Duluth, Minn.- No. 12 UMD women's basketball knocked off UMary in a statement of a win on Friday, the final score reading 72-52. The victory bumps the Bulldogs' overall record up to 21-3, their NSIC standing all the way to 18-1. UMD has now put itself in a position to secure at least a share of the NSIC Championship with a victory against Minot State on Saturday.

It was actually the Marauders that came out swinging first in this one, establishing a 4-0 lead by the 9:12 mark. Then something happened that was a little more akin to how the rest of the game went down- the Bulldogs broke off on an 11-0 run capped off by an Ella Gilbertson layup to take a seven-point lead with 4:19 on the clock. Taya Hakamaki would later cap UMD's first quarter advantage at 10 off of a layup of her own with just 25 seconds remaining to make it 18-8. The Marauders would score before the end of the frame to lead things at 18-10.

Maesyn Thiesen had been dynamite for the Bulldogs through 10 minutes. The graduate guard had put up seven of UMD's points on 2-3 shooting while grabbing three boards in the process. Hakamaki had five points on 2-3 shooting, Olson sitting not too far away with four points on the same 2-3 shooting clip. The Bulldogs went 7-14 from the field as a group through these first 10 minutes compared to just a 3-10 showing from the Marauders.

Cooling down just wasn't really in the cards for this Bulldogs group on Saturday. It was full-on pedal to the metal for 40 minutes, something the second quarter ended up proving without a doubt.

When Lexi Karge put UMD up double figures once again at a score of 25-14 with 7:06 to go in the half, she did so for good- the Bulldog lead wouldn't dip to a single digit the rest of the contest. The advantage saw a second frame cap of 18 off of a Hakamaki three-ball that made the score 37-19 with 1:27 until break. The Bulldogs eventually walked into halftime with a 39-22 grip over the game.

Thiesen had only continued to impress offensively in a fresh 10 minutes. At half, the graduate guard sat with 14 points on 5-6 shooting to go with a pair of assists and steals. Hakamaki was UMD's other double-digit scorer through 20 minutes with 10 points on 3-4 shooting.

Pedal. To. The. Metal.

It's almost hard to believe UMD even took its foot off the gas during halftime- the team was totally locked in to start the third. That resulted in some pretty impressive offensive conditions. When Thiesen swished a three at the 6:18 mark to push the Bulldogs' lead to 21 at 48-27, a new touchstone was reached- that advantage wouldn't dip below 20 for the rest of the game. That's almost an entire half of total and complete command. The third-quarter peak was at 26 when Myra Moorjani sunk a layup to leave the score at 58-32 with 1:29 remaining. Things ultimately settled at 58-33 by the quarter's end.

Taytum Rhoades had led the show throughout the third with six points. All-told, six different Bulldogs had tallied points during the frame. UMD again shot 7-14 from the field as a group, too, all while holding UMary to a 4-14 effort. 

The fourth quarter still saw no letup from the Bulldogs, who continued to show clear interest in developing their lead even further. These efforts were validated with a game-high 30 point lead at 68-38 off of a Hakamaki three with 5:26 remaining on the clock. The final margin of victory wouldn't end up staying at this mark. In fact, the Marauders would actually jump out on a 14-4 run in the remaining five minutes and change. This still left the Bulldogs with a resounding 72-52 victory to add to the books by the final buzzer.

As a unit, 10 different Bulldogs had scored throughout the second half. UMD also out-rebounded UMary 24-16 in the process.

Thiesen ended up leading Friday's effort in points with 17 on an impressive 6-9 shooting night. The graduate guard also had eight rebounds (tied for the team lead with Madelyn Granica), three assists and two steals on the night. Right behind Thiesen was Olson, who potted 13 points on 5-8 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Hakamaki ended the game with 13 points too, hers coming on a 4-6 effort. The junior guard also had a pair of assists and steals.

On what was an impressive shooting night overall for UMD that saw it operate just below 50% from the field on the night at 48.2% (27-56), one figure really stood out- the Bulldogs' three-point shooting touch. UMD went 7-17 from deep in this one, a 41.2% mark. And when they weren't scoring, the Bulldogs were super stout on the defensive end all game, too. The Marauders shot just 20-51 from the field as a unit throughout this one. 

POST-GAME WITH PEARSON

This is win number 21 on the season for these Bulldogs- the concept is far from foreign to them. And when you hear UMD head coach Mandy Pearson break down an effort like the one on display from the team on Friday, it becomes pretty easy to understand why. 

"Our players did a good job of taking what the defense gave us," Pearson said. "Brooke knew double and triple teams were coming tonight, and she did a great job of moving the ball when she needed to. I thought our entire team did a great job of playing with aggressive patience to make the right play."   

There's no lack of pure athletic talent on this team, but that talent only becomes more dangerous when it's paired with another attribute: basketball IQ. That's often what it takes to be able to do the right thing- and on a dime- out on the court. Safe to say this Bulldogs Squad is a pretty studious bunch.

And Thiesen is far from an exception in that respect. Don't let 500+ career assists fool you- the graduate guard is much more than just a pure passer. Friday was a quintessential showcase of this. To be able to dish out the ball is one (albeit still important) thing. To be able to reliably rebound it, too, is another. To score on top of all of that? It's something only a very niche class of players is able to pull off. Thiesen revealed on Friday, as she's done so often before, that she's worthy of entry into that class. 

There's ultimately few people out there that know what Thiesen brings to the table on a basketball court more than Pearson. Fittingly, then, the coach said it best:

"Maesyn just always gives her team what we need and knows when and where she needs to step up to help us be successful," Pearson said. "She is an incredibly smart basketball player and always does so many little things that make our team better."