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MARSHALL, Minn. -
Tori Fink poured in a career-high 25 points to lead Southwest Minnesota State to a 63-58 victory over Hillsdale (Mich.) Saturday at the SMSU Classic presented by State Farm Insurance in Marshall, Minn.
SMSU moves to 1-1, while HC drops to 0-2.
Fink hit 7-of-16 from the field and nailed a trio of three-pointers.
Abby Kenealy scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to record her first career double-double.
Laura Kramer also had 11 rebounds for the Mustangs.
Janay Miller's 19 points and Katie Bildner's nine rebounds led the Chargers.
SMSU and HC combined for 15 turnovers in the first half, and the Chargers turned those opportunities into 15 points. HC held the lead for most of the first half, stretching it to as large as 11 with 7:20 left before the break when Emily Anderson scored to make it 20-9.
SMSU, however, chipped away, getting the deficit down to four multiple times, the last coming with two minutes left when the Mustangs turned a Charger turnover into an easy Kenealy bucket. But a 7-0 run from HC returned its advantage to 11. SMSU trailed by nine heading into the break.
But the Mustangs managed to cut into and erase that deficit 10 minutes into the second half when Fink connected on a pair of free throws to put her squad up 44-43. From there, SMSU would not trail, thanks in large part to a six minute defensive performance from the Mustangs that held the Chargers scoreless.
HC tied the game at 51 with 5:38 remaining, but SMSU quickly put together 8-0 run to silence the Charger surge. Four free throws from Fink down the stretch sealed the win.
The Mustangs struggled shooting, connecting on just a 32.3 percent clip from the floor.
SMSU will play at the Nebraska-Omaha Classic next weekend.