MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team picked up its second straight win after downing Concordia-St. Paul, 70-45, on Friday night at Taylor Center.

Minnesota State (3-7, 2-3 NSIC) got things rolling with a quick 7-0 run in the opening minutes with five points contributed by senior Claire Ziegler. The Mavericks continued to control pace increasing their lead to 15-6 as sophomore Taylor Drost netted a jumper at the 4:29 mark. Concordia-St. Paul (3-7, 1-4 NSIC) climbed back within four, 15-11, after a 5-0 run. Minnesota State held the advantage after the first quarter, 24-13.

Following sophomore Taylor Klug's jumper to open the second frame, the Golden Bears cut the edge down to single digits, 26-18, following a three pointer and jump shot.  The Mavericks then seized control with an 8-2 run to expand their lead to 14, 34-20, after senior Mackenzie Dahl capped the run with a free throw at the 3:22 mark. Concordia-St. Paul retaliated to piece together a 7-1 run of its own to draw within eight, 35-27, with 59 seconds to play in the half. However, Minnesota State took a 39-29 advantage into the locker room at the half.

Ziegler led the Mavericks at the intermission with nine points and five rebounds while Klug contributed eight points. Minnesota State held the advantage in rebounds (20-9) and shot 52.0% from the field.

The Mavericks began to pull away in the second half after opening the third quarter by increasing their edge to 12, 43-31, following Klug netting a jumper coming out of the media timeout. Minnesota State continued to roll on offense later in the quarter as freshman Kirstin Klitzke was able to get a contested layup in the paint to drop making the score 49-35 at the 1:03 mark. Minnesota State led after the third quarter, 51-37.

The Mavericks opened the final frame with a huge 16-2 run to put the game on ice. Klitzke highlighted the run for Minnesota State contributing two three pointers and one layup. Junior Ashley Reed completed the hot streak for the Mavericks with a layup to open up the largest lead of the night, 67-39, with 5:11 remaining. Minnesota State went on to close out the remaining time and earn the win, 70-45.

As a team, the Mavericks held the edge rebounds (48-26) and assists (11-7). Minnesota State shot 41.3% from the field in comparison to Concordia-St. Paul's 36.5%. Additionally, the bench chipped in a season-best 38 points.

Klitzke led the Mavericks with a game-best and season-high 15 points and shot 62.5% from the field. Ziegler tallied 11 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Klug rounded out the top performers matching a season-best 12 points.

Minnesota State returns to Taylor Center on Tuesday hosting Palm Beach Atlantic. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.