St. Cloud, Minn.—The Minnesota State Mavericks were defeated by the Huskies of St. Cloud State in a close battle, Saturday afternoon, 69-67.

Sophomore center Laura Weber won the tip-off for the Mavericks as senior guard Tiffany Moe drained a jumper for the opening points of the game. After allowing the Huskies to take a lead, sophomore guard Lauren Barber drilled a shot from the arc at the 15-minute mark to keep the Mavericks within one. The Huskies went on a run taking an eight-point lead with 11:30 in the first half. MSU went on an 8-2 run to close in on the Huskies with a two-point deficit at 7:50. Minnesota State’s sophomore guard Jennie Noreen sank a shot from the arc, followed by a quick jumper from Moe and two from Weber gave the Mavericks a five-point lead at the five-minute mark. MSU would close out the half with a five-point lead on the Huskies, 31-26.

Moe led the Mavericks in the first half posting eight points while Weber tallied seven and freshman forward Ali Wilkinson with six points. Leading the team in rebounds for the first half was senior forward Liz Trauger bringing down five boards. MSU shot 46.7 percent from the field while dishing out eight assists.

Weber opened the second half with two quick shots in the paint. The Mavericks took a ten-point lead at 16:30 as Barber drilled one from the arc. MSU allowed the Huskies to cut the lead by five with 8:30 left to play as the Huskies would continue to put the pressure on the Mavericks, coming within three points with seven minutes left to play. With a quick shot from the arc by the Huskies, they would take a one-point lead over the Mavericks with four minutes left in the game. St. Cloud State gained a three-point lead on the Mavericks from free throws, with 1:40 left to play. Trauger drilled a shot from the arc with 19 seconds left in the game to put the Mavericks within two points of the Huskies, but wouldn’t be enough as the Huskies sank shots from the line and would close out the game, with a two-point lead on the Mavericks.

MSU shot 47.5 percent from the field, 29.2 percent from the arc, making only 4-7 at the line. Leading the Mavericks in scoring was Weber with 17 points, Moe with 16 and Barber with 11. Weber earned her second career double-double as she brought down 12 rebounds. The Mavericks won the battle of the boards 36-30, dishing out 17 assists and grabbing five steals from the Huskies.

Minnesota State now 13-11 overall and 8-9 in the NSIC will travel to Marshall, Minn. to battle the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State next Saturday, game slated for 6 p.m.