Sioux Falls women's basketball survived a late rally to edge Winona State 53-49 in a nailbiter on Friday night in the Stewart Center. Chrissy Strassburg led all scorers with 17 points and was perfect from the floor (3-3 FG, 2-2 3PT, 9-9 FT) and added two assists and two steals to her line.
In a game that sported one tie and five lead changes, the Cougars found themselves up 48-41 after a Bailey Bouman three-pointer. However, Winona State electrified the Warrior faithful with an 8-0 run that moved the visitors in front by one, 49-48 with 49 seconds left in the game.
But USF responded well in the closing seconds, led by Strassburg. The Elk point native had five of her 17 points in the final thirty seconds, and iced the game by calmly sinking two free throws with eight seconds to play.
USF improved to 9-8 (6-7, NSIC) with the victory while Winona State dropped to 14-6 (8-5 NSIC).
The Cougars will host Upper Iowa tomorrow at 4 p.m.
