SIOUX FALLS – The No. 7 University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (9-1, 3-1 NSIC) suffered their first loss of the season to Minnesota Duluth (7-3, 4-0 NSIC), 84-74 at the Stewart Center on Friday night.

USF, which fell to 3-1 in league play and 9-1 overall, had a DII-program best nine-game winning streak to open the season end. It was USF's second straight loss to UMD, which owns a 5-3 all-time series lead.

"Give UMD a ton of credit. They came in and really shot the ball well early and made big shots at nearly every juncture of the first half and into the third quarter," said USF Head Coach Travis Traphagen. "At times, we hurt ourselves with a number of costly turnovers. I felt we battled but just couldn't find a good, solid run. We just need to learn from this and get after it tomorrow," added Traphagen, whose team will host St. Cloud State at 3:30 pm on Saturday (Dec. 14) at the Stewart Center.

The Cougars, which shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the field, had four players in double figures with Kaely Hummel supplying 15. Hummel, who was 6-of-12 from the field and made all three of her 3-pointers, now has 1,351 points and with three 3-pointers pushed that total to 219 in her career. She also reached double digits in points for the 73rd time in her career. USF also had 18 points from junior forward Anna Goodhope who added eight rebounds and two assists while senior guard Mariah Szymanski had 13 points and six assists. Szymanski, who has tied Lindsey Schneiderman for eighth on USF's all-time 3-point chart with 139 made treys, now has 42 games with double digit points. Sophomore forward Krystal Carlson chipped in with 10.

While USF (48.2 percent) actually outshot UMD (45.6 percent), turnovers proved costly as USF had 14 while UMD had just seven for a 11-0 margin in points off turnovers. The Bulldogs also finished with a 37-32 rebound margin.  Also key for UMD, which had 18 points from Katie Grow, was a 12-6 margin on the offensive glass. While USF had 9-of-19 from three-point range, UMD hit a blistering 10-of-18 for 55.6 percent.

After the Cougars jumped to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter, UMD took control with a 22-6 run and never trailed again. UMD took a 19-point lead (62-43) with 5:18 to play in the third quarter but USF continued to take runs at the visitors but could draw no closer than eight points.

SCORING RECAP –
At one point in the opening half, UMD was shooting over 60 percent from the field. However, they cooled off in the last few minutes but still hit 51.4 percent on 18-of-35 shooting. UMD was led by 14 points from Sarah Grow. Meanwhile, USF, which had a 10-2 lead at the 7:44 mark of the first quarter after threes from Goodhope and Hummel, made 14-of-28 for 50 percent and 5-of-12 from 3-point range. Hummel had 10 points in the first two quarters.

After USF took the early lead, UMD answered with a 22-6 run to take a 24-16 lead at the first quarter break. UMD's run began with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 10 with five minutes left in the first quarter. Senior Jacey Huinker scored inside to end UMD's 8-0 run and give USF a 12-10 advantage.  However, that lead was the last of the game for USF. UMD had 15-2 run to open up a 24-14 lead with 35 seconds to go. Szymanski's driving lay-up cut the lead to eight (24-16) at the quarter break. In that opening period, UMD was 52.9 percent from the field on 9-of-17 shooting and made 4-of-7 from three-point range. USF was a respectable 7-of-14 from the field with 2-of-5 from 3-point range.

Early in the second quarter, Goodhope, who had five points in the first two quarters, made a driving lay-up to cut the lead to 24-18.  With 8:22 to play, Hummel hit a three to draw USF within 27-23 as she reached double digits and finished the half with 10 points. Again, UMD responded with a 12-3 run to take a 39-26 advantage after a Grow jumper in the paint. The Bulldogs pushed the advantage to 46-28 at the 3:05 mark before the Cougars had a late rally to tighten the game. After threes from Jessie Geer and Andie Mataloni, USF closed on an 8-2 run to pull within 48-36 at the halftime break. USF was 7-of-14 in the second quarter and made 3-of-7 from deep but UMD had two more field goals and made 9-of-18 for 50 percent to extend the lead.    

In the third quarter, UMD was able to open up a 62-43 lead (3:06, 3rd) but USF answered with five straight points which included a three from Szymanski to cut the lead to 62-48 with two minutes to play. At the break, UMD had a 66-52 advantage. In the third quarter, UMD was 7-of-17 for 41.2 percent and 2-of-3 from deep but USF hit just 5-of-13 for 38.5 percent and made 2-of-4 from 3-point range.

USF opened the fourth quarter with six straight points to draw within, 66-58 at the 8:42 mark. After UMD reclaimed a 71-58 lead, Szymanski hit from deep to cut the lead to 71-61 (7:53).  However, the Cougars couldn't cut the lead any further than eight points as UMD continually answered on the offensive end. UMD was just 6-of-16 from the floor for 37.5 percent and 2-of-4 from 3-point range but made 4-of-6 foul shots. Those shooting totals were good enough to hold off USF which made 8-of-15 for 53.3 percent in the quarter. The Cougars were 2-of-3 from three-point range and had a pair of foul shots.