WAYNE, Neb. --- #14 Minnesota State rallied in the third and fourth quarters to claim a 94-80 comeback win against Wayne State on the road.
The win pushes Minnesota State to 20-3 overall and 16-3 in the NSIC. The Mavericks also extended their winning streak to six games. This marks the second straight season MSU has won at least 20 games in a season.
With the win, the Mavericks also secured one of the top two seeds in the NSIC South Division and a first-round bye in the NSIC Tournament.
The first quarter saw a total of five lead changes as neither team led by more than five points. Both teams were tied at 21-21 with 2:00 minutes left in the quarter, but the Wildcats would close the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 26-21 lead.
The first minute of the second quarter saw the Wildcats lead, by eight, only to see the Mavericks respond with an 8-0 run to knot up the score at 30-30 with 8:32 to go in the half. The Wildcats answered with a 7-0 run of their own to answer MSU's eight straight points. WSC would hold the lead through the rest of the quarter as it took a 54-51 lead into the locker room.
Freshman Natalie Bremer led the Mavericks at halftime with 15 points. Junior Joey Batt scored nine points while junior Emily Herzberg added seven points.
Nearly six minutes into the third quarter, the Wildcats built a 10-point lead at 72-62. The Mavericks would then outscore the Wildcats 14-3 in the final 3:43 of the quarter to take a 76-75 lead. Both Bremer and sophomore Destinee Bursch recorded five points during that stretch.
The Mavericks opened the fourth quarter on an 11-run to take an 87-75 lead and they would not look back as they went on to claim the 94-80 win.
Bremer scored a career-high 26 points to go along with five steals and four rebounds. Four other Mavericks had two-digit points. Bursch added 17, Batt and Herzberg notched 12, while junior Taylor Theusch added 11 points.
Minnesota State shot at 51.4%, gathered 32 rebounds, recorded 21 steals, and added 21 assists. The Mavericks scored 54 points in the paint in the win and turned 28 Wildcat turnovers into 37 points.
Minnesota State travels to Augustana Saturday. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
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