MARSHALL, Minn. --- Junior Monica Muth connected on a pair of clutch free throws with six seconds remaining to lift Minnesota State past Southwest Minnesota State, 56-53, Friday evening.

Sophomore Taylor Klug paced the Mavericks (11-16, 9-12 NSIC) with a game-high 20 points and four steals. Senior Claire Ziegler tallied her ninth double-double of the season with 16 points and season-high 14 rebounds. Muth contributed on both ends of the floor with a career-best nine assists, career-high six steals, and added seven rebounds.

The Mustangs (5-19, 4-17 NSIC) opened the scoring with the first basket of the game but then Minnesota State rattled off seven unanswered points to make the score 7-2 at the 7:02 mark. SMSU responded with a 5-0 run to lock the game up at seven and force a MSU timeout. The Mavericks once again went on a hot streak with five straight points to push their lead back up five, 12-7, after senior Mackenzie Dahl netted a layup with 2:39 on the clock. However, both teams found themselves deadlocked after one quarter of play, 14-14. Six Mavericks reached the scoring column in the first frame.

Both teams went back and forth in the second stanza which saw three ties. SMSU was able to establish its largest lead of the half, 22-18, by the 6:12 mark. Minnesota State battled back to even the score, 22-22, after freshman Kirstin Klitzke buried two free throws. Later in the frame, Minnesota State regained the lead after Muth found Klug on a wide open cut the hoop to make the score 27-26 at the intermission.

At the break, Minnesota State held the edge in rebounds (24-19) and shot 30.0% from the field. Klug led all scorers with 12 points, while Ziegler added eight rebounds and six points.

Both teams traded possessions to open the second half until Ziegler carried Minnesota State on a 6-0 run with three layups to make the score 35-31. The Mustangs answered with a 9-1 run to steal the edge, 40-36, at the 2:25 mark. SMSU took a 44-38 advantage into the final quarter of play.

The MSU offense got rolling in the fourth quarter outscoring SMSU, 18-9. Klitzke connected on the Mavericks first triple of the night to pull Minnesota State back within one, 44-43, with 8:51 on the clock. MSU then began to pull away with a 10-3 run to recapture the lead, 53-47, with 4:19 remaining. SMSU made one last surge with six unanswered points to lock the game at 53 with 2:58 to play. Minnesota State then took advantage of clutch free throw shooting from Klitzke and Muth to seal the Mavericks third straight win, 56-53.

As a team, SMSU held the slight edge in rebounds (44-42), while MSU had the advantage in assists (16-6). The Mavericks shot 32.4% from the field in comparison to the Mustangs 39.2%. Minnesota State also scored 28 points off of turnovers.

The Mavericks return to action tomorrow in their regular season finale at Sioux Falls. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.