Wayne, Neb. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team (9-0, 5-0 NSIC) traveled to Wayne, Neb., to take on the Wayne State women's basketball team (6-3, 3-2 NSIC) in hopes of completing the weekend road sweep in NSIC competition. The Mavericks would do just that. They defeated the Wildcats 63 to 52 to advance to 9-0 on the season and remain perfect in NSIC action.
The Mavericks were led offensively by Taylor Theusch who had 16 points and was 7-14 shooting in the contest. The Mavericks had two others reach double digit scoring with Maddy Olson and Emily Russo knocking down 14 and 10 points, respectively. Molly Ihle led the team on the glass with eight rebounds. Joey Batt and Olson both led the Mavericks with four assists.
The Mavericks began the game with their traditional full court press that helped push them to a 7-1 run to begin the game. They forced the Wildcats into many one shot and done on their offensive end. The defensive rebounding was a big proponent in that. The Mavericks forced Wayne State into 11 turnovers in the first frame. The Maverick offense would come to life on the backside of the first as Theusch would spark a 10-0 run to end the first on a right wing three ball. The Mavericks would lead the Wildcats 17-4 at the end of one. After the break, the Wildcats would go on a 6-0 run to begin the quarter before the Mavericks were able to get on the board with a put back lay in by Emily Russo. The Mavericks would regain some footing as Theusch would knock down her second three ball to put the lead back to nine. The Wildcats, however, would continue to chip away at the lead and get within four on the back of their five three pointers with just over four minutes remaining in the half. Neither team was able to find any rhythm during the second as the teams would commit a combined 26 fouls. The Mavericks also forced the Wildcats into 16 turnovers but were only able to turn that into six points on the other end. Despite the troubles at the end of the quarter the Mavericks held a five-point lead with a score of 28-23 at half.
As a team, the Mavericks shot 31.4% from the field comparatively to Wayne States 28.6%. From beyond on the arc, the Mavericks shot just 15.4% as they went 2-13. They would go 4-7 from the free throw line which was good for just over 57%. The Mavericks held a slight rebounding margin at half 22-20. The Mavericks would have a sizable advantage in the paint with 16 points to Waynes' four.
To begin the third the Mavericks offense would find its way as they outscored the Wildcats 19-11. The Mavericks would push the lead back into double digits as they held their largest lead of the game in the third at 13. The Mavericks would shoot 63.6% from the field, almost double what the Wildcats shot in the third quarter. Maddy Olson would contribute seven points of the team 19 in the third. In the fourth, the Mavericks would continue to keep their distance from the Wildcats as they earned an 11-4 run with just over four minutes remaining to keep their 13-point lead. The Mavericks would continue their strong play to wrap up the quarter and the game with yet another victory with a final score of 63-52.
As a team this evening, the Mavericks finished the contest shooting 40% from the field, 23.8% from beyond the arc and 58.8% from the charity stripe. The Mavericks would out rebound the Wildcats 39-33. The Mavericks also forced 26 turnovers to their 15.
The Mavericks return to the court next Friday December 17th as they play host to the University of Sioux Falls at Taylor Center with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m., Then, on Saturday December 18th the Mavericks continue their home stand with a contest against Southwest Minnesota State with game time set for 5:30 p.m.
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