ST. CLOUD, MN - In a battle between one team looking to preserve its place in the standings and the other looking to move up, St. Cloud State University held on to third place in the Northern Sun North division standings while dealing a blow to the University of Mary women's basketball team's hopes of grabbing a home playoff berth in the conference tournament. Despite a monster game by UMary's Gabbie Bohl, the Marauders dropped a 60-53 decision to the Huskies.
 
The Marauders slipped to 12-13 overall and 8-11 in the NSIC. Currently sixth in the NSIC North, UMary is three games out of third place and two out of fourth with three games remaining. SCSU improved to 16-7 and 13-6, 3^rd in the NSIC North and 5^th overall.
 
Bohl dominated the paint against the Huskies. The sophomore forward paired 25 points and 14 rebounds for Marauders. The only UMary player to reach double figures, Bohl converted 11-of-22 shots and went 3-for-5 at the line.
 
The Marauders outshot the Huskies 41 percent to 37 percent and held a 40-34 edge in rebounding but SCSU turned a 12-9 edge in offensive rebounds and a +13 discrepancy in turnovers into 17 more shots.
 
Turnovers proved the biggest downfall for UMary. The Marauders 18 miscues to five for the Huskies turned into a 25-5 edge in points off turnovers.
 
Close throughout the night, fans saw seven ties and six lead changes.
 
Knotted at 30-30 at intermission, the Marauders scored first in the second half on a Bohl basket to lead 32-30. The last lead of the evening for UMary, SCSU slowly grew its advantage to as many as eight points in the third quarter.
 
Twice UMary pulled within two points, the last time with just under a minute left in the game when a layup by Bohl closed the gap to 55-53. With the shot clock running down, SCSU's Madelin Dammann hit a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left for a 58-53 Huskies lead. It was just SCSU's third trey of the game in 18 attempts. After a missed shot by the Marauders and a foul, Brianna Johnson sealed the game with a pair of free throws with 20 seconds on the clock.
 
Cassie Askvig posted nine rebounds and five assists for UMary. Lauren Rotunda added eight points and eight rebounds. Jordyn Jossart came off the bench and hit two of the Marauders three 3-pointers in the game.
 
Thomas led the Huskies with 16 points. Johnson had 14 points and ten rebounds.
 
The Marauders conclude a four-game road swing at the University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, February 10, at 4 pm.
 
#marauders#