MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State women's basketball (10-4, 7-1 NSIC) travels to Bemidji State to take on the Beavers (3-9, 0-8 NSIC) on Friday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 13, the Mavericks will play the Golden Eagles of Minnesota Crookston (8-6, 5-3 NSIC) at 5:30 p.m. The Mavericks are in the midst of an eight-game win streak, defeating seven conference opponents over that stretch.
 
About the Mavericks

New Year, Same Results: Minnesota State women's basketball, in its first game of 2024, defeated the Northern State Wolves 69-48. Heading into that game, MSU was ranked first in the conference and NSU was ranked second. The Mavericks took control of the contest in the second half, outscoring the Wolves 36-20 in the final two quarters. Minnesota State forced 28 turnovers and scored 25 points off turnovers. Sophomore Natalie Bremer led all scorers with 21 points and led the Mavericks in steals with four. Destinee Bursch and Joey Batt also combined for 30 points against Northern State.

Top of the Standings: The Mavericks find themselves in sole possession of first place in the NSIC, up one-half game on Southwest Minnesota State, which MSU defeated in early December. After losing their first conference game to Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 21, the Mavericks have won seven consecutive games against conference opponents. The team's eight-game win streak is the longest in the conference.

Cleanup Batt-er: Minnesota State's senior guard, Joey Batt has been a star for the Mavericks in 2023-24. Since returning from an injury that sidelined her for the first five games, the Mavericks are 8-1, winning by an average of 21.4 points per game since Batt's return. Batt is averaging 17.6 points per game on 52/38/78 shooting splits, three rebounds, three assists and four steals per game this season. She leads Minnesota State in points, steals, minutes, field goal percentage and three-point percentages, and is tied for first in assists per game. Batt earned NSIC Player of the Week honors for her showing against Augustana and Wayne State. In those games, she averaged 23.5 points, six steals and four assists while shooting 66% from the field.

A Bursch Tree: Destinee Bursch has been another vital contributor to the Mavericks' success this season. The junior from Chaska, Minn. leads Minnesota State in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game through the first 14 games with 42/21/70 shooting splits. Bursch is also tied with Batt for the team lead in assists per game, averaging 3.1. She is also averaging four rebounds and 1.8 steals per contest. Bursch has had 16+ points in each of her last four games, including a 22-point, four-assist, six-rebound, two-steal performance at Winona State. Bursch has had 10+ points for the Mavericks in 11/14 games in 2023-24. Currently Bursch is 12 points away from reaching the 1,000-career points mark. When she reaches that milestone, she will become the 25th Maverick to do so.

Like Candy from a Baby: The Mavericks lead the NSIC in steals with a team total of 239. Minnesota State has stolen the ball 116 more times than the next highest in the conference, Wayne State. The team also ranks fourth in the country in steals, averaging 17.1 steals per game, third in turnover margin (11.6) and sixth in turnovers forced, forcing 27.6 turnovers per contest. Minnesota State scores 30.8 points per game off turnovers.
Hannah Herzig leads the team in steals, with 40 (2.9 per game). Batt, in nine games, has 36 steals, averaging four per game. Natalie Bremer has 28 steals, Emily Herzberg has 26, Bursch has 25 and Mackenzie Schweim has 22. Overall, the Mavericks have eight players averaging one or more steal per game.

Team Stats: Minnesota State leads the NSIC in scoring and scoring margin, averaging 75.7 points per game on 41% shooting, while winning each game by an average margin of victory of 14.6 points. Each of those numbers also ranks in the top 30 nationally. The Mavericks are shooting 24% from three-point range and 71% from the charity stripe in 2023-24. The team collects 41 rebounds per game and dishes out 14 assists on average, ranking second and third in the NSIC.

Team Leaders: Bursch is the Mavericks' leading scorer so far this season. She has scored 197 points and averaged 14.1 points per game on 42% field goal shooting. She is also the leading passer for Minnesota State, assisting on 44 shots this season. Batt's 17.6 points per game leads the team. Herzberg is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 5.2 boards each game. Batt leads the Mavericks in 3-point percentage and field goal percentage, shooting 52% from the field and shooting 38% from three.

Recent Milestones Reached: Mavericks head coach Emilee Thiesse reached the 200-win plateau against Sioux Falls on Dec. 1. She is the second head coach in program history to reach this milestone. Coach Thiesse's teams have made the NCAA Tournament four times (2012-13, 2014-15, 2021-22 and 2022-23). She has a record of 154-84 against NSIC opponents. During the game against Wayne State, Batt hopped two spots to become the fourth leading scorer in Minnesota State women's basketball history, with 1,584. She now sits behind Ali Wilkinson, who scored 1,634 points in her career. Batt also became the Mavericks' all-time steals leader against Winona State.

Approaching Greatness: Former NSIC Newcomer of the Year, Bursch is currently 12 points away from scoring 1,000 points in her career.
 

About the Beavers
Bemidji State currently sits in last place in the NSIC. The Beavers have not yet won a conference matchup, 0-8 in those contests. The team averages 59 points per game with 39/25/66 shooting splits. Bemidji State grabs 34 rebounds and dishes out 12 assists per game. The Beavers turn the ball over 15 times each game, on average, recording 7.4 steals and 4.4 blocks per game as a team.

Alyssa Hill produces a lot for the Beaver offense, averaging 14.3 points per game with 53/38/83 shooting percentage splits. Hill also averages five rebounds and just under one blocked shot per game. Amme Sheforgen is the team's leading rebounder, and defender, averaging 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals and one block per game. Sam Pogatchnik is averaging 9.5 points per game.

The Beavers are led by ninth-year head coach, Chelsea Stoltenberg. Stoltenberg has amassed a 65-140 record as the head coach of Bemidji State. Minnesota State holds the all-time series lead, 37-15. The Mavericks are 9-1 in their last 10 contests.
  

About the Golden Eagles
Minnesota Crookston ranks seventh in the conference, tied with MSU Moorhead and has gone 5-3 to start conference play, losing its last game to Augustana after winning three straight. The Golden Eagles are averaging 68 points per game, shooting just under 40% from the field as a team, 35% from beyond the arc and 75% from the free throw line. The Eagles bring in 43 rebounds and assist on about 11 made buckets per game. The team turns the ball over 17.5 time per game, on average. Minnesota Crookston also averages 5.8 steals and 4.7 blocks per game.

Minnesota Crookston's leading scorer is sophomore guard Emma Miller, who is averaging 17.4 points per game with 39/40/85 shooting percentages. Miller is also the team's leading rebounder and passer at seven rebounds and about four assists per game. Janie Tormanen averages 12 points per game, 6.1 rebounds, a steal and half-a-block per game. Nicole Hernandez posts 6.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles.

Minnesota Crookston is coached by first-year head coach Natalie Moynihan. Moynihan was an assistant coach at the University of Bridgeport and was formerly a player at Franklin Pierce University and professionally in Europe. The Mavericks also lead the series against the Golden Eagles, 21-7. Minnesota State has won seven of the two teams' last 10 matchups.