Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team (7-0, 3-0 NSIC) traveled to Winona, Minn. to take on the Winona State University women's basketball team (4-3, 1-2 NSIC) in their third NSIC conference game of the season. The Mavericks were able to weather an early storm by the Warriors to remain undefeated with a final score of 76-67.

The Mavericks were once again led in scoring by sophomore guard Joey Batt, who continued her streak of scoring 15 plus points a game to seven by putting down 17 points against the Warriors. Freshman Destinee Bursch would score 16 and would haul in a team high seven rebounds and four assists. The Mavericks saw a third player hit the double-digit mark as sophomore Taylor Theusch had 10 points, three assists and two rebounds in the contest.  

The Mavericks in the first faced a barrage of points by the Warriors as they jumped up on the Mavericks with a 19-12 lead with just under four minutes left in the first. The Warriors outshot the Mavericks 66% from the field compared to 36%. From there, the Mavericks defensive press would start to force the Warriors into turnovers and were able to take advantage on the other end and re-take the lead 20-19 at the end of the first. The Mavericks ended the first on an 8-0 run. After facing the early surge in the first by the Warriors, the Mavericks struggled to find any consistency on the offensive end. The Warriors were able to find open shots and knock them down and ended the first half on a 9-0 run and held a slim four-point margin heading into the locker room with the score at 33-37. 

As a team, the Mavericks shot just under 40% compared to the Warriors 48% from the field. The Mavericks shot 35.7% from long distance as they went 5-14 in the first half. The Mavericks did not attempt any free throws the entire half. The Mavericks held a slim rebound advantage at 19-17. The Mavericks forced 10 turnovers but, also committed nine. 

The Mavericks offense would come to life in the third as they went on a 18-6 run to begin the third quarter and would take an eight-point lead, the largest of the game thus far. The Mavericks held the Warriors to only 10 points in the third as the defensive pressure began to take affect and force the Warriors into poor decision making on the floor. With the Mavericks holding the ball for the last shot to end the third, freshman Destinee Bursch had a beautiful entry pass down low to sophomore Emily Russo who finished with a lay-up at the buzzer to give the Mavericks a 10-point advantage at the end of three. Early in the fourth Batt and Olson would both get their fourth personal foul and would have to head to the bench. The Mavericks depth would prove to be ready for the challenge as they would hold strong for the team down the stretch. The Mavericks would stymie a late Warriors push that cut the lead to five and would hit seven of 10 free throws in the closing minutes of the fourth to put the Warriors down for the count with a 76-67 victory. 

As a team, the Mavericks would surpass the Warriors in field goal percentage shooting 45.2% comparatively to 43.1% for the Warriors. The Mavericks shot 47.6% from downtown and just 52.6% from the charity stripe. The Mavericks high intensity defense forced Winona into 23 turnovers and were able to turn that into 27 points on the other end.  

The Mavericks will remain on the road as they continue NSIC competition as they head to Sioux Falls, S.D., to take on Augustana University on Friday December 10th with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m., Then, on Saturday December 11th the Mavericks wrap-up the weekend at Wayne State in Wayne, Neb., with the tip slated for 5:30 p.m. 

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