MANKATO, Minn. – No. 12 Minnesota State (7-2, 3-0 NSIC) will play its first two home conference games of the 2024-25 season against Southwest Minnesota State (8-1, 2-1 NSIC) and Sioux Falls (6-4, 2-1 NSIC).
 
vs Southwest Minnesota State
Friday, December 13 at 5:30 p.m., Taylor Center, Mankato, Minn.
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vs Sioux Falls
Saturday, December 14 at 5:30 p.m., Taylor Center, Mankato, Minn.
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About the Mavericks
Opening Weekend: MSU was on the road for its first weekend of NSIC play. Last Friday, the Mavericks went to Wayne State for its second conference contest of the season. After a tightly contested three quarters, Minnesota State pulled away with a 29-11 fourth to win 85-68. Destinee Bursch scored 19 points and freshman Lucy Leininger had the best game of her young career with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. The following day, the Mavericks played Augustana at the Sanford Pentagon. A huge 32-9 third quarter helped the team pull away as MSU beat the Vikings 96-70. Natalie Bremer had one of her best games as she set a new career-high in points with 32 and recorded her second double-double of the season as she grabbed 10 rebounds. Bremer was named the NSIC's Player of the Week for her performance, the second time she has earned that honor this year.
 
Team Stats: MSU has averaged 88.3 points per game in 2024-25 while shooting 44.9% from the field. Minnesota State is tied for the third-best scoring offense in the nation this season, outscoring opponents 795-673. The Mavericks have grabbed 44.6 rebounds and dished out 14.7 assists per game this year. Minnesota State ranks 11^th in turnover margin and 16^th in rebounds per game. Minnesota State has forced opponents into 24.6 turnovers per game, averaging 25.7 points per game from those takeaways. The Mavericks' 15.1 steals per game average is tied for ninth in the country. The team also makes more free throws than any other team at the DII level, averaging 19.44 made shots at the charity stripe per contest.
 
"How Do You Defend Them?": Minnesota State has two of the best scorers in the NSIC. Natalie Bremer is the leading scorer in the conference, averaging 23.4 points while shooting 52.6% from the field. She ranks third in the country in points per game and 12^th in field goals made. She has five 20-point and two 30-point performances this season. Destinee Bursch has been a great scorer in her own right; the senior ranks third in the NSIC in scoring with an 18.3-point-per-game average. She is second in the league in shooting percentage, firing at a 52.9% clip. Bursch has three 20-point performances on the year and hasn't been held under double digits all season. She is also the assists leader on the team with a 3.4 average per game, good for sixth in the NSIC. It is a tough task to stop these two.
 
Rounding Out the Starters: The Mavericks' three other starters are also important in their roles. Mackenzie Schweim leads the team in total minutes played and is third on the team in scoring. She is averaging 8.6 points per game while leading the team in threes with 11 makes from beyond the arc on a 31.4% average from deep. The Mankato native is also averaging 1.6 steals per game. Schweim has scored 12 points in three separate games this year. Hannah Herzig is another eight-points-per-game player for Minnesota State. The team's point guard has averaged 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 43% from the field. In the game against Augustana, she scored six points and had nine rebounds, four steals and six assists. Ava Stier is the team's leading rebounder and starting post player. Stier is averaging 6.6 rebounds per game which ranks 10^th in the NSIC. She has had eight or more rebounds in four games this season and has reached double figures four times.
 
Newcomer Updates: The Minnesota State bench, mostly made up of newcomers, has contributed quite a bit. Elisabeth Gadient has played in seven games this season and started in two. She is averaging eight points per game in her freshman campaign. Gadient scored 15 points against Northwestern (MN) and Regis. Fellow freshmen Rhyan Holmgren and Lucy Leininger are both averaging 4.7 points per game. Holmgren tied her career-high in scoring in the game against Augustana with eight points on the board. Leininger scored in double digits in both of the Mavericks' games last week. Adeline Kent, a transfer from Tampa, has played crucial minutes for the team down the stretch. She is averaging 20.7 minutes, 3.7 points and 1.3 steals per game for Minnesota State this season. She scored eight points in the Mavericks' win over the Wildcats last Friday.
 
