MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State women's basketball team (3-1) prepares to travel for Thanksgiving, as the Mavericks play Minnesota Duluth (2-3), Colorado School of Mines (1-4), and Regis (1-2) next week. All games will be non-conference matchups.
 
at Minnesota Duluth
Tuesday, November 26 at 5:30 p.m., Romano Gymnasium, Duluth, Minn.
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at Colorado School of Mines
Friday, November 29 at 6 p.m. CDT, Lockridge Arena, Golden Colo.
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at Regis
Saturday, November 30 at 4 p.m. CDT, Regis Field House, Denver, Colo.
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About the Mavericks
Weekly Recap: Minnesota State won its only game last week against Northwestern (MN) at home, 104-57. The Mavericks shot a season-best 51.1% from the field and forced 33 turnovers that resulted in 44 points for the team. Destinee Bursch scored 27 points in just 18 minutes of play. Natalie Bremer also contributed 22 points and nine rebounds on 10-12 shooting. Freshman Elisabeth Gadient had a career day, scoring 15 points, grabbing five rebounds and two assists, all bests for the young Maverick.
 
Team Stats: Through the team's first four games, MSU has averaged 88 points per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. Minnesota State has the seventh-best scoring offense in the nation. The Mavericks have grabbed 44.8 rebounds and dished out 15 assists per game this year. Minnesota State has forced opponents into 24 turnovers per game and the team is averaging 25.5 points per game from those takeaways. The Mavericks' 15.3 steals per game average ranks 11^th in the country.
 
Pure Scorers: Natalie Bremer and Destinee Bursch are two of the best scorers in the NSIC through the team's first four games. Bremer has averaged 21.5 points per game while shooting 52.3% from the field. She scored a season-high in the win against UW-Parkside. Bremer has reached 20 points in all four of the Mavericks' games this season. She is also the team's leading rebounder, as Bremer has grabbed seven rebounds per game. Bursch was one point shy of her career-high last Wednesday. She has a shooting percentage of 56.9% from the field and has averaged 18.8 points per game for Minnesota State this season.
 
Rounding out the Starters: Minnesota State's other three starters have been solid contributors through the first few games of the season. Mackenzie Schwiem is second on the team in minutes played and she has averaged 8.3 points per game this season. The Mankato native leads the Mavericks in made three-pointers; she made three shots from behind the arc in the win against Parkside and ended with 12 points. Ava Stier is the team's starting post player and holds 7,5 point-per-game and 5.5 rebound-per-game averages. Stier scored a career-best 14 points in the Mavericks' loss to Northwest Missouri State. Hannah Herzig is the team's starting point guard and has averaged 5.5 points, two rebounds per game. Herzig is also the team's leading passer and steals leader; the junior from Lino Lakes, Minn. has averaged 2.8 assists and 3.3 steals per game.
 
Newcomer Updates: The Mavericks' newcomers have been great off the bench through the team's first four games. The Minnesota State bench ranks third in the NSIC as it has averaged 26.5 points per game. Elisabeth Gadient, after scoring a career-best 15 points against UNW, holds the fourth-highest points-per-game average with 6.8. Fellow freshman Rhyan Holmgren has averaged five points per game, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. She had six points, six assists and three steals in the win against the Eagles. Adeline Kent has a 4.8-point-per-game average through the team's first four games on 50% field goal shooting. Kent has also averaged 2.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 steals per contest, also.
 
All That Came From Pressure: Minnesota State creates a lot of havoc on the defensive end with its full-court press. The team leads the NSIC in steals with 61, a 15.3-per-game average. MSU has scored 25.5 points per game off turnovers. Seven Maverick players are currently averaging at least one steal per game. Herzig leads the team with 13 total steals and a 3.3 per-game average. Bremer has 10 steals on the season and averaged 2.5 steals per contest.
 
