ABERDEEN, S.D. – The University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball team felt the full effects of "I Hate Winter Night" as Northern State handed the Cougars a 74-46 loss on the road Friday night. Sioux Falls snapped a four-game win streak and fall to 13-6 on the year with a 10-5 mark in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, placing them in third of the NSIC south division.
 
An early scoring drought let Northern State (17-4, 12-3 NSIC), who is receiving votes in the WBCA Top 25 Poll, build a double-digit lead that the Cougars couldn't claw out of on an off shooting night. USF connected on 37.7 percent (20-53) of their shots from the field and, despite shooting 40 percent on 3-pointers, they attempted a season-low 10 threes. Kaely Hummel willed her way to double-digit points, tying with Mariah Symanski for a team-high 11, as Hummel extended her streak of scoring in double figures to 19 games.
 
Northern State, however, made half of their field goal attempts, going 32-for-64 in the game and matched USF with a 4-for-10 effort on threes. Post player Miranda Ristau took nearly half of NSU's shot with 25 attempts and she finished with a game-high 27 points.
 
Moira Duffy got plenty of action on both ends of the floor as she was matched up with Ristau and she tied her career high with 10 points. Defensively, Duffy expanded on her NSIC-leading blocked shot total, swatting six NSU attempts. Despite the lopsided score, Jacey Huinker showcased her relentless hustle and picked up eight rebounds while handing out a team-high three assists.
 
USF jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Szymanski opened the scoring with a 3-pointer then Huinker and Hummel followed with a pair of mid-range jumpers. The remainder of the first quarter was all Northern State as the Wolves closed on a 13-point run to take a 17-7 lead through the first period.
 
Hummel snapped that run with a 3-pointer to open the second quarter and Szymanski kept pace with NSU, knocking down an Augusta Thramer-assisted jumper to cut the Wolves' lead to six points. Northern State quickly turned their lead back to double digits, with a 12-1 run before Szymanski knocked in her second 3-pointer, but the Cougars were behind 30-16. Six unanswered points pushed NSU's lead to 20 before Andi Mataloni connected on a three and Huinker scored on a layup just before halftime where USF trailed 36-21.
 
Northern State opened the second half on another big run, a 13-2 burst in which Duffy was the only Cougar to score. Trailing 49-23, Hummel scored the next six points for USF which helped them close the quarter on a 10-4 run. Thramer hit a tough layup and Duffy followed with a nice left-handed finish, both coming off Huinker passes.
 
Down 53-33 entering the fourth quarter, Sioux Falls fell victim to Northern State's fourth double-digit run to start the final period. Duffy hit a jumper after two scoreless minutes for USF, but NSU still strung together an 11-2 run. Relegated to jump shots with Northern State's strong interior defense deterring USF's post play, Szymanski, Duffy, and Lexi Saugstad managed to answer with a trio of jumpers. Closing the Cougars' scoring for the game, Mari Smitsdorff made a nice finish through contact on the block and hit the ensuing free throw to bring the final score to 74-46 in favor of the Wolves.
 
Sioux Falls wraps up their four-game road trip when they face MSU Moorhead on Saturday, January 27, at 4 p.m. in Moorhead, Minn.