The UMD women's basketball team exits the D2CCA Tip Off Classic with a split of its tournament slate. After defeating Missouri Western 79-65 on the back of a huge third quarter to kick off the season on Saturday, the Bulldogs lost 54-51 to Missouri Southern State Sunday in a contest that was as close as could be through all four frames.

Much as it had against the Griffons the day prior, UMD found itself on the wrong end of a big early run to start the game, this time a 6-0 spurt from the Lions. The Bulldogs didn't immediately counter with an equal-and-opposite force this time around, but they did battle back over the course of the quarter to get themselves within striking distance. A Brooke Olson three made it 13-9 Missouri Western with 2:06 to go, and a later free-throw by Taytum Rhoades made it a single-possession game going into the break at a score of 13-10.

 By the end of the quarter, the Lions were shooting 41.7% from the field (5-12) and 50% from three (3-6). The Bulldogs were shooting at 23.1% (3-13) overall and 33.1% (1-3) from beyond the arc. The key for UMD had been its ability to put itself behind the free-throw line. The Bulldogs had four attempts from the charity stripe in the first quarter, making three of them. Ella Gilbertson was 2-2 from the line. The Lions had no free-throw attempts in the first frame. What they did have was Layne Skiles and Amaya Johns, who accounted for 11 of their team's 13 points (six for Skiles, 5 for Johns) on a combined field goal percentage of 80% (Skiles 2-2, Johns 2-3). Olson led the Bulldogs in scoring with five points 

There was a slow start to the second quarter, its first points not being scored until the 7:03 mark. Those came by way of a Maddie Stokes bucket to make the score 15-10 Lions. From there, the Bulldogs' offense came alive. Layups from Gilbertson and Maeysn Thiesen brought UMD back to within one at a score of 16-15. Gilbertson then got herself back to the line and sank two more free-throws to give the Bulldogs their first advantage of the game. A huge Olson three off a turnover gave UMD more of a cushion at 19-15. Out of the ensuing media timeout, Missouri Southern responded with their second 6-0 run of the night to make it 21-19 Lions. Olson would tie the contest back up at 21-all with a layup, but the Lions would counter again with four quick points to leave the score at 25-21 Missouri Southern. With just 28 seconds left in the quarter, Gilbertson found herself at the line once again, draining both attempts to stay perfect on the night and make the score 25-23 Lions heading into halftime.

Gilbertson had been big for the Bulldogs throughout the entire second frame. She was the team's highest scorer in the quarter with six points, pairing her two clutch free-throws down the stretch with an earlier set of makes to go 4-4 from the stripe while sprinkling in a layup. The junior accounted for all of the Bulldogs' free-throw attempts/makes in the quarter. As a team, the Bulldogs' field goal percentage jumped to 44.4% on 4-9 shooting. The Lions had cooled down offensively, shooting just 29.4% from the field. What helped them stick around was their ability to keep possessions alive. The Lions had five offensive rebounds in the second quarter compared to none for UMD. 

At the half, Olson was the game's highest point-getter with 10. Gilbertson wasn't far behind with eight of her own, six of those coming by way of free-throws. The Bulldogs were 7-8 (87.5%) from the free-throw line as a team through two quarters. The Lions were just 1-3 (33.3%) in this arena. What Missouri Southern lacked in free throw attempts, they had in pure scoring. Three different Lions had at least six points in the first half. Johns had eight, while Madie Stokes and Skiles each had six.

Streakiness was the story of the third quarter. First, the Lions increased their lead to five at 28-23. Then, UMD responded with four quick points of their own to draw back within one at 28-27. The Lions responded with their biggest run of the game, a 7-0 stretch to make the score 35-27. This eight point lead was the largest either team had held up to this point. Rather than being disheartened, the Bulldogs responded in kind with a 7-2 run to draw back within a possession by the end of the quarter at a score of 39-36. They went into the final frame on a 5-0 unanswered scoring streak. Once again, free throws had been the name of the game for UMD- all five of those points came from the line. The Bulldogs closed the quarter shooting 83.3% (5-6) from the stripe. Trends also continued for Missouri Southern. While the Lions shot just two free throws in the third quarter (going 50%), they had two players score five or more points. Lacy Stokes had six, and Skiles had five. Gilbertson led the Bulldogs in scoring with four points. 

