MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State women's basketball (5-4) won its third-straight game Saturday against Southwest Minnesota State (2-6) by a score of 78-50. Senior Joey Batt led all scorers for the second-consecutive night, scoring 21 points and had seven steals in the win over the Mustangs.

Minnesota State started out the game with a hot hand, getting out to an early 8-0 lead after two layups by Natalie Bremer and Emily Herzberg. The Mavericks extended their lead, going on a run that put them up 24-9. Batt had six points in that stretch to lead the team. The Mustangs bounced back, however, pulling their deficit to 12 points by the end of the quarter. The first quarter ended with the Mavericks leading 29-17.

Mackenzie Schweim hit the Mavericks' first three pointer to stop an 8-3 Southwest Minnesota State run that brought the Mustangs within single-digits. Schweim's jumper sparked a quick run for Minnesota State that saw Batt score four quick points to extend the lead, 41-27. Minnesota State closed out the half with a commanding 47-31 lead.
In the first half, Minnesota State scored 27 points off of 15 forced turnovers. The Mavericks shot 50% from the field in the first half and made 12-14 from the free throw line. Batt had 13 points, four steals and two rebounds in the first half. Bremer scored 12 points on 4-5 shooting in the first half. Destinee Bursch finished the first 20 minutes of play with six points, two assists and two steals. The Mustangs were led by Hannah Parsley, who had nine points, four rebounds and a steal in the first half. The team shot 48% from the field in the first half but missed each of its nine first half three-point attempts.

The Mustangs controlled the third quarter, only allowing Minnesota State to score 10 points in the third period of play. An and-one layup by Delaynie Luneckas put the Mavericks up 55-39 with 3:26 left in the quarter. Madison Gehloff hit a three-pointer and made two free throws to score five quick points in the last minute of the quarter. Southwest Minnesota State outscored Minnesota State 13-10 coming out of halftime.

Two more buckets by Gehloff brought the Mustangs within 11 points of the Maverick lead, but Minnesota State had other plans. The Mavericks proceeded to close out the game on a 19-2 run, as SMSU shot just 1-11 from the floor in the final seven-and-a-half minutes. Hannah Herzig led the Mavericks during that run, scoring seven points. The final score of the game was 78-50. Minnesota State held the Mustangs to just six fourth quarter points.

The Mavericks finished the game with a 40% shooting percentage. While the team only shot 2-15 from beyond the arc, Minnesota State made 24-29 free throws, an 82.8% free throw percentage. The Mavericks forced 32 SMSU turnovers, scored 47 points off those turnovers and had 21 steals. Both teams scored 42 points in the paint and Minnesota State was outrebounded by the Mustangs, 44-41.

Minnesota State was led by Batt, who finished with season-highs in points with 21 and steals with seven. Bremer was the second-leading scorer for the Mavericks; she finished with 14 points, two rebounds and three steals. Bursch and Herzig each finished with nine points. Bursch ended with three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Herzig added six rebounds and a steal. Emily Russo and Herzberg also had six rebounds each. Herzberg finished with eight points. Ava Stier had six points, three rebounds and three steals off the bench for the Mavericks.

Southwest Minnesota State ended up shooting 34% from the field, making only one of its 22 three-point attempts (4.5% 3PT). The Mustangs had 11 steals of their own against the Mavericks and dished out 11 assists. Gehloff lead the Mustangs in scoring with 14 points. She also grabbed six rebounds, had three assists and a steal. Parsley finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and a steal. Bri Stoltzman ended with seven points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals against the Mavericks.

"We got a little complacent early in the second half, but we finished strong," said Mavericks head coach Emilee Thiesse. "We feed off fast breaks and steals, and we made the most of those opportunities." 

Thiesse said that both Batt and Bursch's contributions were key in the win. "I can't say enough about what Joey brings to the court for us. Her energy and focus and leadership on the court are irreplaceable. And Destinee is such an intense player. She gets frustrated when she isn't getting the rebounds she wants," Thiesse joked. "But she made the right plays for us tonight."

The Mavericks are on the road next week to continue NSIC play. Minnesota State will travel to Augustana to take on the Vikings (1-3) on Friday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon, and then travel to Neb. to take on Wayne State (3-2) on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 5:30 p.m. The Mavericks have five-straight against the both the Vikings and the Wildcats.