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 136, 48 more than the second-most in the league. The Mavericks are averaging 15.1 steals per contest. MSU is scoring 26.8 points per game off turnovers. Seven Maverick players are currently averaging at least one steal per game. Herzig leads the team and the NSIC with 27 total steals and is averaging three per game. Bremer has 22, good for second in the conference. She has grabbed 2.8 steals per game. Schweim, Kent, Bursch, Holmgren, Gadient and Stier are all averaging at least one steal 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 13 wins away from becoming the winningest coach in program history.
 
 
About the Mustangs
Heading into Friday's game, Southwest Minnesota State has an 8-1 record after losing its last game against Concordia-St. Paul, who remains undefeated. Prior to the 72-58 loss to the Golden Bears, the Mustangs defeated Minnesota Duluth at home 82-56 last Friday.
 
SMSU has averaged 84.1 points per game with a 20.3 scoring margin. The Mustangs are shooting 48% from the field, 35.8% from three and 75.4% from the charity stripe. The team is grabbing 43.3 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists per game. SMSU is averaging 6.6 steals and 4.1 blocks each contest. The team turns the ball over 13.6 times per game.
 
Southwest Minnesota State has three players who are averaging over 15 points per game. Senior Bri Stoltzman through eight games is putting up 16.1 points per contest with a 53.2% field goal percentage. She is averaging 5.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game for the Mustangs. Stoltzman put up 28 points in the team's season opener against Washburn on 10-13 field goal shooting.
 
Peyton Blandin is another one of SMSU's great scorers. Another senior guard, Blandin is averaging 15.7 points and four boards per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. She scored 27 points in the Mustang's four-point win over Wayne State.
 
Post-player Audrey Swanson is the team's third-leading scorer with a 15.3 points-per-game average. She is shooting 51.5% from the field and grabbing 8.6 rebounds per game, second-most in the NSIC. Swanson has ended the previous six games in double figures for SMSU.
 
The Mustangs are coached by ninth-year head coach Tom Webb. Webb has accumulated a 96-114 overall record at Southwest Minnesota State. Coach Webb has led his team to two consecutive 19-win seasons.
 
Since the first matchup between MSU and SMSU in December 1970, the Mavericks have won 50 of the 73 games played between these two teams. Minnesota State holds a five-game winning streak against the Mustangs.
 
About the Cougars
After losing its first two games of the season at the Regional Crossover Challenge, Sioux Falls has won six of its last eight games. Last weekend, the Cougars lost to the Golden Bears 79-63 on Friday before coming back Saturday and defeating Minnesota Duluth 79-68. USF will play Winona State before coming to Mankato for its matchup against MSU.
 
Sioux Falls is averaging 71.5 points per game while shooting 39.9% from the field, 35.1% from deep and 77.8% from the free throw line. The team averages 38.9 rebounds and 15.6 assists per contest and turns the ball over 14.1 times per game. The Cougars average 8.1 steals and two blocks per game, as well.
 
Sophomore forward Kami Wadsworth is arguably the team's best player. Wadsworth is averaging 15.2 points per game whilst shooting 42.6% from the field, 34.8% from three and making free throws at an 87% clip. She is also grabbing 4.1 rebounds per contest. Wadsworth is coming off of two 19-point performances against CSP and UMD.
 
Travis Traphagen leads the Cougars from the sidelines. In 17 years with Sioux Falls, Traphagen has accumulated a 284-173 record. He has led the Cougars to two NCAA Tournament berths and six 20-win seasons.
 
The record between Minnesota State and Sioux Falls is quite close. MSU holds the advantage 12-11 all-time. The Mavericks have won the last seven games against the Cougars.