Box Score Mankato, Minn.—The No. 17 Minnesota State University women’s basketball team raced out to a 20-0 lead on MSU Moorhead and never looked back Saturday afternoon at Taylor Center, defeating the Dragons 75-57 for its 13th straight victory.
 
The Mavericks kept the Dragons off the scoreboard for the first 7:30 of the contest, leading 20-3 at the 12:30 mark of the opening half.
 
MSU’s lead swelled to 36-12 with 4:07 remaining in the half, but the Dragons responded with a 13-5 run to tighten the gap to 41-25 at the half.
 
The Dragons would never get closer than their 16-point halftime deficit, as MSU led by as many as 26 on a few occasions in the second half in coasting to the 75-57 win.
 
Junior forward Ali Wilkinson led the Mavericks with a game-high 23 points while pulling down eight rebounds.
 
Senior wing Jameila Hudnell and junior forward Steffaney Thomas joined Wilkinson in double-digits, finishing with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Junior guard Alli Hoefer led the Mavericks in assists with six.
 
Morgan Zabel led the Dragons with 15 points, while Kaycee Charette also reached double-figures with 11.
 
Wilkinson scored the first seven points of the game for the Mavericks, and finished the first half with 12 points to pace MSU to a 41-25 halftime lead.
 
Thomas and Hudnell also had hot opening halves for the Mavericks, picking up eight and seven points, respectively.
 
The Mavericks led by as many as 28 points in the opening stanza, shooting a blistering 46 percent from the field, while holding the Dragons to 26 percent shooting.
 
MSU also did a good job taking care of the ball in the opening half, posting 10 assists while only turning the ball over four times. Conversely, the Dragons turned the ball over nine times while only assisting on four baskets.
 
The contest featured two career-highs for the Mavericks, as Wilkinson picked up four blocks and freshman guard Ashley Olson pulled down six rebounds in the winning effort.
 
The second-seeded Mavericks advance to play fourth-seeded Winona State this Friday, March 8 at 12 p.m. at Taylor Arena in Rochester.