WAYNE, NEB. – Kaely Hummel scored 20 points and Mariah Szymanski converted three foul shots in the final 27 seconds to lead the University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (21-7, 16-6) to their eighth straight victory in a 77-72 road Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division win over Wayne State on Saturday.

With the victory, the Cougars clinched the No. 2 seed in the South Division with a 16-6 record. The Cougars, which tied a program-DII best mark with its eighth straight win, finished a game behind Concordia St. Paul at 17-5 in the South Division.  As a result, the Cougars will host Minnesota Crookston at 5:30 p.m., at the Stewart Center on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in the opening round of the NSIC Sanford Health Postseason Tournament.

"This was an example of what hard work does for you," said USF Head Coach Travis Traphagen, who has led USF to five 20-win seasons with three in the past four seasons. "Wayne State made a number of runs at us but we came up with some big shots. Kaely (Hummel) had a great game and it was good to see Gloria (Mulumba) come up with some huge inside baskets. It was a great win to close the season," he said.

For the first time since the 2015-16 NSIC title winning season (Jan. 16, 2016 to Feb. 12, 2016), USF has recorded eight straight victories. The Cougars, which stand 9-4 in road games, have registered 21 wins or more for the third time in four seasons.

For the first time in the program's DII era, USF has defeated Wayne State in consecutive games as Hummel had 20 points for a second straight night. A junior from Cherokee, Iowa, Hummel had her 62^nd career double-digit scoring game and for the 14th time surpassed 20 points. She hit 6-of-13 field goals with four-of-11 from three point range.  Hummel moved into 16^th on USF's all-time scoring list with 1,144 career points. Against WSC, she also had four rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes.

USF also had 10 points, three rebounds, block, steal and assist from junior Gloria Mulumba. Sophomore Anna Goodhope added nine points, a team-high 12 rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Jessie Geer provided nine points, two rebounds and hit both of her three-point field goals.

The Cougars, which built as large as an 11-point lead in the third quarter (7:12, 3^rd), led for the entire game although the Wildcats made several runs at the lead.

After one quarter, USF took a 19-to-16 advantage and with an 18-to-12 second quarter moved to halftime with a 37-28 lead. The Cougars were outscored 18-to-15 in the third quarter and led, 55-49. WSC also had a 26-to-25 margin in the final quarter and cut USF lead to three points with 15 seconds to go (75-to-72) but Szymanski's free throws iced the game.

USF, which shot a game-high 57.1 percent (8-of-14) in the first quarter, finished at 43.9 percent (25-of-57) for the game. They made 9-of-28 from three-point range and 18-of-22 at the foul line.  USF was hurt by turnovers (14) and fouls (26) as WSC used a 32-of-36 mark at the foul line to stay close. USF had six more field goals and seven more three pointers but were outscored at the foul line, 32-to-18.  The Wildcats had a double double of 25 points and 12 rebounds from Brittany Bongartz and 14 points from Erin Norling.

Game Breakdown
With a jumper from Goodhope, three-pointer by Geer, and lay-up by Krystal Carlson the Cougars opened up a 7-2 lead with 8:08 to play in the first quarter. After USF led, 11-5, WSC scored five straight with Haley Vesey's three cutting the lead to just one point (11-10, 4:40, 1^st quarter). Mulumba provided five inside baskets as the Cougars took a 19-14 lead with 31 seconds left to play in the quarter.

Hummel hit a three and Augusta Thramer made a lay-up as the Cougars extended their margin to 24-16 with 7:43 to play in the second quarter. Vesey hit another jumper to keep WSC close at 26-20 with 4:48 to play. A lay-up by Halley Busse of WSC cut USF's margin to 31-28 (1:54, 2^nd quarter) as USF had its ninth turnover of the half. However, Hummel knocked in a three at the 1:27 mark as the Cougars led, 34-28.  USF added a free throw from Geer and an inside lay-up by Kiara James for a 37-28 lead with 24 seconds left in the quarter.

In the third quarter, Hummel's third triple of the game helped USF take a 43-32 lead over WSC with seven minutes to play.  Late in the third quarter, WSC cut the lead to 50-44 after two foul shots by Bongartz. At the break, USF had a 55-49 margin.

Lauren Sanders, who had eight points on the night, and Hummel hit back-to-back threes as USF led, 58-48, with 8:22 to go in the final period. With the fouls mounting on USF, the Wildcats took advantage and used an 11-to-5 run to cut the lead to just 63-59 with 4:37 left. The Cougars answered the charge as an offensive rebound and lay-up by Goodhope helped USF to a 70-63 advantage with 2:53 to play. WSC again responded with a lay-up by Bongartz and a foul shot from Norling to draw within 70-66 with 2:07 on the clock.

After Mulumba scored inside, Szymanski had a steal which led to two foul shots by Geer as the Cougars extended their lead to 74-66 with 1:26 on the clock. The Wildcats made one final run at USF. With a lay-up from Halley Busse with 15 seconds left, WSC cut the lead to three points (75-72) but Szymanski made her free throws as the Cougars finished the regular season with eight straight wins.