SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (16-12) dropped a 62-55 decision to U-Mary in the opening round of the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament on Wednesday (Feb. 23) at the Stewart Center.

With the loss, the Cougars' season draws to a close at 16-12. The Cougars, which had the No. 3 seed in the NSIC South, had a five-game winning streak in tournament first-round games end with the loss to the Marauders. U-Mary (14-15) advances to face No. 2 seed Minnesota-Duluth on Sunday at 7 pm at the Sanford Pentagon.

USF is 6-3 in first-round games in the tournament and sits 15-9 all-time in NSIC Tournament play.

Leading the way for USF was Olivia Gamoke with 12 points with her sixth double-digit scoring game of the season. Gamoke hit 5-of-12 shots from the field and added four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. USF also had nine points, four rebounds, four steals, and three assists from senior forward Krystal Carlson. Freshman guard Megan Fannin added eight points and four rebounds while JeMae Nichols had seven points and five rebounds with two assists.

The story of the game centered on USF's inability to convert shots at the offensive end. USF hit just 21-of-63 field goals for 33.3 percent. In addition, USF made 3-of-15 from three-point range for 20 percent and connected on 10-of-15 free throws for 66.7 percent.

U-Mary, which had lost to USF, 74-58, earlier this year, was led by Megan Voit who had 23 points and 12 rebounds. Her outside shooting particularly proved to be a key for the Marauders as she was 7-of-12 from three-point range. Macy Williams added 13 points, six rebounds, and six assists for the Marauders.

As a team, U-Mary opened the first half by hitting on 12-of-23 field goals for 50 percent as they took a 35-23 lead at the second quarter break. For the game, the Marauders hit 19-of-49 field goals for 38.8 percent connected on 9-of-23 from three-point range. U-Mary, which had a decisive, 45-28, advantage on the boards, also made 15-of-18 free throws for 83.3 percent.

While USF forced 19 turnovers and committed just seven, the difference was Mary's advantage in making threes and on the boards. USF, which had eight steals and a blocked shot, owned a 26-to-10 margin of points in the paint and an 18-to-10 margin in points off turnovers.

However, U-Mary used foul shooting (15-to-10 edge) plus the hot shooting of Voit to own a 9-to-3 margin in made three-pointers which accounted for a 23-point differential.

Scoring Summary - USF took an early lead at 11-4 and led 14-6 (4:42) before things turned toward U-Mary. After one quarter, USF led 16-to-12 after making 7-of-20 field goals for 35 percent and holding U-Mary to 5-of-13 for 38.5 percent.

The game turned in the second quarter as U-Mary put together a sizzling shooting performance. The Marauders outscored USF, 23-7, by hitting 7-of-11 field goals for 63.6 percent. USF was just 3-of-16 for 18.8 percent and missed all of their three-point shots.

In the third quarter, USF had a 16-15 advantage but still trailed, 50-39 at the break. The Cougars hit just 4-of-12 shots in the third quarter for 33.3 percent and was only able to gain just a point against U-Mary, which was 5-of-15 for 33.3 percent. 

USF hit 7-of-15 field goals for 46.7 percent and U-Mary was 2-of-10 for 20 percent but USF couldn't cut the margin to more than six points in the fourth quarter. The Cougars ended up with a 16-to-12 scoring margin in the final quarter but simply ran out of time.