Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State women's basketball team beat Sioux Falls on Saturday night by the score of 78-72. The Mavericks are still perfect at home, with an 8-0 record.
 
With the win, the Mavericks record improves to 13-5 overall and 10-3 in conference play.

The Mavericks started the game on a 11-0 run within the first five minutes over the Cougars. USF would claw its way back into the game as the Cougars eventually tied it at 21-21 with 6:36 left to play in the first half. 

After that point, the Mavericks would go on another little 9-0 run of theirs, to put MSU up 30-21 with 3:38 left to play in the first half. Again, the USF would trim the Mavericks lead to six, as MSU went into halftime leading 32-26 over USF.

In the first half, the Mavericks shot 38% from the field and forced 11 Cougar turnovers, which equated to 11 Maverick points off turnovers.

Senior forward Lexie Ulfers posted 10 points, four rebounds and block, to lead the Mavericks at the break.  Senior guard Ashley Olson chipped in with six points of her own, both of which came from three, while sophomore guard Sammie Delzotto and junior center McKenzie Hoelmenn each pitched in with five points.

The Mavericks used another 12-5 run to begin the second half, to put MSU up 45-31 over USF at 16:13 mark. MSU would hold on to it's lead throughout the rest of the half, although USF would cut it down to a five point lead for the Mavericks with 46 seconds left in the game.

The Cougars would eventually cut MSU's lead to two with 21 seconds left to play, but senior guard Aubrey Davis closed the door. She would hit 5-6 of her free throws in the closing seconds for the Mavericks to lockdown a 78-72 victory over the Cougars.

In the second half, MSU hit seven three pointers and were able to assist on 10 of the Mavericks 13 converted field goals. 

Delzotto posted 15 second half points, while Davis added 11 points, five assists and three rebounds in the second half.

For the game, the Mavericks shot 40% (25-62) from the field, including 10 (10-21) three's in the game . MSU was also able to outscore USF in second chance points with, 20-13, and points off turnovers, 18-9.

Delzotto led all scorers in the game with 20 points, to along with four rebounds and finished 5-6 from three. Davis recorded 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds, three steals, and went 9-11 from the charity stripe. Ulfers pitched in with 14 points, six rebounds and four blocks, while Olson finished with 10 points and four rebounds of her own. Hoelmenn closed the game just shy of a double-double, as she tallied nine points and a pair of career-highs in 10 boards and five assists.

Next up for the Mavericks is a weekend roadtrip to Northern State and MSU Moorhead. MSU will travel to NSU on Friday, before they travel to MSUM on Saturday. Top-off for those games are set for 6 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.