Mankato, Minn. — The Minnesota State women's basketball team (1-0, 0-0 NSIC) opened the season with a strong start in non-conference play against the Bethany Lutheran College women's basketball team (3-2, 0-0 UMAC) as the Mavericks handily beat the Vikings 107-65 at Taylor Center Tuesday night.

The Mavericks were paced by freshman Destinee Bursch who led the Mavericks in scoring with 25 points as well as rebounds with six. The Mavericks also had two other players reach the double-digit scoring mark as sophomores Joey Batt and Taylor Theusch added 16 and 15 points, respectively. Bursch and Batt led the team in assists with three each.

The Mavericks offense came out of the gates on fire as they immediately applied the pressure and went on a 26 to 2 run. The Maverick's defense was smothering as they had full court pressure and as a result, they had 16 points off turnovers in the first quarter. The Mavericks had five players with three or more steals in the contest.

The Mavericks in the second were able to maintain their distance as they began the quarter on a 12-0 run. Bursch would hit three of her four three pointers in the second to help the scoring onslaught. The Mavericks would end the half on a buzzer beater three ball from sophomore Theusch who had 15 points and was five of nine from behind the arc.

As a team, the Mavericks shot 55% from the field and 58.33% from three-point range in comparison to Bethany's 40% from the field and 50% from behind the arc. The Mavericks were dominant down low in the first half as they outscored the Vikings 26 to 12 in the paint.

The Mavericks started the second half quickly as senior Maddy Olson got the and one to put the Mavericks up 68 to 30. Olson would connect on the free throw and start the Mavericks offense in the third. The Mavericks would lead by as much as 45 in the third as they controlled the pace throughout the second half. The Mavericks in the fourth were able to play tough defense and not let the Vikings within 34 points. The Mavericks would keep their distance to go on to win 107-65. The last time the Mavericks scored 100 or more points was last season as the Mavericks defeated Upper Iowa 103-47 back on February 2nd of this year.

The Mavericks finished the contest going 44-86 from the field which was good for 51.2% on the night. The Mavericks connected on the deep ball at 38.5% and were 57.1% from the stripe.The Mavericks held a slim margin on the glass as they out rebounded the Vikings 39-36. The Mavericks went deep on the bench, and it proved to be beneficial as the Mavericks had 63 points from the bench.

The Mavericks will wrap up weekend on Saturday, as they play host to UW-Parkside at Taylor Center with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

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