DULUTH, Minn. --- It came down to the closing seconds Friday evening, but a basket from sophomore Destinee Bursch with 2.9 seconds left proved to be the difference as the Mavericks defeated Central Missouri  83-81 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

With the win, MSU improves to 26-4 on the season. With the loss, UCM finishes its season with a 25-5 record.

The early going of the first quarter favored the Jennies as UCM built a 9-2 lead with 4:57 to go in the quarter. The Jennies would go up by eight at 16-8 with 2:28 to go in the quarter but the Mavericks would cut into UCM's lead as they finished the quarter on an 8-5 run to close quarter trailing 21-16.

The second quarter saw the Mavericks put together a 10-4 run during the first 2:11 to take their first lead of the game at 26-25. The lead would exchange hands four more times in the quarter with MSU building a six-point lead at 38-32 with 3:40 to go in the half. The Jennies managed to get back within one of the Mavericks in the final minute, but a three pointer from Joey Batt with five seconds left gave the Mavericks a 42-38 lead heading into halftime.

Batt led all scorers in the first half with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second quarter. As a team, MSU shot 45.9% from the field in the first half, while forcing 11 UCM turnovers.

Brooke Littrell led the Jennies in the first half with nine points. As a team, Central Missouri shot 48.4% from the field.

Central Missouri opened the third quarter outscoring the Mavericks 22-2 to take a 60-44 lead with 4:56 to go in the quarter. MSU responded with a 14-2 run of its own over the next two minutes to cut the Jennies lead to four at 62-48 with 2:39 left in the quarter. UCM would hold the lead through the rest of the quarter as the Jennies led 67-65 by the end of the third quarter. Bursch notched 10 points for the Mavericks in the third quarter.

By the midpoint of the fourth quarter, MSU lead by four at 73-69 with 4:58 to go. UCM would put together an 8-2 run over the next three minutes to go up 77-75 with 1:47 remaining. A layup from Bursch tied the score at 79-79 with :55 to go. Both teams exchanged a pair of free throws to bring the score to 81-81 with :14 left which set the stage for Bursch who hit a jumper shot with 2.9 seconds left to put the Mavericks up 83-81. UCM could not get a final shot off as MSU secured the 83-81 win.

Batt finished with a game-high 23 points and five steals, while Bursch added 20 points on a 9-of-16 performance from the field. Junior Emily Herzberg tallied 11 points and five rebounds also.
As a team, MSU shot 43.1% from the field. The Mavericks also scored 23 points off of 22 Central Missouri turnovers.

Olivia Nelson led the Jennies with 22 points, while Littrell finished with a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds.

As a team, UCM shot 50.8% from the field. The Jennies also cashed in on 19-of-24 (.792) attempts from the free throw line.

Minnesota State continues its season on Saturday as it takes on Minnesota Duluth in the second round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Duluth, Minn. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., at Romano Gymnasium.