Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team (17-5, 13-5 NSIC) opened their weekend home stand against the Wayne State women's basketball team (9-12, 6-11 NSIC) Friday evening in Taylor Center. The Mavericks ran away with this one-sided affair against their NSIC South Division foe. Minnesota State claimed a 95-58 victory over the Wildcats.
Senior Mikayla Nachazel led all scorers with 16-points and six rebounds. Maddy Olson added 10-points and led the team in assists with five. Emily Russo led the Mavericks on the glass with eight rebounds and netted five points in her efforts. Tayla Stuttley added 12-points to the total in the contest.
The Mavericks began this one ablaze as their front-court pressure stymied the Wildcats advances. Joey Batt began the scoring parade with a lay-up right from the tip. Minnesota State began their accent from there, as Stuttley would put down seven-points in three consecutive possessions. The Mavericks allowed just seven points in the quarter until the Wildcats hit a right wing three-ball with 17 seconds remaining. Minnesota State took a 20-10 lead to the first quarter break.
In the second, the Mavericks pressure began to take a toll on the Wildcats as they forced them into nine of their 15 first half turnovers in the quarter. Emily Herzberg contributed four of the nine first half steals in the second quarter as well. Offensively, the Mavericks couldn't miss. Minnesota State started the second frame with an 11-2 run that pushed the lead to 19. The Mavericks continued the up tempo play on both ends and increased their lead to 22, the largest of the half, and took a 48-19 lead to the locker room.
The second half was dominated start to finish by the Mavericks. Minnesota State once again started the quarter with a double-digit run, 10-3. Wayne State kept up with the Mavericks in the third but, they were outscored 22-20 in the quarter and didn't cut into the large deficit. The Mavericks ended the frame up 70-49. With just under five minutes remaining in the game, Minnesota State saw their bench continue to provide offensively. Ali Hunstad added six-points with a top of the key three-ball and three free throws on back-to back possessions. The defense remained fierce for the Mavericks as they forced 27 turnovers and racked up 19 steals. Minnesota State ran away with it 95-58
As a team, the Mavericks shot 57.4% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc compared to just 35.8% for the Wildcats. Minnesota State was 16-24 from the charity stripe and out rebounded Wayne State 36-26.
The Mavericks return to the floor tomorrow for a Saturday matinee as they welcome the Augustana University Vikings to the friendly confines of Taylor Center with tip-off slated for 3:30 p.m.
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