MINOT, N.D. – Minnesota State Mavericks women's basketball (13-4, 10-1 NSIC) defeated the Beavers of Minot State (5-15, 2-9 NSIC), 87-72, to extend its win streak to 11 games. The Mavericks dominated the offensive glass in this game, grabbing 22 offensive rebounds and scoring 25 second-chance points. Sophomore guard Natalie Bremer led the Mavericks with 21 points and six rebounds against the Beavers, her second 20-point performance of the new year and her third of the season.

The Beavers jumped out to a 5-2 start with a Sydney Gustavsson three-point make with 8:21 remaining in the quarter. Minnesota State took its first lead of the game with a Joey Batt three and a Bremer steal-and-score made it 9-7. The Beavers and Mavericks traded buckets back and forth until a Mackenzie Schweim three put Minnesota State up 16-9 with five minutes remaining in the quarter. A Grace Mueller three extended the Maverick lead to double-digits, but Gustavsson hit a three-pointer in response, bringing the score back to 21-14, in favor of Minnesota State. The Mavericks attempted to score a last-second shot, but Minot State recovered the rebound, pushed the ball up the court and scored a fastbreak layup as time expired. The quarter ended by a score of 25-18.

The second quarter began with lots of scoring, as Bremer made two quick layups and Destinee Bursch made a jumper to put the Mavericks up 31-20. But three-pointers for the Beavers from Gustavsson and Cassidy King brought the lead to 33-26. An offensive rebound and putback layup for Ava Stier forced a Minot State timeout. That score from Stier sparked a quick 9-2 run for the Mavericks, bringing the Minnesota State lead back to double-digits, 46-32. Taylor Goss made a wide-open three-pointer, but Schweim put Minnesota State up 49-35 with a three-pointer as time ran out.

Minnesota State shot 45% in the first half, making 5-15 from beyond the three-point line and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. The Mavericks dominated the boards in the first half, outrebounding the Beavers 24-13, including 11 offensive rebounds. MSU had eight steals in the first two quarters and forced 12 turnovers.

Bremer led all scorers, dropping 14 points in the first half. She also led the Mavericks in rebounds with five boards. Bremer also had two steals. Mueller and Schweim both finished the first half with nine points. Schweim also had two steals and made 3-5 from three-point land.

Minot State shot 48% in the first half. Through the first two quarters, the Beavers shot 5-11 from three and were also 100% from the free throw line, making all four of their attempts. The Beavers did an excellent job of distributing the ball in the first half, dishing out 13 assists as a team. Both Gustavsson and Goss finished the first half with 11 points.

The Beavers were able to beat the Minnesota State press for a couple easy buckets to start the second half. A Batt steal led to an easy score for Bremer in the fast break. Goss hit a corner three to bring the Minnesota State lead back to single digits, 53-44. A Gustavsson layup brought the Mavericks lead to seven, forcing a Minnesota State timeout with 5:36 left in the third. After a scoring drought of nearly four minutes, Batt hit a corner three to extend the MSU lead back to 10, 56-46. The Mavericks forced a turnover, and on the next possession, the team grabbed three offensive rebounds before Stier made an and-one layup to put the Mavericks up 59-46. Both teams traded baskets until Jaime Skeggs hit a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, which brought the score to 65-53.

Minnesota State started the final quarter on an 8-2 run, as Bremer and Bursch would both hit three-point shots at the top of the key, putting the team up 73-55 with eight minutes to play. Schweim sunk a deep three-pointer, but Minot State responded with a three of its own. The teams continued to exchange three-point makes, with Gustavsson and Batt making threes, to bring the score to 83-65 in favor of the Mavericks. A Gustavsson and-one layup brought the score to 83-68, but it was too little too late for the Beavers. The Mavericks closed out the game, defeating Minot State 87-72.

The Mavericks ended shooting just under 42% from the field against Minot State, making 10-37 from three and 7-9 from the charity stripe. MSU collected 45 rebounds, 10 more than the Beavers, including 22 offensive rebounds. The Mavericks scored 25 second-chance points and 29 points off turnovers. Minnesota State forced 21 turnovers, including 15 steals as a team.
Bremer led Minnesota State in scoring, finishing with 21 points, six rebounds and three steals. Bursch ended with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Schweim finished with 12 points on 4-8 shooting from three. Mueller matched her career-high in points, scoring 11 against the Beavers. Batt struggled to get it going on the offensive side of the ball, scoring nine points on 3-11 shooting. Minnesota State had three players with three steals: Bremer, Hannah Herzig and Delaynie Luneckas.

Minot State shot 48% from the field against the Mavericks. The Beavers made nine of their 28 three-point shot attempts and finished a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. Despite Minot State's starters playing well, the Beaver bench only produced eight points. Goss and Gustavsson led the Beavers in scoring, dropping 24 and 21 points, respectively. Goss ended with five rebounds and Gustavsson dished out five assists against the Mavericks.

"We were able to move the ball well and got some good inside-out looks and we had 21 assists," said Mavericks head coach Emilee Thiesse. "The offensive rebounds were also great at getting us second chances. Tonight our defense just didn't have a consistent focus and awareness. Credit to the Beavers for their composure and aggressiveness to push the tempo on us. We found a way to pull out the win tonight, but certainly need to be more consistent in our focus and defensive edge." 

The Mavericks continue their road trip, taking on the Marauders of UMary (12-7, 8-3 NSIC) tomorrow evening, Saturday, Jan. 20, at 3:30 p.m. at the McDowell Activity Center in Bismarck. Minnesota State has won five consecutive games against UMary, dating back to Jan. 2020.