Sioux Falls, S.D. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team (8-0, 4-0 NSIC) traveled to Sioux Falls S.D., to square off in another NSIC matchup against the Augustana University women's basketball team (3-4, 0-4 NSIC). The Mavericks prevailed as they would claim victory in an overtime battle with the Vikings with a 91-86 victory Friday evening.
Joey Batt would lead all Mavericks in scoring with 22, which continues her scoring streak of 15 plus in all eight contests this year, and five assists this evening. The Mavericks also saw three others hit the double-digit scoring mark as Maddy Olson, Taylor Theusch and Emily Russo all had 14 in the contest. Freshman Destinee Bursch led the team in rebounds with six.
The first quarter saw a tightly contested game as the Vikings trailed the Mavericks 11-9 halfway through. Neither team was able to establish any consistent offensive threat in the opening frame. Both the Mavericks and Vikings hit scoring skids where neither team scored in over two plus minutes. Carah Drees would put an end to the scoring drought. The junior came off the bench and provided an instant spark as she knocked down an elbow jumper and a three ball from the right wing on back-to-back possessions to give life to the Mavericks offense. She would find her way to the charity stripe shortly after and continue what would become a Mavericks 12-3 run to finish the first quarter with a score of 23-13. The Vikings had some success early on against the Maverick press but, it would begin to take full effect in the second as the heat and pressure would create pearls of points on the other end with 10 points off turnovers just over halfway through the second. Despite the early success by the Mavericks, the Vikings would answer the bell and continue a 13-0 run after the media timeout to take the lead with just over two minutes left in the half. The Mavericks would trail the Vikings 38-37 at halftime.
As a team, the Mavericks shot just under 24% from the field comparatively to the Vikings 61.5%. The Mavericks would shoot 28.6% from downtown and 50% from the charity stripe. The Mavericks would force the Vikings into eight turnovers and swipe five steals.
The Mavericks would regain control of the lead as they opened the frame with a 10-5 run powered by two three balls from Theusch and Batt to take a 47-43 lead. Out of the third quarter media break, the Vikings would generate back-to-back layups to square it up at 49. Both teams had six lead changes at this point as it was a back-and-forth affair. The Vikings would end the third on an 8-3 run to take a four-point lead with a score of 57-53. The Mavericks began the fourth fast with a block down low by Drees that set up a Theusch three pointer in transition. This would ignite an 8-3 run for the Mavericks that would force Augustana to call a timeout. After the break, the Mavericks would continue the offensive onslaught as they extended the scoring run to 15-5. The Vikings would once again make a stand as they took off on 7-0 run to get within one. Both teams would trade baskets down the stretch to keep it at a one-point advantage in favor of the Mavericks. Out of an Augustana timeout, the Vikings had possession of the ball with 14 seconds remaining trailing by one. The Vikings would draw a foul and it would put them at the line where they would go one for two and take a one-point lead with 10.6 seconds remaining. Out of another timeout, Batt would take the inbound pass, slice down the lane, and draw a foul to get to the line where she would go one for two and tie it up at 73 with five seconds left in regulation. The Mavericks defense would lockdown the Vikings and force overtime. In the extra frame the Mavericks free throw shooting would be the difference maker down the stretch. They would go 12-15 from the line and outscore the Vikings 18-13 to pull off a 91-86 victory to remain undefeated.
As a team, the Mavericks finished the contest shooting 33.3% from the field and 32% from beyond the arc. The Mavericks went 30-40 from the free throw line for 75%. The Mavericks were out rebounded by the Vikings 65-36. The Mavericks would force the Vikings into 34 turnovers and turn that into 22 points on the other end. The Mavericks bench would account for over a third of the teams' points as they scored 33 compared to the Vikings 13.
The Mavericks will wrap up the road swing tomorrow, as they travel to Wayne, Neb., to take on the Wayne State Wildcats with tip-off slated for 5:30 p.m.
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