Mankato, Minn. --- #11 Minnesota State travels to Sioux Falls, S.D., this weekend to compete in the second round of the NSIC Tournament at the Sanford Pentagon. The Mavericks will take on the winner of Friday's game between Wayne State and UMary on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. 

Last Time Out:  The Mavericks went 2-0 last weekend as they closed the regular season as NSIC South Division Champions and with a nine-game winning streak. MSU defeated Winona State 65-42 on Thursday and closed the regular season schedule with a 99-82 win over Upper Iowa.   

About Wayne State: The Wildcats are 11-15 (7-15 NSIC) and are coached by Brent Pollari, who is in his fifth season as head coach. 

Wayne State is averaging 68.6 points and 33.8 rebounds per game this season, while shooting .393 from the field. 

Lauren Zacharias is leading the Wildcats with 15.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Kassidy Pingel is averaging 10.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. 

About University of Mary: The Marauders are 13-12 (12-10 NSIC) and are coached by Rick Neumann, who is in his eighth season as head coach. 

University of Mary is averaging 65.8 points and 36.5 rebounds per game this season, while shooting .417 from the field. 

Megan Zander leads the Marauders with 14.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Megan Voit is averaging 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. 

Stat Pack: As a team Minnesota State is averaging 84.2 points, 39.7 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 2.3 blocks and 17.2 steals per game. Junior Joey Batt is averaging 16.6 points, sophomore Destinee Bursch is averaging 14.9 points per game and freshman Natalie Bremer is averaging 14.2 points a game. 

1,000 Career Points: Minnesota State junior Joey Batt scored 31 points in MSU's 80-71 win over UW-Parkside. In doing so, Batt became the 23rd member of the Minnesota State 1,000 Point Club. Batt who ranks 9th on the all-time scoring list at Minnesota State with 1,353 points, trailing Amy Swanson who has 1,399 points at the eighth spot. 

Taking it Away: Minnesota State junior Joey Batt ranks third all-time in steals at Minnesota State 251 steals in her career. She currently has 81 for this 22-23 season. She is trailing Anne Christopherson at the second spot with 286 steals of MSU's all time steals-list. 

Grand Larceny: Minnesota State currently leads NCAA Division II in steals per game with 17.2 a game. In total the Mavericks have recorded 446 steals this season. 

NSIC's Player of the Week: Freshman Natalie Bremer was named twice the NSIC South Division Player of the Week (12/5/2022) for her performance in MSU's two wins over Winona State and Upper Iowa. Bremer averaged 20 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in two Maverick wins. Bremer scored 21 points while shooting 8-of-13 from the field, including a 3-of-7 showing from the three point line against Winona State. In her first start of the season, Bremer recorded 19 points, six rebounds and three steals against Upper Iowa. 

(2/13/2023) Bremer averaged 21.5 points, 3.0 steals and 2.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 70.8% from the field. She notched a career-high 26 points against Wayne State as she connected on 10-of-12 shots from the field. Bremer followed up with a 16-point performance against Augustana that helped snap AU's 10-game winning streak. 

Minnesota State junior Joey Batt was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week for her efforts against Augustana and Wayne State (12/12/22). Batt averaged 17.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.0 rebounds in MSU's two wins, while shooting 56.0% from the field. Batt notched 20 points and five assists against Augustana, before posting 15 points, five assists and five steals against Wayne State. 

Minnesota State History: The 2022-23 season marks the 58th season in Minnesota State women's basketball program history, dating back to 1966. During that span, the Mavericks own a record of 802-654 (.550). 

Walking the Sidelines: Head Coach Emilee Thiesse is in her 11th season at the helm of MSU Women's Basketball. She has amassed a 191-109 (.636) overall record, including three NCAA Tournament appearances in the 2012-13, 2014-15 and the 2021-22 seasons. In NSIC games, she owns a 141-82 (.632) career record. 

Nationally Speaking: Statistically, the Mavericks rank in several national categories, including: 

Rank Category Total 

1st steals per game       17.2 

2nd turnover margin    12.23 

4th scoring offense       84.2 

11th winning percentage 88.5 

18th assists per game       16.7 

23rd assist/turnover ratio   1.14 

71st turnovers per game 14.6 

Individually, the following Mavericks are ranked in the top-25 in the nation: 

Rank Name Category      Total 

18th Molly Ihle (assist-to-turnover ratio)    2.44 

28th Taylor Theusch (assist-to-turnover ratio)    2.33 

6th Joey Batt (steals per game)                      3.12 

7th Joey Batt (steals)                                81 

Home Sweet Home:   Over the last four years, the Mavericks have played to a 40-7 (.851) winning percentage inside the friendly confines of the Taylor Center. 

Inside the polls: The Mavericks have been ranked in every WBCA poll this year, reaching a ranking as high as #4 on Dec. 13. 

Coming up: Should Minnesota defeat either Wayne State or UMary in the second round of the NSIC Tournament, it will face the winner of the game between St. Cloud State and Southwest Minnesota State in the semifinals of the NSIC Tournament on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. 

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