BISMARCK, N.D. – Scoring the final eight points of the game, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball erased a late deficit and pulled out a 65-60 victory at University of Mary on Friday night. The Cougars push their record to 17-4 overall with a 13-4 mark in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, pulling them into a tie for first place in the south division.
 
Coming off the bench to lead the team in scoring, freshman Andi Mataloni hit five 3-pointers and finished with a career-best 19 points. Alyson Johnsen knocked down two threes and finished with 11 points while Madi Robson posted seven points and handed out seven assists in addition to four steals.
 
With Mataloni hitting two threes in the first quarter, USF raced out to a nine-point advantage just more than six minutes into the game. Mariah Szymanski answered a UM three with one of her own and Mataloni scored on a layup with Moira Duffy assisting both to give the Cougars a 20-13 lead after the first.
 
Two and a half minutes into the second quarter, U-Mary tied the game. Johnsen hit a jumper as USF's only basket in the opening stretches of the quarter. Szymanski connected on a second three to give USF a three-point edge and Mataloni followed with her third triple of the game the next possession. The Cougars seemed in control after building their lead back to nine points with threes from Robson and Kaely Hummel, but the Marauders scored 11 straight points to take a 36-34 halftime lead.
 
After taking the halftime lead, U-Mary would not relinquish it for the entirety of the third quarter. The Marauders built a six-point advantage three minutes into the second half and after a steal and score from Brooke Smith, Mataloni connected again from deep to cut the USF deficit to one point. Johnsen drilled her second three of the game and with a minute left in the quarter, Mataloni struck again from behind the arc, tying the game at 52-52 to end the third quarter.
 
The Cougars took their first lead in more than 10 minutes after Johnsen converted an and-one layup early in the fourth quarter, but U-Mary surged ahead with four straight points. Sam Knecht, who posted 10 rebounds, scored twice to keep the Cougars within one points, 60-59, with 4:17 to play.
 
USF's defense stymied the Marauders for the remainder of the game and the Cougars seized their late opportunity. Mataloni drove and hit a 10-foot jumper to give USF a one-point lead then Robson followed with a driving layup. After a steal on U-Mary's final possession, Robson hit two more free throws to ice the game and give USF a 65-60 win.
 
The Cougars continue their road trip at Minot State on Saturday, Feb. 4 with the tip-off set for 4 p.m.