Hays, Kansas. --- It came down to the closing seconds Friday evening but it was Minnesota State's Destinee Bursch that made the final shot to claim the 65-63 win for the Mavericks over Fort Hays State.
With the win, MSU improves to 2-0 on the season. With the loss, FHSU drops to 2-3 on the season.
The Mavericks exchanged the lead once and worked a lead of six points early in the first quarter and would never give it up as they finished the quarter up18-12. In the second quarter, Minnesota State found itself tied at 21-21 after the Tigers scored ten straight points but MSU would jump back in front again with a lead of eight points to close the first half up 33-25.
At halftime, MSU netted 14 out of 33 field goals. Freshman Natalie Bremer led the Mavericks in scoring in the first half with seven points, while junior Emily Herzberg netted six points and a steal.
The Tigers fought back during the third quarter to tie the game at 39-39 and took the lead for the second time since the beginning of the first quarter at 47-46. During the last quarter, the lead changed five times and was tied nine times. Four different Mavericks would score in the final quarter and with only three seconds left to play the score was tied 63-63. Sophomore Destinee Bursch gave the Mavericks the win as she connected on a jump shot as time expired to give the Mavericks 65-63 win.
Junior Joey Batt shot 6-of-16 and led the Mavericks with 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Herzberg tallied 11 points, three assists, three steals, and two rebounds. Junior Taylor Theusch added 10 points and four assists, while Bremer tallied nine points and four rebounds.
As a unit, Minnesota State shot 37.5% from the field and scored 19 points off turnovers. They also passed out 14 assists and recorded 46 rebounds.
Fort Hays was led by Katie Wagner with 17 points while Ellie Stearns and Olivia Hollenbeck added nine points each.
Minnesota State continues its season on the road tomorrow against Northwest Missouri State in Hays, Kan. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.