MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team fell to the No. 13-ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, 87-75, on Saturday night inside the R/A Facility.
The Bulldogs got a career night from Brooke Olson, who scored a career-high 35 points on 15 of 21 shooting.
The Mustangs struggled inside, getting outscored 64-24 in the paint and allowing 12 UMD blocks without one of their own.
SMSU falls to 11-8 overall, 8-6 NSIC, while the Bulldogs move to 17-2 overall, 14-0 NSIC.
The Bulldogs shot 61.7 percent (37 of 60) from the field, 26.7 percent (4 of 15) from deep, and 75.0 percent (9 of 12) from the free throw line, while the Mustangs shot 42.4 percent (25 of 59) from the field, 50 percent (13 of 26) from three, and 75.0 percent (12 of 16) from the free throw line.
Hannah Parsley led the Mustangs with 17 points while grabbing six rebounds.
Peyton Blandin scored 13 points and added three assists.
Sam Wall scored 12 points, and
Bri Stoltzman recorded her third career double-double, collecting 11 points and 10 rebounds, also leading the team with four assists.
After an 11-2 Bulldog run to open the game, The Mustangs charged back, scoring 10 straight points for its first lead at 12-11 with 3:38 left in the first quarter.
A one-point Mustang lead would hold until the final 38 seconds, when a Borchers three-pointer increased the lead to four at 22-18.
UMD would start the second quarter fast as well, opening with a 10-3 run to take a 28-25 lead with 6:49 left in the half.
The Bulldogs maintained their lead, going on a 9-3 run to end the half and taking a 39-32 lead into halftime.
After UMD increased their lead to 46-36, the Mustangs scored five consecutive points to trail by just five at 46-41 with 6:50 to go in the third quarter.
A 7-0 UMD run put them up 53-41, and after the Mustangs got within five at 61-56, The Bulldogs scored a pair of buckets to take a 65-56 lead into the fourth quarter.
The lead would be enough, as the Bulldogs outscored SMSU 22-19 in the final frame to come away with a victory.
The Mustangs hit the road next weekend playing at Bemidji State on Friday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m., before taking on Minnesota Crookston at 5:30 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 28.
