WINONA, Minn.- The No. 12 University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball had a battle on their hands when they went to Winona State's McCown Gymnasium on Friday. The Warriors were able to control the contest throughout to their 73-59 victory over the Cougars. With the loss, the Cougars fell to 22-4 on the season, including a 15-4 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) action.
 
Cougars Clinch the NSIC South-
Despite the loss, the Cougars were able to clinch the NSIC South with a Wayne State loss to Concordia-St. Paul. It is the first time for the Cougars to win the South since joining the NSIC and NCAA Division II.
 
The Numbers-
Leading the Cougars offensively was Augusta Thramer with 12 points (5-for-7 FT). Thramer also paced the team in steals, recording four of the Cougars' seven on the game. Jessie Geer and Krystal Carlson rounded out the double-digit scorers for USF, recording 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Cougars did hold a plus-one turnover margin (11-10) and outscored the Warriors 11-8 off the turnover. USF leaned heavily on their bench on Friday, with the bench scoring 33 points in the contest.
 
Game Highlights-
                First Quarter-
- The Warriors came out to play from the start, going on a 9-4 run to begin the game.
- Mariah Szymanski hit a crucial jumper in the first five minutes to make it a 9-8 Warrior lead.
- The Warriors answered with a 10-2 run to jump ahead 19-10 with 2:07 left to go in the quarter.                 Second Quarter-
- USF started the second quarter on a 9-2 run to make it a two-point, 25-23 lead for the Warriors.
- Carlson got a jumper to go to tie the game up at 27 apiece.
- Winona State closed the half with a jumper to go ahead 34-31 heading into the locker room.                 Third Quarter-
- In the first five minutes, the Cougars got to within one of the Warriors on three different occasions, once on a Jacey Huinker layup (34-33), another on a Kaely Hummel free throw (40-39), and the final time on a Carlson jumper (42-41).
- The Warriors took a crucial 6-0 run late in the quarter to go ahead of the Cougars 54-44.                 Fourth Quarter-
- The Cougars got to within six of the Warriors with 8:10 left in the contest, but the Warriors would build their lead back to 10 before emerging victorious, 73-59.  
What's Next-
The Cougars will look to rebound on Saturday when they take on Upper Iowa, a team that has only beaten USF once in 16 contests. The Peacocks are coming off an 82-64 defeat to the hands of Southwest Minnesota State.