Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University guard Audrey Swanson goes up for a contested layup in the paint during the first quarter of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference womens basketball game against Augustana on Feb. 19 in Marshall.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., — The No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State University womens basketball team’s season came to an end on Sunday following a strong 82-78 come-from-behind win by No. 4 UMary, who overcame a 15-point halftime deficit, in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon.

The Mustangs had good momentum going their way throughout the first half, and scored the most points they have all season in a half with a 55-40 lead going into the break. SMSU shot 69%, 22 of 32, from the field.

But, the Marauders came out a different team in the second half and left SMSU without a single field goal for nearly four minutes to cut into a 60-55 deficit during a 15-5 run to open the third quarter.

A 3-pointer from Kylan Gerads kept SMSU ahead 65-61 going into the final quarter, but UMary again opened the final frame on a 14-3 run to take a 75-68 lead with 3:57 left to play.

A layup from Swanson was able to tie the score 78-78 with 12 seconds remaining, but UMary sealed the win in response with a layup from Bergen Kinnebrew and a pair of final free throws with one second on the clock from Allison Undlin.

Kinnebrew, the NSIC’s leading scorer and NSIC North Player of the Year, finished with a game-high 37 points and went 17 of 20 at the foul line.

UMary collectively shot 31 of 39 at the charity stripe, and SMSU went 12 of 16 as a team.

Swanson led the Mustangs with 26 points, 21 of which came in the opening half, on 11 of 17 shooting along with six rebounds.

Gerads followed with 21 points, as did Nicole Maenke with another 16. Kennadi Buchholz had a team-high nine rebounds while Brynn Busse led the offense with six assists.

SMSU finishes its season 17-12 overall and 14-8 in NSIC play, and finished fifth overall in the conference standings, third in the NSIC South.

The Mustangs graduate seniors Maddie Thorfinnson, Zoie Centers, Swanson and Buchholz.