BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. – The University of Mary scored the game's first 16 points and went on to earn an 84-63 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Friday night in NSIC women's basketball.

UMary (14-9, 9-8 NSIC), which snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory, was led by Ali Collins, who scored a game-high 22 points with 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists.  Brittney Dietz added 16 points off the bench for the Marauders.

SMSU (4-19, 2-15 NSIC) was paced by Alison Nagel with 14 points and six rebounds.  Mikalya Saathoff and Ellen Degler each added eight points to help the SMSU charge.

The Marauders opened the game scoring the first 16 points, before Saathoff ended the SMSU scoreless streak with a layup with 13 minutes and 15 seconds remaining.

SMSU wouldn't go away and slowly cut into the lead, trimming the deficit to 29-24 with 5:50 remaining on a free throw by Nagel.

UMary answered with a quick 7-0 run to push the lead to 36-24, before taking a 41-31 halftime lead.

The Marauders maintained a double digit lead early in the second half, before SMSU made another run and cut the margin to 53-46 following a Nagel jumper with 13:17 left in the game.

The seven-point deficit was the closest SMSU would come however, as UMary used a 9-0 spurt to open a 66-58 lead at the 8:24 mark, into a 75-58 advantage with 6:38 remaining.

SMSU shot 37 percent (22 of 59) from the field, including 5 of 14 from 3-point range.  The Mustangs were just 14 of 22 from the free throw line and were outrebounded 44-34.

UMary finished the game shooting 47 percent (30 of 64) from the field and held a 24-8 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.

Southwest Minnesota State continues its five-game homestand tomorrow night taking on Minot State (10-11, 6-11 NSIC) for the annual “Pink Zone” game with tip-off slated for 5 p.m.  Minot State defeated Sioux Falls 75-70 on Friday night.