MARSHALL, Minn.- The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team used a balanced attack to lead wire-to-wire in a 72-59 victory over the University of Sioux Falls to open conference play on Tuesday night inside the R/A Facility.
 
Madison Gehloff reached career-highs with 13 rebounds and five assists, adding seven points to help fuel the Mustangs. Hannah Parsley scored a career-best 19 points, leading all scorers while tying a career-high with eight rebounds and adding two blocks. Bri Stoltzman scored 13 points, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking a pair of shots, and Sam Wall scored 11 points. Jenna Borchers also reached double figures, scoring 10 points and grabbing four rebounds, and Peyton Blandin filled it up, tallying eight points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
 
The Mustangs, now 4-2 on the season and 1-0 in conference play after winning their fourth consecutive game, shot 40.0 percent (26 of 65) from the field and 27.3 percent (6 of 22) from the three point arc. Sioux Falls, 2-3 overall and 0-1 NSIC, shot 35.4 percent (23 of 65) from the field and 25.0 percent (3 of 12) from three.
 
SMSU held a 49-35 advantage on the glass, including 15-8 on the offensive boards, collected five blocks and seven steals while holding Sioux Falls to just a pair of second chance points to lead a defensive effort that helped the Mustangs to victory.
 
SMSU opened the game on fire, shooting 4 of 8 from the field to start the game on a 9-2 run, forcing a USF timeout just three minutes into the game.
 
The Mustangs continued tacking to their lead, scoring 14 of the next 23 points to grow their lead to 12 at 23-11 before a Cougar buzzer beater to make it a 10-point game into the second quarter.
 
After a USF three-pointer to open the second quarter, Stoltzman, Wall, Blandin, and Parsley combined for a 10-0 run on 4 of 5 shooting while holding the Cougars to 0 of 6 from the field, leading to SMSU's biggest lead of the night at 33-16.
 
USF started to chip away in the final five minutes, scoring 14 of 22 points to cut its deficit to 41-30 at the half. Borchers scored nine points to lead the Mustangs in the first half, while Parsley and Wall scored eight, and Stoltzman scored seven and added five rebounds.
 
Each team would score 15 points in the third quarter, but a 6-2 Mustang run in a 30 second span gave SMSU a 56-45 lead to settle a USF comeback and even the frame.
 
With 3:45 to go in the game, the Cougars made a pair of free throws to trail 62-55, but they would not shrink the SMSU lead anymore, as a 10-4 Mustang lead closed the game and gave SMSU its fourth consecutive victory.
 
SMSU will take time to refresh, getting back into action on Thursday, Dec. 1, for a home match-up against Augustana at 5:30 p.m.