Sioux Falls, S.D. – The Minnesota State Women's basketball team lost a heart breaker 80-77 against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in the NSIC Basketball Tournament Semi-final game.

The loss results in the Mavericks record falling to 18-11 while the Bulldogs record improves to 26-5 on the season.

In the opening minutes of the game, offense was easy to find for both teams, with the score jumping to a 7-7 tie before either team missed a shot from the floor.  After a steal and layup from Taylor Drost, the teams were tied 15-15 with 4:02 to go in the quarter.    The Bulldogs took advantage of their free throw opportunities in the quarter and took a 25-20 lead into the second.

Defenses made things difficult in the early second quarter, and with 4:59 to go, the UMD held the 32-28 lead after a pair of free throws from Drost.  The final score of the half come on a three pointer from Kirstin Klitzke that cut the Bulldog lead to 41-36 going into the locker room. 

Klitzke led the Mavericks in scoring in the first half while Tayla Stuttley recorded seven points of her own.  Kristi Fett helped control the low post on defense with three first half blocks.  As a team, Minnesota State forced 14 turnovers while both teams shot 4-6 from beyond the ark. 

The second half opened with a stretch where UMD outscored Minnesota State 17-10 as they hit several three pointers, extending their lead to 58-46 with 4:34 to go in the third.  Coming out of a timeout, Klitzke went on own 5-0 run to cut the Bulldog lead back down to seven points.  After a defensive stop, Joey Batt drained a step back three followed by a pair of free throws from Fett. 

After a couple of back and forth possessions, Joey Batt took a rebound the length of the floor in just under five seconds to lay the ball in for a buzzer beater that cut the Bulldog lead to 62-60 going into the fourth. 

With just over three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Maddy Olson drilled a three pointer to tie the game at 75-75, and on the next possession Batt converted a pair of free throws to take 77-75 lead.  The next time down the floor, the Bulldogs retook the lead on a three pointer from the right corner.  With a three-point lead, the Bulldogs missed a shot with five seconds left on the clock but were able to get the offensive rebound forcing the Mavericks to foul and send UMD to the line where they missed both attempts.  Minnesota State used a timeout to advance the ball with 2.6 seconds to go and the buzzer beating three-point attempt fell short, resulting in the 80-77 win for the Bulldogs. 

Klitzke finished the game with a career high 23-points on the game while Batt finished with 21-points of her own.  As a team, the Mavericks forced 21 turnovers and blocked five shots while making 10-18 three-point attempts.