SIOUX FALLS –
Kaely Hummel had 25 points but the University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (26-6) suffered through a tough shooting night and dropped a 76-59 decision to St. Cloud State in the semifinals of the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament on Monday night at the Sanford Pentagon.
With the loss, USF's run in the league tournament comes to a close. As the number three team in the most recent NCAA DII Central Region rankings, the Cougars, which reached the conference semifinals for an unprecedented fifth straight year, will await word on their likely placement in the region next Sunday night when the NCAA announces its field for the Division II national tournament. USF is now 14-7 in NSIC Tourney games.
With 25 points, Hummel, who was named to the All-NSIC first team for the second straight year and to the All-NSIC squad for a third straight year, moved into third place all-time at USF in scoring with 1,733 points. She passed USF Athletics Hall of Famer Patti Ibis, who totaled 1,731 from 1986-90. Hummel hit 7-of-19 shots from the field and 5-of-11 from three-point range while knocking in 6-of-6 from the foul line. With the five triples, she now has 273 career threes, which is the most in school history. Hummel now has 81 made threes on the season, which is the third most for a season in school history.
Joining Hummel in double figures was junior forward
Anna Goodhope, who had 14 points with six rebounds and two assists. She was 3-of-5 from three-point range. In the past two games, Goodhope has made eight threes and combined with Hummel have totaled 15. Senior forward
Jacey Huinker led USF with nine rebounds and had four points and two assists.
After leading 7-0 and 16-6 in the first quarter and pushing the edge to 26-13 in the second quarter, the Cougars struggled from the field the rest of the night. As a result, the USF lead melted away. USF hit 7-of-16 shots for 43.8 percent in the first quarter as they led 16-8. But that was the high point for USF, which made just 5-of-19 shots in the second quarter for 26.3 percent as SCSU rallied to take a 33-32 lead at halftime. USF was 5-of-18 for 27.8 percent in the third quarter and trailed, 50-46 after three quarters. USF, which made only 3-of-16 shots in the fourth quarter, was outscored, 26-13, and dropped the semifinal game with SCSU.
For the game, USF made just 20-of-69 field goals for a season-low 29 percent. USF did hit 8-of-24 three point shots for 33.3 percent and 11-of-13 free throws for 84.6 percent. They made just 12-of-45 for 26.6 percent from inside the three-point arc. While USF had five turnovers and forced 11 by SCSU, it was the offense that derailed USF conference tournament hopes.
SCSU started slow, hitting just 1-of-11 shots to open the game but finished with 28-of-61 made field goals for 45.9 percent. After that cold start, they made 27-of-50 field goals for 54 percent. They also hit 10-of-25 three-point shots for 40 percent and 10-of-12 free throws. SCSU also had a 43-to-40 rebound margin although USF's work on the offensive boards – 14 – kept USF close for the first three quarters despite trouble making shots.
The Huskies were led by Madelin Damman with 20 points with seven assists. Tori Wortz added 15 points and 12 rebounds while Nikki Kilboten had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
