Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State Women's basketball team (13-4, 9-4 NSIC) headed to Bismarck, N.D., to take on the Marauders of the University of Mary (10-12, 4-9 NSIC) to finish their North Dakota road swing. The Mavericks used a big second half to win this one handedly 74-60 Saturday evening. 

The Mavericks had three players reach the double-figure scoring mark with Maddy Olson leading the way with 15 points and 3 steals. Joey Batt contributed 13 points and three assists in the victory. Molly Ihle led the Mavericks on the glass and in assists with seven and four, respectively.  

With both teams coming off losses from last night they looked to rebound back into the win column. The Marauders started things quickly with an 8-2 run to begin the game. From there, the Mavericks would even it up at 10 at the first media timeout after at Batt layup. Both the Mavericks and Marauders would go blow for blow the remainder of the quarter. The Marauders would hit a three-pointer with just under a minute remaining to take a 18-15 lead to the break. The Mavericks offense would ignite immediately in the second as Taylor Theusch drained a three-ball to begin the frame. The Mavericks would outscore the Marauders 21-10 in the quarter. Minnesota State began to extend their separation with a 11-2 run with just over four minutes remaining in the second. The Mavericks led by as much as 10 in the quarter and took a 36-28 lead to the locker room. 

The Marauders would cut the lead down to six to begin the third but, the Mavericks would settle in and creep the lead back to double digits after back-to-back jumpers from Destinee Bursch with 5:37 left in the quarter. From here, the Mavericks offense would accelerate and would take an 18-point lead to the break. The Mavericks defense continued to make life difficult for the Marauders on the offense end as baskets did not come easy. The Mavericks had one of their largest leads of the game at 19 after a Batt jumper with just under 2:30 remaining in the game. The Mavericks cruised to a 74-60 victory. 

As a team, the Mavericks shot 28-68 from the field for 41.2% and 9-28 from downtown for 32.1%. The Mavericks were 81.8% from the charity stripe going 9-11. The Mavericks were out rebounded by the Marauders 42-33. The Mavericks forced 27 turnovers and turned them into 27 points on the offensive end. Also, the Mavericks racked up 14 assists and 13 steals in the contest. 

The Mavericks will return to action Friday Jan. 28 as they return to Taylor Center to take on another North Division foe in MSU Moorhead. Tip-off against the Dragons is slated for 5:30 p.m. 

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