CROOKSTON, Minn. – Minnesota State women's basketball (12-4, 9-1 NSIC) dominated the Golden Eagles of Minnesota Crookston (9-7, 6-4 NSIC) Saturday evening, 100-49. The Mavericks forced a season-high 40 turnovers, the eighth time this season the team has forced 30 or more turnovers. Destinee Bursch, Joey Batt and Emily Herzberg combined for 61 points against the Golden Eagles. Saturday's loss was the first at home for Minnesota Crookston this season.

Two early three-pointers from Herzberg put the Mavericks up 8-2 early in the opening quarter. The Golden Eagles scored a few baskets themselves, but a three-point make from Batt put the Mavericks up 15-8 with six minutes left in the quarter. However, Minnesota Crookston went on a quick 7-0 run led by Olivia Walsh, who hit a three-pointer and a layup to tie the game at 17-17. A Destinee Bursch and-one layup capped off a 30-second 8-0 run to give Minnesota State a 25-17 lead. Herzberg hit her third three-pointer of the quarter to extend the MSU lead to 10 with 2:31 remaining in the first. The Mavericks closed out the first on a 7-1 run, giving Minnesota State a 35-19 lead after 10 minutes of play. The first quarter was the highest-scoring quarter for the Mavericks thus far this season.

Jumpers from Hannah Herzig and Bursch put the Mavericks up by 20 with 8:40 left to play in the half, 39-19. A Batt mid-range jumper put the Mavericks up 45-21. Another Herzberg three, her fourth, and two free throws from Grace Mueller put Minnesota State up 50-21 and capped off an 11-0 run for the Mavericks. A Bursch three with 1:39 left in the half put Minnesota State up 57-23. The half ended with MSU up big, 59-23. The Mavericks held Minnesota Crookston to just four second-quarter points.

Minnesota State shot 40% (20-50) from the field in the first half, including 7-14 from three-point range and 12-12 from the free throw line. The Mavericks forced 30 first-half turnovers and had 16 steals, scoring 35 points off turnovers. 13 of the Mavericks' baskets in the first half were assisted. Minnesota State collected 14 offensive rebounds in the first half and scored 20 points on second-chance opportunities.

Herzberg, Batt and Bursch each had 14 points heading into the locker room. Batt had five steals and two assists in the first half. Bursch had two rebounds, three assists and a steal. In the first half, Herzberg made 4-5 from beyond the three-point line, setting a season-high in three-pointers made. Natalie Bremer also had five steals through the first two quarters of play. Mueller was one point shy of her career-high in the first half with seven points.

Minnesota Crookston made nine of its 19 first half shot attempts, shooting 47% from the field. The Golden Eagles made one three-pointer and went 4-9 from the charity stripe. The team outrebounded on the defensive side of the ball 16-8. Emma Miller led Minnesota Crookston in scoring in the first half with nine points on 4-8 shooting. Miller also had three rebounds, two steals and seven turnovers.

The Mavericks continued to dominate, opening the second half on a 15-2 run in the first four minutes of the third quarter, giving MSU a 74-25 lead. Bursch and Batt led Minnesota State on that run, scoring seven and four points, respectively, in that stretch. Three-pointers from Nicole Hernandez and Miller for Minnesota Crookston ended a four-minute scoring drought for the Eagles. The third quarter ended with the score 86-34.

A three-pointer from Miller and a two-point jumper from Walsh started the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 86-39. The Golden Eagles and the Mavericks traded baskets back and forth until Herzig hit a three-pointer to put Minnesota State up 93-43. The game ended with a score of 100-49.

Minnesota State shot 36-92 from the field (39%), 10-25 from three-point range (40%) and 18-23 from the charity stripe (78%) against the Golden Eagles. The Mavericks forced a season-high 40 turnovers while only committing 11 themselves. The team had 23 steals and scored 48 points off turnovers. The last time the Mavericks forced 40+ turnovers was last season against UMary, where they had 45. The Mavericks ended with 50 rebounds, including 25 offensive boards. MSU scored 26 second-chance points and 31 fastbreak points. The Mavericks shot 42 more shots than the Golden Eagles. After the game was tied at 17-17 midway through the first quarter, Minnesota State outscored Minnesota Crookston by 42 points.

Bursch led all scorers, finishing with 25 points (11-19 FG), six assists and two rebounds. Batt ended with 18 points and seven steals to lead the team. Herzberg scored a season-high 18 points, shooting 4-7 from three. Mueller scored 11 points, a career-high for the senior. Herzig also ended with 11 points. Despite playing for just nine minutes, Lilly Nuytten led the Mavericks in rebounds, grabbing a career-high eight boards. Bremer finished with seven points and six steals.

Minnesota Crookston shot 18-50 from the floor (36%) against the Mavericks, including 4-19 from three (21%) and 9-15 from the free throw line (60%). The Golden Eagles collected 44 rebounds and dished out 10 assists. Miller ended with 17 points to lead the team, grabbing four rebounds and passing out two assists.

"We've been challenging our team to put together a consistent week from Monday through Saturday," said Minnesota State head coach, Emilee Thiesse, "and this week our team really stepped up. We practiced with an edge this week and it translated to a great team weekend! We need to continue to build off that consistency and keep improving one day at a time."

The road trip continues for the Mavericks as they travel to N.D. next week to take on Minot State (5-14, 2-8 NSIC) and UMary (11-7, 7-3 NSIC). Minnesota State plays the Beavers on Friday, Jan. 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Minot State Dome and takes on the Marauders on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 3:30 p.m. The Mavericks have won five straight against UMary and eight of the last 10 against Minot State.