MANKATO, Minn. - The Mavericks have a quick turnaround for their next NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament contest as Minnesota State is set to play top-seeded Wayne State in the semifinals Saturday at noon.  The game will be played at Taylor Arena in Rochester, Minn.

Opening-Round Victory: Minnesota State (18-9 overall) advanced to the semifinals round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament Thursday afternoon after defeating the fourth-seeded Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, 68-59.  Freshman guard Aubrey Davis found her stroke early in the contest scoring the first eight points for MSU and 10 of its first 11.  Davis connected on two three pointers while fellow freshman Jamie Bresnahan added a three pointer of her own helping the Mavericks jump out to a 14-8 lead after the first seven minutes.  MSU would go into halftime with a three-point lead at 30-27 as it connected on four first-half three pointers while the Bulldogs went 0-for-6 from behind the arc.  With the score knotted at 40, MSU used a 12-5 run to capture the momentum and take a 52-45 lead with seven minutes remaining.  MSU led 61-54 with just over a minute remaining before UMD started fouling to send the Mavericks to the free-throw line.  MSU proceeded to go 7-of-8 from the line over the remainder of the game to ensure the 68-59 victory.  Davis, Bresnahan and sophomore guard Alli Hoefer led the way offensively for MSU each scoring 14 points.  Bresnahan also led the Mavericks with nine rebounds while senior forward Laura Weber added 11 points and seven rebounds.  Fellow senior Jennie Noreen matched a career-high with seven assists while she also scored six points and pulled down four rebounds.

Upcoming Opponent: The Mavericks play the top-seeded team in the tournament Saturday when they take on the No. 2 team in the nation, the Wayne State Wildcats.  Winners of the NSIC regular season championship, Wayne State owns a 27-2 overall record and has won 12 straight games dating back to Jan. 20.  The Wildcats last loss came on Jan. 14 in a 71-52 contest against Augustana.  WSC advanced to the semifinals after rolling over its first-round opponent, Northern State, 74-42.  Wayne State is 2-0 this season against MSU and holds an 8-4 record in the all-time series against the Mavericks including wins in the last five games.  Wayne State won the first meeting on Dec. 2, 78-60, handing the Mavericks their first loss of the 2011-12 season.  With the score tied at 22, WSC went on a 14-0 run over a five-minute span taking a 36-22 lead.  The Wildcats would go into halftime with a 44-33 lead after shooting 70.8 percent on 17-of-24 from the field.  Despite a valiant second-half effort from MSU, the Wildcats wouldn’t budge as they maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the game, sealing the 78-60 victory.  The Mavericks were led offensively by Ali Wilkinson who finished with 19 points while also grabbing nine rebounds.  In the second meeting this season, Wayne State showed its power with an 83-45 victory at the Taylor Center on Feb. 4.  MSU was never able to get its offensive going in the second meeting as the Mavericks shot just 28.8 percent compared to 61.7 percent by the Wildcats.  MSU was led by two players in double figures as Weber and Davis each scored 10 points.

Scouting the Wildcats: The Wildcats, coached by NSIC Coach of the Year Chris Kielsmeier, are led by three-time NSIC Player of the Week and recently named NSIC Player of the Year, Ashley Arlen.  Arlen led the NSIC in scoring during league games this season averaging 18.0 points per game while ranking second in rebounding at 8.8 rebounds per contest.  Arlen is connecting on 47.3 percent from the field and 79.4 percent from the charity stripe in league games while recording six double-doubles this season.  This season marks the second straight season Arlen was named the conference’s player of the year and her third straight season receiving First Team All-Conference honors.  Joining Arlen receiving all-conference honors was teammate Clare Duwelius.  Duwelius leads the conference in three-point percentage shooting 47.9 percent from behind the arc and is second in three pointers made at 2.46 per game.  She also became the school’s all-time leader in three pointers made with 239 while also ranking 14th on the all-time scoring list with 1,117 points.  For the season, Wayne State is averaging 68.6 points per game on 40.9 percent shooting while allowing opponents 55.3 points on just 33.7 percent shooting.

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