 at the break.

Overall, USF hit 18-of-31 shots for 58.1 percent in the first half to open up the 32-point lead. Sanders had 17, including 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the three-point line. Hummel added nine points while Harris added eight. The Cougars also had five points, four assists and nine rebounds from Huinker.

On a breakout early in the third quarter, Huinker found a sprinting Moira Duffy for a fast-break lay-up as the Cougars pushed the lead to 54-20. With five straight points from Hummel, the Cougars pushed the lead to 61-22 with 6:07 left on the clock. Harris had a steal and basket for a 65-24 lead with 3:37 to play in the third quarter. USF, which hit just 7-of-18 shots in the third quarter, outscored UIU, 18-14 to take a 70-34 lead at the break.

After a three from Sanders and a jumper from Szymanski, the Cougars pushed the lead to 76-37 with six minutes to play in the fourth quarter. After that, Traphagen replaced the starters.  When Amanda Dagostino converted inside in the final minute, USF finished off the scoring at 83-41 with their eighth straight win over the Peacocks.

Next for USF will be a road trip north where the Cougars will face St. Cloud State on Dec. 8 and Minnesota-Duluth on Dec. 9.