No matter what circumstances they faced throughout the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs simply would not go away, something that had rang true for the entire game. A quick 5-2 run by the Lions gave them a 44-38 lead with 8:55 to play. No bother- Olson drained a three to bring things back to within three at 44-41. Four unanswered points from the Lions then made the score 48-41 with just over half a quarter to go. Like clockwork, Thiesen made a three. 48-44. Taya Hakamaki made her first apperance at the line for the Bulldogs and continued the team's success by draining both her attempts. 48-46 with 4:27 on the clock. Care for an encore? Hakamaki got herself two more free-throw tries. Just as she'd done before, she made them both. 48-48, tie ball-game, 3:14 left to play. A 7-0 run for UMD.

Maddie Stokes drove down for a jumper to make it 50-48 and break her team's scoring drought. She followed that up with a steal, generating a possession that her sister,  Layne, would cap off with a bucket to make it 52-48. Gilbertson would make a layup to bring the Bulldogs back to within two at a score of 52-50, but a second-chance jumper from Missouri Southern's Kaitlin Hunnicutt again made it a two-possession game at 54-50 with just 1:09 remaining. in spite of the odds, the Bulldogs still didn't quit. On Missouri Southern's inbound attempt, UMD was once again able to draw a foul and not only snag possession from the Lions but also two shots at the line. Only one would find the net, but that was enough to make it a one-score contest. With just 14 seconds left, Thiesen stole the ball and gave the Bulldogs life with one last possession. An ensuing three-point attempt would come up just short, securing the win for Missouri Southern. 

A few key stats tell the story of the game's closing quarter. For UMD, Taya Hakamaki stepped up in a big way in the fourth with her four free throws but also with three rebounds. The Bulldogs shot the three better in the final frame than they had all game, going 2-5 (40%). The problem for UMD was two-fold. First was the emergence of Missouri Southern's Hunnicutt, who scored all four of her points in the game in its final quarter. Even more importantly for the Lions, they finally started getting to the line. The team went 3-5 (60%) from the stripe in the fourth.

Two Bulldogs had broken into double-digits in scoring by the end of the game. Olson led the team with 15, in large part because of her 3-6 shooting from beyond-the-arc. Gilbertson had 13, being spurred on in her case by an 8-8 night from the free-throw line. As a team, the Bulldogs had a free-throw percentage of 85%, making 17 of their 20 attempts. Gilbertson led the Bulldogs with three assists, but three others (Olson, Thiesen and Rhoades) had two. On defense, Taya Hakamaki had three steals to lead the team. Madelyn Granica had a team-high seven rebounds. 

The two Stokes sisters in Madi and Lacy tied for the Lions' team lead in points with 14. Lacy Stokes also led the team in both assists and steals, recording three tallies in each category. Hunnicutt had a team-high six rebounds. 

POST-GAME WITH PEARSON:
Though they didn't get the result they were after, there are still positives to be drawn from this game for the Bulldogs. 

The obvious place to start is with UMD's performance from behind the free-throw line. UMD head coach Mandy Pearson affirmed the importance of generating chances at the line and gave some insight as to how the Bulldogs were able to do it so well Sunday, saying of her team "when we had good ball movement, it gave us room to attack the rim."

Even on a general level, points for improvement certainly exist, but they aren't the only things on the list. After all, not only did the Bulldogs lose by just two points, but they were right within striking distance for almost the entire 40 minutes. This was a sentiment echoed by Pearson. 

"We learned a lot today- unfortunately we made a lot of mistakes throughout the course of the game, but they are very fixable," Pearson said. "I thought we defended really really well, and even though we did make mistakes, we didn't let it deter us from playing hard and sticking together. That's a really hard thing to do, so I was really impressed with our ability to bounce back- that is what kept us in the game."