MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State women's basketball (16-4, 13-1 NSIC) took down the MSU Moorhead Dragons (7-12, 7-7 NSIC) in front of a home crowd, 80-57. Sophomore guard Natalie Bremer tied her season-high in both points and steals against the Dragons, scoring 21 points and six steals. The Mavericks have won 14 consecutive games and sit two games above Northern State for first place in the NSIC.

Joey Batt opened up scoring in the game, hitting a three-pointer nine seconds into the game. The Dragons would take the lead, going up 6-5 on a layup from Terryn Johnson. The Mavericks would retake the lead after a layup from Destinee Bursch put the team up 8-6. MSU Moorhead took the lead back with a three from Ashley Gustavson, going up 11-8. A handful of free throws from Bremer tied the game at 13-a-piece with just under four minutes to play in the period. The Mavericks would close out the quarter on a 12-3 run. Herzberg and Bremer combined for nine points on that run and the first quarter ended, 25-16.

A deep two-point jumper from Ava Stier started the scoring in the second quarter, followed up by a fast break layup from Bremer created by a Batt steal on the defensive end, leaving the score 29-16 in favor of the Mavericks. A jumper and a free throw from the Dragons brought the Maverick lead to 10. The Mavericks would respond by going on a 13-0 run to make the score 42-19, ignited by two three-pointers from Herzberg and another from Bursch. The Dragons retaliated, pushing an 11-4 run that was capped off by a pair of scores from Natalie Jens. Bremer would hit the last shot of the quarter with three seconds left, putting the Mavericks up 50-31 heading into the locker room.

The Mavericks shot 37% in the first half against the Dragons, including 5-15 from beyond the arc and 11-14 from the free throw line. MSU grabbed 25 rebounds and dished out 12 assists in the first half. The Mavericks also recorded 12 steals in the first half.

Bremer led all scorers heading into halftime, scoring 13 in the first half. Herzberg scored 11 points in the first 20 minutes on 3-4 shooting from three-point range. Stier ended the first half with nine points. Bursch had seven points in the first half.

The Dragons shot an excellent 52% in the first half, making 2-8 from three, but struggled to convert at the free throw line, shooting just 5-12 in the first half. The Dragons collected 20 rebounds and had two blocks in the first half. The team turned the ball over 18 times in the first half against the Mavericks.

The second half started quickly, with Bremer and Russo making shots within the first minute of the third quarter to extend the lead to 54-31. The Mavericks continued to dominate, holding the Dragons to just four points in the first four and a half minutes of the quarter. Hannah Herzig hit a three-pointer on an assist from Herzberg to put the Mavericks up 62-35. The Dragons went on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes. During that stretch, the Dragons shot 4-5 from the field and made both free throw attempts. After Batt made a fastbreak layup after a Bremer steal, the third quarter ended with the score 67-45.

The final quarter began, with Bremer hitting two shots in the first minute to put the Mavericks up by 14. The two teams traded buckets back and forth as time ticked away. Herzig hit a two-point jumper with four and a half minutes remaining in regulation to put the Mavericks up 77-53. The game ended with a score of 80-57.

Minnesota State shot 35% from the field against the Dragons (30-85 FG). The team made seven of its 27 three-point shots (26% 3PT) and 13 of its 18 free throw attempts. The Mavericks ended with 46 rebounds and 20 offensive boards. MSU scored 34 points off of turnovers and 15 points on fast breaks. The Mavericks forced 35 MSU Moorhead turnovers and ended with 21 steals as a team.

Bremer tied her season-high in scoring and steals, finishing with 21 points and six steals. The sophomore shot 9-16 from the field and had five rebounds. Herzberg ended with 14 points and three steals, shooting 3-6 from beyond the arc against the Dragons. Stier ended with 11 points and four rebounds. Bursch reached double-figures, scoring 10 points and contributing three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Herzig finished with nine points, six rebounds and three assists. Batt ended with eight points, two rebounds, two assists and four steals.

The Dragons shot 41% from the field (22-54 FG). The team made no second-half three-pointers and finished 11-18 from the free throw line. The Dragons tied the Mavericks in rebounds, grabbing 46, too. MSU Moorhead ended with 35 turnovers. Despite having 10 fewer offensive rebounds, the Dragons matched the Mavericks' second-chance points with 17. Jens finished with 14 points, four steals and nine turnovers.

Minnesota State Mavericks women's basketball is back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 30, to take on the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (12-6, 9-5 NSIC). The Mavericks and Bulldogs play at 5:30 p.m. at Romano Gymnasium in Duluth. UMD beat the Mavericks earlier this season at the Taylor Center, 75-64. MSU has lost nine straight games to the Bulldogs.