ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – No. 1 Minnesota State (1-1) was defeated for the first time in the 2024-25 season in its game against Northwest Missouri State (3-1) 85-67 on Saturday afternoon. The Mavericks had a tough shooting day and the Bearcats made 43% of their three-point attempts in the game. There were also 64 fouls called. Junior guard Natalie Bremer led MSU with 20 points.
 
Maverick forward Ava Stier opened up the game with a three-point make to give MSU an early advantage and a fastbreak layup from freshman Elisabeth Gadient put the team up 7-2. Following four made free throws for the Bearcats, Destinee Bursch and Bremer had a pair of jumpers fall to put the Mavericks back up by five. After another Bremer make, Northwest Missouri State went on an 8-0 run to put the Bearcats up 17-13. An and-one two-pointer from junior Mackenzie Schweim put Minnesota State back up by one, but a three from Caely Kesten put NMSU back up 20-18. Bremer made another shot and sunk a free throw to give the Mavericks a 22-21 lead after the first quarter.
 
After Bursch made a pair of free throws, another Kesten three tied the game at 24-24. Two more three-pointers for NMSU put the Bearcats up 30-26, which forced a Minnesota State timeout. A layup by Bursch cut the Northwest Missouri State lead to two with 3:52 to play. NMSU made four free throws to put itself up 36-30. The Mavericks couldn't quite get both of their free throw attempts to fall at the charity stripe, and a tip-in from the Bearcats gave NMSU a 39-33 lead headed into the locker room for halftime. Minnesota State could only muster 11 points in the second quarter as the team shot just 3-13 from the field in the period.
 
Bursch made a layup to begin the second half, but Kelsey Fields of Northwest Missouri State responded with a layup and a tip-in to put the Bearcats back up by eight early in the quarter. Stier sunk her second three of the game but NMSU immediately made one of their own in response. Fields had a pair of layups toe extend the lead to double-digits for the Bearcats; that lead grew to a 12-point lead off a pair of Kesten free throws fell through the net. An and-one layup from Adeline Kent cut the Bearcat lead back to single-digits, but Fields went on a 6-0 run by herself to put NMSU up 61-46. Another three from Kesten put the Bearcats up by 17, but a Schweim and-one, assisted by Bursch, made the score 64-50 heading into the final quarter. The Bearcats shot 10-19 in the third quarter.
 
A 7-0 run for Northwest Missouri State extended the lead to 18 before Minnesota State could respond. Bremer and the Mavericks fought tirelessly to cut into the Bearcat lead, but the Bearcats continued to make their free throw attempts. NMSU closed out the game with a win, 85-67, over the Mavericks. Minnesota State was held to just 5-14 shooting in the fourth quarter, unable to make a comeback against the Bearcats.
 
Overall, the Mavericks shot just 36% from the field against the Bearcats. The team made just two three-point attempts in 12 tries and shot 19-34 from the charity stripe for a free throw percentage of 56%. Minnesota State forced just 14 turnovers in the game and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds. MSU committed 36 fouls in the game.
 
Bremer was the Mavericks' leading scorer with 20 points on 8-18 shooting. Stier was the team's second leading scorer with 14 points, both of MSU's three-point makes, and three rebounds. Bursch fouled out with 10 points, four assists, four rebounds and a steal in the game. Junior point guard Hannah Herzig also fouled out with two points, seven assists, one block and two steals. Schweim contributed seven points and two steals.
 
Kesten was the leading scorer for the Bearcats; she finished with 27 points on 5-8 shooting from beyond the arc, four assists, two rebounds and a steal. Fields was NMSU's second leading scorer, as she tallied 18 points and eight boards; She also fouled out in the game.
 
"A ton of credit to Northwest Missouri State for how they handled our pressure and found way to capitalize on player strengths and drawing fouls," said Minnesota State head coach Emilee Thiesse. "As a basketball team, we need to get better at making adjustments in-game. This was a valuable learning experience early in the season about what it takes to compete as a team and lean on the details of who we are as a program. We'll be hungry to get back to work this week and continue to push our standard."
 
The Mavericks play one game next week. The team will travel to the neighboring state, Wisconsin, to take on the Rangers of UW-Parkside (2-0) next Saturday, November 16 at 1:00 p.m. Minnesota State is 9-0 against the Rangers and won the last game in Kenosha 80-71 back in 2022.