By: Jonathan Yanko

Sioux Falls, SD – The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs faced the Mary Marauders on Sunday night in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament. The Bulldogs offense started hot and stayed hot as they won 87-60. This is the Bulldogs 14^th straight win. The Bulldogs will face Minnesota State tomorrow at 7 p.m.in the semifinal round.
 
Ann Simonet got the scoring started for the Bulldogs with a three-pointer. Brooke Olson followed that up with a layup and a foul Olson would miss the free throw, but Sarah Grow grabbed the offensive rebound and Brooke Olson turned that into a three-pointer. Despite the Bulldogs hot start, the Marauders were able to keep pace early as Macy Williams had their first 7 points. Brooke Olson and Ann Simonet continued their hot start as Olson added another layup and Simonet added another three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 13-9 lead with 6:24 remaining in the quarter. Olson and Simonet combined to score the Bulldogs first 13 points. From there both offenses stayed hot as the Marauders kept it close with the Bulldogs. Despite the Bulldogs strong start, they could not pull away as they took a 21-19 first quarter lead. The Bulldogs shot 8-16 (50%) from the field and 3-7 (42.8%) from three-point range in the first quarter. The Marauders shot 8-19 (42.1%) from the field and 2-6 (33.3%) from three-point range.
 
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs defense began to step up. They gave the Marauders a difficult time on the offensive end as the Bulldogs stayed hot on offense. Another Simonet three-pointer extended the Bulldogs lead to 7 points as they led 30-23 with 7:50 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs managed to continue to extend their lead as the Marauders had no answer for the Bulldogs offense. Brooke Olson capped off a strong first half with a three-pointer as the Bulldogs took a 45-30 halftime lead. Brooke Olson led the Bulldogs with 20 first half points. Ann Simonet also added 13 points.  The Bulldogs shot 10-15 (66.7%) from the field and 2-4 (50%) from three-point range in the second quarter. The Marauders shot 4-15 (26.7%) from the field and 1-4 (25%) from three-point range in the quarter.
 
The third quarter began with both teams trading baskets early. The Bulldogs were able to begin to pull away after a Madelyn Granica layup and another Olson three-pointer as the Bulldogs led 61-41 with 3:06 remaining in the quarter. The Bulldogs continued to control the game late in the third quarter as a Kaylee Nelson three-pointer and a Taytum Rhoades layup gave the Bulldogs a 71-48 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs shot 10-15 (66.7%) from the field and 3-3 (100%) from three-point range. The Marauders shot 5-18 (27.8%) from the field and 1-5 (20%) from three-point range in the quarter.
 
The fourth quarter was much of the same for the Bulldogs as the Marauders had no answers for the Bulldogs. With the game well in hand, the Bulldogs were able to empty their bench to get their starters some much deserved rest. A Gus Boyer jump shot gave the Bulldogs their largest lead of the night as they led 84-55 with 2:42 remaining in the half. From there, the Bulldogs coasted the rest of the way as they went on to win 87-60.  The Bulldogs shot 6-17 (35.3%) from the field and 0-4 from three-point range. The Marauders shot 3-11 (27.3%) from the field and 1-3 (33.3%) from three-point range in the quarter.
 
The Bulldogs were led by Brooke Olson who had 26 points on the night. Ann Simonet also added 17 points on the night while Maesyn Thiesen added 10 points. Brooke Olson led the team with 10 rebounds for a double-double on the night. Taytum Rhoades led the team with 6 assists as a trio of Bulldogs also added 4 assists. Sarah Grow added 6 blocks on the night for the Bulldogs as Simonet added 2 steals on the night. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 34-63 (54%) from the field and 8-18 (44.4%) from three-point range. They also shot 11-15 from the foul line.
 
The Marauders were led by Macy Williams who had 20 points on the night. Lexi Schneider added 15 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Overall, the Marauders shot 20-63 (31.7%) from the field and 5-18 (27.8%) from three-point range on the night. They also shot 15-21 from the foul line.