Mankato, Minn. --- Next up for the Minnesota State women's basketball team will be first round action of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament. The Mavericks earned the sixth seed in the South Division and are set to face third seeded Minnesota Crookston from the North Division on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m., in Crookston, Minn.

Last Weekend: MSU wrapped up its regular season schedule last weekend with a pair of home games at Taylor Center. The Mavericks hosted Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State and split the two games. On Friday against USF, MSU fell in the closing seconds, 66-64, before bouncing back with a 79-63 win over SMSU on Saturday.

Against Sioux Falls, the score was tied up at 64-64 with eight seconds remaining in regulation. After a called timeout, USF had possession and made the game-winning basket with 0.5 seconds left on the clock after the Cougars Sam Knecht hauled down an offensive rebound and made the game-winning put back.

The Mavericks finished the game shooting 46% from the field and converted on nine three-pointers, while the Cougars ended the game shooting 36% from the field and made 10 three-pointers. On the boards, MSU grabbed 39 rebounds and USF pulled down 36. Turnover margin played a key part in the game as MSU coughed it up 16 times compared to USF's eight. The Cougars were able to take advantage of the Mavericks turnovers, as they tallied 16 points off turnovers.

Junior Britney Scherber [Bloomington, Minn.] finished the game with a team-high 22 points and shot 6-of-8 from three. Sophomore Claire Ziegler [Mankato, Minn.] fell just short of posting her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior McKenzie Hoelmenn [Lakeville, Minn.] added 12 points, five assists and four rebounds off the bench, while freshman Monica Muth [Cambridge, Wis.]finished with nine rebounds, seven points and five assists.

Against SMSU, the Mavericks rolled past the Mustangs 79-63 after falling behind 24-13 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter MSU fought its way back and took its first lead of the game right before halftime at 34-33. In the second half, the Mavericks' momentum carried over as they shot 67% from the field and held the Mustangs to 37% shooting to help MSU pull away for the win.

The Mavericks connected on 56% of their shots in the game which marks as a new season-high for the team. SMSU finished the game shooting 41% from the field and connected on eight three-pointers. The Mavericks dominated the boards all game as they pulled down 36, compared to the Mustangs grabbing 21. Points in the paint, MSU also had the upper hand in as it outscored SMSU, 38-22.

Britney Scherber recorded her third straight 20-point performance with 23 points, while shooting 50% from the field and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Claire Ziegler chipped in with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. McKenzie Hoelmenn finished with 12 points as well, along with a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Ashley Reed [Whitefish Bay, Wis.] posted a new season-high nine points, along with five rebounds, while freshman Taylor Paulsrud [Rogers, Minn.] collected seven points and three assists.

Concerning Minnesota Crookston: The Golden Eagles concluded their regular season with a 17-9 overall record and a 14-8 record in NSIC play, UMC finished third in the NSIC North Division standings, as it lost both of its games last weekend to Northern State and MSU Moorhead. The Golden Eagles are coached by Mike Roylands who is in his 10th season at the helm.

Wednesday's game will be the 20th all-time meeting between the Mavericks and Golden Eagles. MSU has built a 14-5 all-time record against UMC. The two teams met earlier this season in Mankato on Jan. 16 and the Mavericks fell to the Golden Eagles in late second fashion in overtime, 91-90. MSU was clinging onto a 90-89 lead over UMC with 0.9 seconds left on the clock. After a Golden Eagles timeout, UMC executed a lob pass from the sideline and let go of the game-winning basket right before the buzzer sounded.

In the high scoring contest, the game saw nine lead changes and nine ties. MSU finished the game with a 44% field-goal percentage, including 9-of-22 from beyond the arc, while UMC shot 47% from the field. The Mavericks outrebounded the Golden Eagles, 49-34, and outscored UMC, 19-7, in second chance points. MSU's bench also played a key role as they outscored UMC, 32-11, while the Golden Eagles outscored the Mavericks in the paint, 40-28. Turnovers also proved costly for MSU as it coughed the ball up 19 times compared to UMC's 11 turnovers.

UMC's duo of Katrina Nordick and Alexa Thielman combined to score 56 points, as Nordick tallied a game-high 32 points in the contest.

For MSU, Claire Ziegler finished the game with a career-high 29 points and eight rebounds. Four other players for the Mavericks finished in double-digits, as McKenzie Hoelmenn, Madison Lee, Taylor Paulsrud and Britney Scherber each record 12 points apiece. Hoelmenn posted her fourth double-double of the season as she record 11 rebounds as well, while Scherber added a team-high four assists.

The Golden Eagles finished the regular season averaging the fourth most points in the NSIC this season with 73.2 per game, while giving up 66.4 points to their opponents. UMC ranked as the third best shooting team in the conference at 42.8% and topped the NSIC in three-point percentage with 40% and total three-pointers made with 236. In all of Division II the Golden Eagles rank seventh in three-point percentage and eighth in total three's made. 

On the boards, UMC pulls down 37.6 rebounds per game, while its opponents grab 38.4. The Golden Eagles also dish out 13.8 assists and 5.6 steals a game. 

The Golden Eagles boast two of the top-5 scorers in the NSIC this season in seniors Katrina Nordick and Alex Thielman. Nordick ranks third in the NSIC with 16.7 ppg, while Thielman falls right behind in fourth with 15.8 ppg. Nordick also leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 48% from the field this season. Thielman is UMC's top three point threat as she has knocked 80 from beyond the arc and is shooting the rock at a 44.4% rate, both of which rank third in the NSIC.  Right behind Thielman in three-point percentage is her teammate Alison Hughes who is connecting on 44.1% of her attempts as well and has drained 56 on the year. Hughes ranks third on the team in scoring with 11.1 ppg and owns a team-leading 3.2 assists per game.

Lights Out Shooting: In Saturday's win over Southwest Minnesota State, MSU shot a season-best 56% from the field, including a 67% shooting performance in the second half. This was the highest shooting percentage by MSU since the 2013-14 season, when the Mavericks finished the game shooting 60% against Upper Iowa on Dec. 6, 2013.

Heating Up: Junior point guard Britney Scherber has been on a roll these past three games for the Mavericks as she has now recorded three-straight 20 point performances against Upper Iowa, Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State.  In the last three games, Scherber averaged 23.7 points and shot efficiently from everywhere. She shot 54% from the field, 59% from three-point territory, including a team-high 13 makes and 94% from the charity stripe as she shot 16-of-17 from the line.

Leading Scorers: Through 26 games, the Mavericks have two players averaging 10 points or more in junior Britney Scherber and sophomore Claire Ziegler. Scherber leads the team in scoring with 14.2 points a game, while Ziegler sits second on the team with 13.7 points a contest. Scherber currently ranks 10th in the NSIC in scoring and Ziegler places in 13th.

Rebounding Attack: Three Mavericks are averaging six or more rebounds a contest through 24 games this season. Sophomore Claire Ziegler leads the team with 8.5 rebounds a game and ranks third in the NSIC. Senior McKenzie Hoelmenn sits second on the team with 6.5 rebounds each game, which places her 18th in the NSIC. Rounding out the trio is junior Karina Schroeder as she is averaging 6.2 per contest.

Efficient Shooting: Sophomore forward Claire Ziegler currently places fifth in the NSIC in field-goal percentage as she is shooting over 52% from the field (142-271).

At the Charity Stripe: Junior point guard Britney Scherber is shooting 85% (85-100) from the free-throw line, which ranks her ninth in the NSIC. Inside of two minutes, Scherber is shooting even better with 89% (25-28).