Sioux Falls, S.D. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team (21-5, 17-5 NSIC) traveled to Sioux Falls, S.D., to open their NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament play as the number one seed in the south. The Mavericks dominated the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State (13-13, 9-12 NSIC) from start to finish Saturday evening as they walked away with an 89-65 win in the quarterfinal round.
Minnesota State had four players reach the double-digit scoring mark with First Team All-NSIC selection, Joey Batt leading the way with 17 points and five assists. Emily Russo led the Mavericks on the glass this evening as she hauled in eight rebounds. Second Team All-NSIC selection, Maddy Olson led the team in assists with six and knocked down 12 points for Minnesota State. Freshman of the Year, Destinee Bursch was the second leading scorer with 13 and led the team in steals with four.
The Mavericks began the contest on a 7-0 run started by a Mikayla Nachazel jumper. The Minnesota State offense accelerated quickly after back-to-back jumpers from Bursch pushing the lead to 16 with just under five minutes remaining. The Mavericks pressure was relentless from start to finish. Minnesota State kept the pedal down and held at 32-12 lead at the end of the first.
Minnesota State never looked back in this as they led by as much as 26 in the first half. The Mavericks shot 51% in the first half as they could not miss. Minnesota State had a well-rounded attack on offense as 12 players notched points in the contest including 34 points from the bench. The Mavericks were quick in transition against the Mustangs as they racked up 25 fast break points. The Mavericks held a 49-25 lead at the halftime break.
The second half of action saw the Mavericks patented pressure continue. They forced 33 turnovers by the Mustangs tonight. Minnesota States lead never fell below 20 in the third and they led by as much as 32 after a Carah Drees layup from Olson. At the end of the third the Mavericks led 76-46. Minnesota State carried its dominance through the fourth quarter and walked away with a convincing quarterfinal victory over the Mustangs with a final score of 89-65.
As a team, the Mavericks shot 37-81 from the field for 45.7% and went three of nine from behind the arc for 33.3%. Minnesota State was 12 of 16 from the charity stripe for 75% in the contest. The Mavericks held a sizable rebound margin, as they out rebounded the Mustangs 40 to 24. Minnesota States defense accumulated 22 steals in the win.
The Mavericks return to action in the semi-final round of the NSIC tournament on Monday, as they await the winner of the Minnesota Duluth versus University of Mary quarterfinal game tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. The tip-off for the semi-final game for the Mavericks on Monday is slated for 7:00 p.m.
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