SIOUX FALLS – With five players scoring in double-digits, led by Kaely Hummel with 18, the No. 16 University of Sioux Falls Women’s Basketball Team (24-5, 17-5 NSIC) earned an 89-75 victory over Wayne State on Senior Day in NSIC action at the Stewart Center.
In earning the 24th win of the season, which is the most since going 27-6 in 2015-16, the Cougars, which have been ranked a program-best nine straight weeks, had contributions from all seven seniors as well as several others. USF, which has wrapped up its first NSIC South Division title a week ago, closed the regular season at 17-5 in league play, which is tied the 2015-16 team for top conference mark in the DII era.
“We played well offensively. They have two kids – Erin Norling and Brittany Bongartz that are really good and they played well. But our team stepped up, led by our seniors. I am excited about the win and for the seniors to go out on top,” said USF Head Coach Travis Traphagen, who program honored its seven seniors (Kaely Hummel, Abby Slater, Jacey Huinker, Mariah Szymanski, Andi Mataloni, Augusta Thramer and Jessie Geer) in a Senior Day presentation following the win over Wayne State. “I thought everybody that got in the game contributed. It was an overall good game for us tonight,” said Traphagen, whose team will be the No. 1 seed from the South and face North No. 8 seed Minot State at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
Hummel, a two-time All-NSIC guard who was the NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year, had a solid outing in her last regular season game at the Stewart Center. She hit 5-of-13 field goals, including a three as she has a program best 265, and had 18 points to go with six rebounds and a steal. Hummel increased her career total in points to 1,683.
Aside from Hummel, USF had 15 points from Thramer, who was 4-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-6 at the foul line while dishing three assists and grabbing three rebounds. Sophomore center Kiara James had a career-high with 14 points and had four rebounds before fouling out. Szymanski supplied 12 points with three rebounds and four assists and senior Jessie Geer had 10 points and four rebounds. Syzmanski now has 1,137 career points, which ranks 16th all-time at USF, to go with her 166 threes, which is eighth on the USF career chart.
While Huinker scored just two points, she had a game-high eight rebounds with two steals and an assist. Huinker, who is just one offensive rebound away from tying Sam Knecht’s (2016-17, 77 offensive rebounds) mark for a season, moved into seventh on USF’s all-time rebound chart and remains second in the DII era.
Senior Andy Mataloni hit a pair of threes and scored six points while senior Abby Slater had a pair of clutch free throws. In addition, junior Anna Goodhope had eight points and two rebounds.
After USF took a 20-16 lead after one quarter, the Cougars had a 24-21 margin in the second quarter for a 44-37 halftime lead. The Wildcats outscored USF, 24-21, in the third quarter but USF turned the corner in the fourth period with a 24-14 margin for an 89-75 verdict and a sweep of the season series.
Overall, USF was 29-of-64 from the field for 45.3 percent which included just 4-of-16 from three-point range. However, USF, which was 27-of-32 from the foul line, made 25-of-48 inside the arc for a nifty .521 shooting percentage. Central to USF’s win tonight was its pressure on defense and offense. Not did USF record more than 15 lay-ups but they forced 15 turnovers with eight steals and three blocks to aid in the defensive effort.
USF, which had just five turnovers, held a 14-0 margin in points off turnovers and used a 23-to-4 edge in fast-break points to their advantage. With Geer and Goodhope coming off the bench for 18 points, USF had an overall edge of 28-0 in bench points. Plus, USF, which was only outrebounded, 38-36, held a 46-to-36 margin in points in the paint.
WSC, which finished 16-12 and 11-11 in league play, was led by Brittany Bongartz with 32 points and eight rebounds. She made 8-of-15 shots from the field and was 16-of-17 at the foul stripe. All-league guard Erin Nordling added 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists. However, the rest of the WSC lineup accounted for just 21 total points. On the night, the Wildcats were 24-of-59 for 40.7 percent and made just 3-of-13 from three but hit 24-of-31 at the foul line.
