Duluth, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team picked up its third conference win of the season, as it defeated Minnesota Duluth, 71-67, on Sunday afternoon in Duluth, Minn. MSU led 70-67 with 13 seconds left in the game and were able to hold off for the win, as UMD missed a game tying three-pointer with less than 10 seconds left to play.

With the win, MSU improves its overall record to 4-7 overall and 3-4 in NSIC play.

In the first quarter, freshman Taylor Paulsrud [Rogers, Minn. ] and junior Karina Schroeder [Lake Crystal, Minn.] helped give the Mavericks a 15-10 lead at the end of the quarter. Paulsrud led MSU with six points in the quarter, as the Mavericks finished off the quarter on an 8-2 run after being down to the Bulldogs 8-7 with 3:38 left in the quarter. Schroeder added four points and three rebounds in the quarter, as MSU held a 13-6 rebounding advantage over UMD in the quarter.

In the second quarter, MSU built a 20-13 lead at the 5:40 mark in the quarter, which marked as the Mavericks biggest lead in the game, after junior point guard Britney Scherber [Bloomington, Minn.] sunk a layup in the lane.  In the next five minutes of action, the Bulldogs trimmed into the Mavericks lead and eventually took its first lead of the half since the 3:38 mark in the first quarter. UMD managed go on a 12-3 run to give it a 25-23 lead over MSU with 33 seconds left in the first half. At the break, MSU led 26-25, thanks to Monica Muth [Cambridge, Wis.] converting on a traditional three point play.

The Mavericks shot 33% from the field in the first half, while the Bulldogs were right behind with a 32% field-goal percentage. MSU was able to get to the free-throw line in the first half quite often, as it connected on 8-of-13 of its free throw attempts, while UMD shot 3-of-8 from the charity stripe.

MSU turned the ball over 11 times in the half, compared to UMD turning the ball over four times. The Bulldogs tallied nine points off Maverick turnovers, while MSU notched just two points off turnovers in the first half.
Paulsrud led all MSU players at the break with seven points, while Scherber added six points and four rebounds for the Mavericks.

In the third, UMD led over the Mavericks for the majority of the quarter by a slim margin, as its largest lead was four points. After three quarters of play, the Bulldogs led over the Mavericks, 52-51. Scherber led MSU in the quarter with seven points, while Paulsrud added five more points to her stat line.

In the fourth and final quarter, MSU quickly regained its lead in the game at the 8:20 mark after a jumper made by junior guard Sammie Delzotto [Eagan, Minn.] to put the Mavericks up 54-52. The Bulldogs were never able to retake the lead in the game, as the Mavericks at one point led by five, 68-63 with 1:27 left in the game after another made jumper from Paulsrud.

However, UMD did make things interesting, as it scored the next four points in the quarter to cut MSU's lead to 68-67 with 14 seconds left in the game. After a timeout by the Bulldogs, Delzotto went to the free-throw line and sunk both of her shots to give MSU a 70-67 lead with 13 seconds left to play.

MSU finished the game with a 41% field-goal percentage and converted on five 3-pointers in the win, while UMD shot a little better with a 42% field-goal percentage and three made 3-pointers. The Mavericks outrebounded the Bulldogs 45-33 and MSU's bench outscored UMD's, 42-30. MSU also took better control of the ball in the second half with just three turnovers, to give them 14 total in the game.

Paulsrud led the Mavericks in scoring as she poured in a new career-high of 17 points, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Schroeder also set a new career-high in the road win with 12 points and fell just shy of recording a double-double with nine rebounds, along with a team-high two blocks.

Scherber added 14 points of her own for the Mavericks, along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Delzotto and sophomore forward Claire Ziegler [Mankato, Minn.] each collected eight points, as Delzotto scored seven of her eight points in the fourth quarter alone. Delzotto also tallied four boards and three assists, while Ziegler grabbed seven rebounds and three steals.

MSU will return home next weekend, as it will host Wayne State on Friday and Augustana on Saturday. Game times are set for 6:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively, at Taylor Center.