HONOLULU, Hawai'i— The No. 19 University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball team started their trip to Hawai'i with a down to the wire, 70-60 victory over the Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans on Tuesday. The victory marks the first of three games for the Cougars in the Malika Sports Tour Oahu Thanksgiving Classic.
Leading the way offensively was senior Mariah Szymanski, scoring 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting (1-for-3 from beyond the arc), as well as four free throws (4-for-4). Seniors Kaely Hummel and Jessie Geer also helped the Cougars with 14 points a piece, and rounded out the double-digit scorers for USF.
Szymanski and graduate student Jacey Huinker took control with rebounds, with both of them recording five boards each.
The Cougars, as a team, took control on the fast break, as well as points off turnovers. 21 of the Cougars' 70 came off turnovers, whereas 15 points were collected from the fast break. The Cougars were also able to make some noise in the paint with 24 points.
The Bench also played a big part in the Cougars' offense,with the nine players off the bench registering over a third of the points (29).
Game Notes-
The Vulcans began the game with a hot start, reaching an 8-4 lead 2:44 into the contest. The lead for the Vulcans was short-lived, as the Cougars would answer the 8-4 start by UHH with a 9-0 run that allowed that to take control of the first half.
The second half remained a battle, with neither team separating from one another. Hilo got their only lead of the second quarter (21-20) from a three-pointer at the 7:06 mark, but the Cougars answered back with Hummel jumper 28 seconds later. With just under two minutes left, the Vulcans got to within two of USF (28-26) with a pair of made free-throws, but the Cougars once again answered back with a run of their own, with a Szymanski layup, off a Geer block, and a three-pointer by senior Andi Mataloni. Heading into halftime, the Cougars held a seven-point, 33-26 lead over Hilo.
In the third quarter, USF was able to keep at least a two possession lead over the Vulcans for the entirety of the third quarter, which included their first double-digit lead of the night. With 1:29 left in the quarter, Hummel hit a pair of free throws to give the Cougars a 10-point lead. The Vulcans were able to get a basket to go on the other end, but senior Lauren Sanders got the last basket of the quarter with a three-pointer, putting USF ahead 54-43 with 10 minutes to go.
The Vulcans erupted at the beginning of the fourth quarter, starting on an 11-2 run to get to within two of the Cougars. With only 3:54 remaining in the contest, Hummel started a crucial run for the Cougars with a layup that paired with Geer and Szymanski baskets to give USF a manageable 64-56 lead with under two minutes to go. After Hilo got two free-throws to go with :46 seconds left, they started to foul the Cougars in hopes of chipping away at the USF lead. The plan backfired, with the Cougars scoring their final six points at the charity stripe while containing the Vulcans to just a single layup to seal their 70-60 win over UHH.
What's Next-
The Cougars will return to The Shark Tank on Wednesday to take on the Hawai'i Pacific Sharks, whose court is being used for the classic. The game will pit the No. 19 Cougars with a Sharks team that looks to break the WBCA Top 25, much like USF did on Tuesday, after being one of the first teams excluded from the Top 25. The Cougars will look for another quality, résumé-building win against the Sharks.
