by BEMIDJI, MN – A dominant 20 point win by the University of Mary Women’s Basketball team tonight against Bemidji State claimed the Marauders a first round home playoff game. A well rounded team effort featured nine different Marauders scoring on the night. Cassie Askvig led the way with a team high of 25 points in route to a 73-53 victory.
UMary improves to 15-7 on the season and 13-6 in NSIC play. BSU falls to 5-18 overall and 3-16 in the NSIC.
The three pointer was the Marauders best friend on the night. UMary shot an astounding 64.3 percent from deep, knocking down nine trey’s. Sharp shooter Coral Gillette (MHA Nation/Standing Rock Sioux) made it rain, knocking down five three’s for a total of 15 points on the game.
UMary didn’t just make it rain from deep, they were efficient shooters from everywhere, knocking down 63.4 percent of their shots from the field.
The Marauders pulled away from the Beavers in the second and third quarter, outscoring BSU 55-22 in those two quarters. An 11-0 run by UMary in the second quarter really put the game out of reach for the Beavers. The Marauders continued to add to their lead from there.
A pair of big three’s to start the third quarter by Askvig started a 19-4 run for UMary leading them up to their biggest lead of the ball game of 34. The Beavers tried to put up some points as the third quarter concluded but Kassandra Bartek was not going to let that happen, swatting the ball away for a big block.
The Marauders held on for the remainder of the fourth quarter to ensure the big win and clinch a home court playoff game.
Askvig led the way for the Marauders with 25 points and 10 rebounds. The junior shot 53 percent from the field, 50 percent from deep, and 78 percent from the charity stripe.
Gillette added three assists to her 15 point performance.
