MANKATO, Minn. – Mavericks women's basketball (15-4, 12-1 NSIC) defeated the Huskies of St. Cloud State (10-7, 7-6 NSIC) in dominating fashion, 71-47. Natalie Bremer was the leading scorer for Minnesota State, finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Hannah Herzig ended up with 12 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals. MSU held St. Cloud State to just four points in the third quarter, the second time they have done that against an NSIC opponent this season. The Huskies are the seventh team Minnesota State has held to 50 points or fewer in 2023-24.

Two Herzig layups put the Mavericks up 6-2 early in the game. However, a quick 7-2 run for the Huskies, capped off by a Jasmine Litt three-pointer, gave St. Cloud State the lead, 9-8. Another Litt three extended the SCSU lead to 12-9, but Emily Herzberg hit a three of her own to tie the game at 12-a-piece. That Herzberg three started an 8-0 run for Minnesota State to close out the first quarter. After one, MSU led 17-12.

Minnesota State held onto the momentum, as the team began the second quarter on a 5-2 run that put the Mavericks up 22-14. The Huskies pushed back, however, with a jumper from Abigail O'Reilly bringing the MSU lead to just two, 24-22. Minnesota State would quickly bounce back, extending its lead to eight with a Joey Batt steal and score with 2:25 left in the half. St. Cloud State, to close out the half, had a possession where they were able to corral five straight offensive rebounds, leading to a three sunk by Makenna Vanzant to end the half. The Mavericks headed into halftime up 30-27.

Minnesota State shot 32% in the first half from the floor, shooting 1-7 from beyond the arc and 7-10 from the charity stripe. The Mavericks narrowly outrebounded the Huskies in the first half, 28-25. MSU had five steals and forced seven turnovers in the first half.

Heading into halftime, Batt and Bremer each had six points to lead the Mavericks in first-half scoring. Herzig and Herzberg had five first-half points. Herzig also had five rebounds and two assists in the first half. Herzberg also had two first-half dimes.

St. Cloud State shot a 30% field goal percentage in the first half. The Huskies didn't hit a first-half free throw but made 3-15 from three-point range in the first half. SCSU was led by Litt, who had eight points at the end of the second quarter. Litt made 2-5 from three in the first half. Ashley Sawicki had six rebounds in the first half to lead the Huskies.

After the Huskies finished the first half strong, the Mavericks had a momentum-sucking performance coming out of halftime. In the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter, MSU went on a 19-2 run to put itself up by 20. The Mavericks had six steals and shot 8-9 during this stretch. Emily Russo and Bremer were both huge parts of the Minnesota State run; Russo had three steals that turned into easy points on the other end of the court and Bremer had eight points during the stretch. The rest of the quarter did not fair well for St. Cloud State, as the Mavericks ended the third quarter up 59-31. The Huskies scored just four points in the third quarter, which ties the best defensive quarter Minnesota State has had this season.

A Bailey Conrad three opened up the scoring about two minutes into the final period to put MSU up 62-31. Despite the Huskies going on a 10-4 run over the next three minutes, the wind was out of their sail. The game ended with a final score of 71-47.

The Mavericks shot 39% from the field (27-69 FG) against the Huskies. The team made 5-17 from three and 12-16 from the free throw line. Minnesota State outrebounded St. Cloud State 50-43, including 21 offensive rebounds. MSU scored 17 second-chance points, 22 points off turnovers and 36 points in the paint. The Mavericks finished with 18 steals and three blocks.

Bremer finished as the leading scorer for Minnesota State, scoring 16 points on 7-14 shooting. She also grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals. Herzberg and Herzig each scored 12 points against SCSU. Herzig also finished with eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Herzberg also had three steals, six rebounds, three assists and shot 2-6 from deep. Batt ended with 10 points and two steals. Russo led the Mavericks in steals, finishing with four.

St. Cloud State shot a 28% field goal percentage (18-65 FG) against Minnesota State. The Huskies shot 4-22 from beyond the arc and made 7-9 from the charity stripe. Despite a solid first half from SCSU, the team turned the ball over 24 times. Litt ended with 12 points to lead the Huskies. The Mavericks held St. Cloud State's leading scorer, Jada Eggebrecht, to zero points on 0-5 field goal shooting.

The Mavericks are back in action tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, Jan. 27, at 3:30 p.m. at the Taylor Center. Minnesota State will be taking on the MSU Moorhead Dragons (7-11, 7-6 NSIC). The Mavericks lead the all-time series against MSU Moorhead 28-18 and have won six of the last 10 matchups against the Dragons.