The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team flexed their offensive muscles on Thursday morning en route to a 78-64 victory over the University of Sioux Falls. With the win, UMD improves their record to 11-1 and Sioux Falls finishes their season 8-6. The Bulldogs will advance to play the winner of tomorrow's Concordia-St. Paul and Bemidji State contest.

UMD was firing on all cylinders from the jump. The Bulldogs would open the scoring with a triple from senior guard Ann Simonet as they took an early three point lead. Junior forward Brooke Olson would then score eight straight points for UMD and stretch the early lead to 11-2 as Sioux Falls would be forced to take an early timeout. Olson and Simonet would continue to lead the UMD attack for the duration of the first quarter as UMD led USF 23-17 after one quarter of play. In the first quarter, UMD would shoot 8-18 (44.4%) from the field and 5-8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc. Second chance points would play a large factor in the first quarter as UMD collected four offensive rebounds, which translated into six second chance points. 

Olson picked up where she left off in the second quarter as she opened the scoring for the Bulldogs. UMD would continue its shooting excellence as they shot 8-19 (42.1%) from the field. The Bulldogs also found offensive success by spreading the basketball around; at half, they had already recorded 12 assists. Most of the second quarter would be back and forth, with both teams making small runs, which kept the game reasonably close. UMD really turned on the defensive effort in the second quarter as they held USF to 5-15 (33.3%) shooting from the field and 1-6 (16.7%) shooting from beyond the arc. Combine that with holding the Cougars scoreless in the last 3:12 and you get a 12-point lead for UMD heading into the second quarter break. 

UMD would start the third quarter a lot like they started the game. UMD would go on a 12-2 run to start the frame and stretched their lead to 22 points early in the third. Sioux Falls would respond as they went on a 10-4 run of their own to bring the Bulldog lead back to around fifteen points with three minutes to play in the quarter. For the rest of the third quarter, the Bulldogs and Cougars would again go back and forth on the offensive end of the court with both teams answering and responding to the other's buckets. Two made free throws by senior guard/forward Payton Kahl would cement a fifteen point, 63-48 lead for the Bulldogs heading into the final frame. 

In the final frame the Cougars would start with a 5-0 run bringing the UMD lead right down to ten points with 6:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. Both teams would battle it out for the next few minutes as USF would eventually cut the UMD lead to just eight, but the UMD defense would not let USF get any closer than that. Brooke Olson's three pointer with 3:32 remaining in the game would start a 10-2 UMD run that would prove to be the knockout punch UMD needed to down the Cougars. For the game, UMD shot 28-62 (45.2%) from the field, 10-21 (47.6%) from three point range, and 12-13 (92.3%) from the charity stripe. 

Brooke Olson would again lead UMD in the point category scoring a season-high 31 points on 12-21 shooting from the field and 5-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Olson also grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out three assists. This is Olson's second consecutive game recording a double-double. Ann Simonet would finish with 11 points on 4-7 shooting from the field and 3-3 shooting from behind the long line, seven rebounds, and four assists. Payton Kahl and junior guard Maesyn Thiesen were mirror images of each other in this one: the pair both finished with 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Senior forward Sarah Grow would finish with eight points, nine boards, three assists and one block. What you won't see on the scoresheet was Grow's excellent effort on the defensive side of the ball, forcing a host of USF shooters into tough shots in tight to the Bulldog basket which occurred multiple times over the course of today's game. 

With this win UMD will advance into the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament semi finals on Saturday at 10:00 AM. The Bulldogs will play the winner of the Concordia-St. Paul and Bemidji State quarterfinal game which is scheduled for tomorrow at 10:00 am.