Duluth, Minn. – The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs hosted the Mary Marauders Saturday afternoon. In what was a tale of two halves, the Bulldogs managed to hold off the Marauders to win the game 73-67 to extend their win streak to 4 games.
The Bulldogs started the game hot, as they found their stroke from three-point range early and often.
Ann Simonet started the game with a made 3-pointer. Before you knew it, the Bulldogs had a 15-5 lead thanks to three straight three-point makes from
Brooke Olson, Tatyum Rhoades, and
Payton Kahl. The Bulldogs stayed hot throughout the first quarter as they built up to a 14-point lead. Mary was able to cut it down to 11 points as the Bulldogs took a 24-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs offense stayed hot in the second quarter. Mary got their deficit down to 7 points before the Bulldogs built their lead back to 14 points. The Bulldogs offense kept their pace and built up to 18 points by the end of the half as they took a 43-27 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs shot 15-29 (51.7%) from the field and 7-14 (50%) from three-point range in the first half. The Marauders shot 11-26 (42.3%) from the field and 2-7 (28.6%) from three-point range.
In the third quarter, the Bulldogs offense struggled to continue their momentum. After a strong shooting half, they struggled to make anything. Mary was able to take advantage of this as they were able to cut their deficit down to 4 points with 5:29 remaining in the first half. From there, they got it to within one point as teams traded baskets the remainder of the quarter. The Bulldogs were able to maintain a lead but only led 52-49 going into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs offense came back alive in the fourth quarter as they started the quarter with two quick baskets. Mary battled back however and thanks to a Megan Voit three-pointer, they took their first lead of the game at 59-58 with 5:41 left in the game. The Bulldogs rallied and were able to get a few baskets to build up to a 66-60 advantage. From there, the Bulldogs defense was able to get some crucial stops as the Bulldogs held off the Marauders to win the game 73-67. After shooting just 2-14 (14.3%) in the third quarter, the Bulldogs shot 8-17 (47.1%) in the fourth quarter. The Marauders shot an impressive 14-25 (56%) in the second half, including 5-7 from the three-point line. But it proved to not be enough as the Bulldogs closed them out.
The Bulldogs were led by
Payton Kahl and
Sarah Grow who each had 12 points on the night, while
Brooke Olson added 11 points and
Taytum Rhoades and
Madelyn Granica each added 10 points off the bench. Olson led the team with 8 rebounds while Rhoades led the team with 7 assists. Kahl also led the team with 3 assists on the night. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 25-60 (41.7%) from the field and 8-20 (40%) from three-point range. They also shot 15-20 (75%) from the foul line.
The Marauders were led by Lexi Schneider who had a game high 21 points on the night. Schneider also led the team with 9 rebounds while Ryleigh Wacha and Macy Williams both had 3 assists. Overall, Mary shot 25-51 (49%) from the field and 7-14 (50%) from the three-point line. They also shot 10-16 (62.5%) from the foul line.
Who's Next:
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs will ride their 4-game win streak into their last pair of NSIC games of the calendar year as they travel to face Northern State on Friday December 17. They will then travel to face off against Minnesota State-Moorhead on December 18.