Elite Coaching: The Mavericks women's basketball program is led by head coach Emilee Thiesse, who enters her 13th year in Mankato. Thiesse has an all-time record of 228-116 and an NSIC record of 169-85. Minnesota State has won 76 percent of its games in the Taylor Center under Coach Thiesse. She has led the Mavericks to six 20-win seasons and five NCAA Tournament appearances. Last season, Thiesse was named NSIC Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. She is 18 wins away from becoming the winningest coach in program history.
 
About the Bulldogs
Minnesota Duluth played a pair of home games this past weekend. On Saturday, the Bulldogs narrowly fell to the Northern Michigan Wildcats, 65-63. The team held an eight-point lead after the first half, but the game slipped away in the second. On Sunday, UMD won a game against Michigan Tech in another tight contest, 71-67. The Bulldogs made crucial free throws down the stretch to put the team over the top against the Huskies.
 
The Bulldogs have averaged 74.4 points per game with a 43.9% field goal percentage through five games. The team has grabbed 37.4 rebounds and dished out 15.4 assists per game. UMD has averaged 3.6 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while turning over the ball 12.2 times per game through its first five.
 
Myra Moorjani is the Bulldogs' leading scorer so far in 2024-25. She has taken 29 more shots than any other Minnesota Duluth player this season and has averaged 17.6 points per game in the process. Moorjani is also the team's leading passer with a 4.2 assists per game average. She has also averaged 4.6 rebounds per game.
 
Minnesota Duluth has two more players who have averaged over 10 points per game. Claire Bjorge has averaged 13.2 points per game, shooting 52.4% from the field and 52.2% from three. Lexi Karge has averaged 10.4 points and seven rebounds per game to start the year.
 
UMD is coached by Mandy Pearson, who, in nine seasons with the Bulldogs, has accumulated a 175-78 overall record. Pearson has led the Bulldogs to four NCAA Tournament appearances and four NSIC Tournament championships.
 
Minnesota Duluth holds the all-time series lead against the Mavericks, 41-33. After losing nine straight games to the Bulldogs, Minnesota State got its revenge as the team defeated UMD on the road 81-63 last January.
About the Orediggers
After winning its season opener against St. Mary's, Colorado School of Mines has lost four consecutive games. The Orediggers' most recent losses have been to good teams, No. 6 MSU Billings and No. 1 Texas Woman's.
 
The team has averaged 61.8 points per game on 41.5% field goal shooting through five games. Mines has averaged 33 boards, 11.6 assists, seven steals and 3.8 blocks per game in 2024-25. The Orediggers have also averaged 19.6 turnovers per game.
 
Emma Sixta is the team's top scoring threat, as the sophomore has averaged 14.2 points per game while shooting 53% from the field and 41% from beyond the arc. Jenna Siebert is the team's second-leading scorer with 10.8 points per game.
 
Brittany Simpson is the winningest coach in Colorado School of Mines women's basketball history with a 219-123 record. 2024-25 is Simpsons' 13^th year as the head coach of the Orediggers. Her teams have made the NCAA Tournament five times.
 
The Mavericks won their sole matchup against the Orediggers back in November 2006, 61-55.
 
About the Rangers
Regis lost its first two games of the season but has since had two narrow victories against Point Loma and Biola University. Before the Ranger's game against the Mavericks on Saturday, the team will play Fort Hays State.
 
This Rangers team has averaged 66.3 points per game with a field goal percentage of 35%. Regis has averaged 39 rebounds, 11.8 assists, nine steals and two blocks per game while turning the ball over 12.5 times per game.
 
The Ranger's leading scorer is Erin Fry, who has a 21-point-per-game average. Fry is shooting 34.4% from beyond the arc and has also averaged 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game for Regis. Athena Saragoza has averaged 16.5 points per game as the Rangers' second-best scoring option.
 
Molly Marrin is in her 10^th season with Rangers women's basketball. She boasts a 156-100 record and has led Regis to three NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
The Mavericks lost their only game against Regis way back in December 2004, 68-60.