MANKATO, Minn. – The No. 13 Minnesota State Mavericks (9-2, 5-0 NSIC) will play No. 14 Concordia-St. Paul (11-0, 5-0 NSIC) and at Winona State (6-5, 2-3 NSIC) this week to complete their 2024 schedule.
 
vs No. 14 Concordia-St. Paul
Thursday, December 19 at 5:30 p.m., Taylor Center, Mankato, Minn.
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at Winona State
Saturday, December 21 at 1:00 p.m., McCown Gymnasium, Winona, Minn.
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About the Mavericks
Weekend Recap: Minnesota State remained unbeaten in conference play with two more NSIC wins last weekend to put the current win streak for the Mavericks at five. On Friday, on the night the team revealed its National Championship banner, MSU defeated Southwest Minnesota State 101-83, the second time the team has surpassed 100 points this season. A big first half gave the team a 21-point advantage headed into the locker room. Natalie Bremer had 21 points, five rebounds and seven steals in the victory and Destinee Bursch scored 20 points and dished out nine assists, a new career high. On Saturday, the Mavericks defeated Sioux Falls despite a mighty comeback from the Cougars that saw the opposing team take a late lead in the fourth quarter. Fortunately for MSU, freshman Elisabeth Gadient made four clutch free throws to help get the Mavericks over the hump, as the team won 91-88. Gadient ended with a career-high 17 points with five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Minnesota State had seven players finish with eight or more points against USF.
 
Team Stats: The Mavericks boast one of the best offenses in the country. The team averages 89.7 points per game, good for second amongst all Division II programs. MSU has the nation's 23rd-best field goal percentage, shooting at a 45.6% clip. Players for the Mavericks make it to the charity stripe more than any other team in the country, making 18.73 free throws per contest. The team also grabs 17.5 offensive boards per game, the 12^th-highest mark in DII. In terms of overall rebounding, the Mavericks have the highest per-game mark in the NSIC and 28^th in the nation with 43.1 rebounds per contest. Defensively, Minnesota State has the seventh-best steals per game and turnover margin in Division II and forces the 10^th most turnovers per game.
 
Star Power: The Mavericks are blessed with two of the best scorers in the NSIC in Natalie Bremer and Destinee Bursch. Bremer is the sixth-best scorer in the nation and the second-best in the conference, as the junior from Lake City, Minn. is averaging 21.8 points per game. She has surpassed 20 points in six games this season and has reached 30 twice, including a career-best 32-point output against Augustana. Bremer is also a great rebounder at the guard position, as she has averaged 6.2 rebounds per game. She creates second chances at a high level, grabbing three offensive rebounds per game, also. Bremer is currently the NSIC's steals leader, as the junior has 33 steals this season for a 3.3-per-game average. Bursch is the Mavericks' second-leading scorer, averaging 17.7 points per game this season while shooting 53.6% from the field. She ranks third in the NSIC in points per game and second in field goal percentage. Bursch has scored 20 points or more in four games this season. The senior from Chaska, Minn. is also averaging 3.8 rebounds, a team-high 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game in 2024-25. Bursch has the fifth most career points in Minnesota State history with 1,545 points scored.
 
Rounding Out the Starters: Minnesota State's 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 8.7 points per game while leading the team in threes with 14 makes from beyond the arc on a 31.8% average from three. The Mankato native is also averaging 1.5 steals per game. Schweim has scored 12 points four separate times this year, which includes a dozen points against SMSU last Friday. Hannah Herzig is another eight-points-per-game player for Minnesota State. The team's point guard has averaged 8.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Herzig finished the game against the Mustangs with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Ava Stier is the team's starting post player. She is averaging 7.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game which ranks 15^th in the NSIC. She has had eight or more rebounds in four games this season and has reached double figures four times. Stier scored nine points in both of the Mavericks' games last week.
 
Newcomer Updates: The Minnesota State bench, mostly made up of newcomers, has contributed quite a bit to the Maverick attack this season. Elisabeth Gadient has played in nine games thus far and started in two. She is averaging 8.8 points per game in her freshman campaign while shooting 46.6% from the field and 39.3% from deep. Gadient's career day against Sioux Falls helped Minnesota State pull out the win to remain undefeated in conference play last Saturday. Fellow freshmen Rhyan Holmgren and Lucy Leininger are both having solid freshmen seasons, too. Leininger has increased her points per game mark by 2.7 points in the last four games, as the Germantown, Wis. native has averaged 5.3 points per contest this season. She had nine points, a block and three steals in 24 minutes of action against USF. Holmgren tied her career-high in scoring in the game against the Cougars with eight points on the board. Adeline Kent, a transfer from Tampa, has played crucial minutes for the team off the bench. She is averaging 20.1 minutes, four points and 1.4 steals per game for Minnesota State this season. She scored eight points and ended with two steals in the Mavericks' win over the Mustangs last Friday.
 
All That Came From Pressure: Minnesota State creates immense havoc on the defensive end with its full-court press. The team leads the NSIC in steals with 180, 75 more than the second-most in the league. The Mavericks are averaging 16.4 steals per contest, seventh best in the nation. MSU is scoring 28.5 points per game off its 26.2 forced turnovers per game. Eight Maverick players are currently averaging at least one steal per game. Bremer and Herzig are tied for the team and NSIC lead in steals with 33 on the year. Bremer has averaged 3.3 steals per game and Herzig has averaged three. Bursch, Gadient, Schweim, Kent, Leininger and Holmgren 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 10 wins away from becoming the winningest coach in program history.
 
 
About the Golden Bears
Concordia-St. Paul has had a perfect start to the 2024-25. The Golden Bears have not lost yet this season, with an 11-0 start to the year. Last weekend, CSP defeated Wayne State and Augustana in a pair of home conference games. The Golden Bears ended with a 13-point win over the Wildcats and a 22-point blowout of the Vikings on Saturday.
 
CSP is averaging 75.5 points per game while shooting 42.5% as a team from the field. The Golden Bears have shot 33.1% from beyond the arc and 75.2% from the free throw line. The team grabs 42.5 rebounds and dishes out 16 assists per game. Concordia turns the ball over 14.5 times per contest on average while stealing the ball 9.5 times and blocking 5.5 shots per game. CSP has held opponents to 61.5 points per game this season.
 
The team's star center, Lindsey Becher, is having a great senior year. She has averaged 15 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.2% from the field this season. Becher is second in the NSIC with 29 total blocks this season, good for a 2.6-per-game average. She earned her second NSIC Player of the Week for her performances against WSC and Augustana last weekend.
 
Lydia Haack is the Golden Bears' leading scorer in 2024-25. Haack is averaging 16.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.7 steals a game while shooting 44.4% from the field and 34.4% from deep. She had her best NSIC game of the season with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals against Wayne State. She was named the NSIC's first Player of the Week for her week one performance back in November.
 
The Golden Bears are led by 10^th-year coach Amanda Johnson. A former post player for Concordia-St. Paul, Johnson has led her team to a 141-95 overall record, the third coach in program history to reach 100 wins.
 
The Mavericks and the Golden Bears have had some battles over the years, as MSU narrowly leads the all-time series, 24-23. Minnesota State has won the last three matchups and holds a 12-10 record against CSP at home.
 
About the Warriors
Winona State lost its first game of the year and then won four-straight games. The Warriors have lost four of their last six matchups. Last weekend, WSU defeated Sioux Falls at home, 83-70, before falling to SMSU 93-64 at home.
 
Winona State has averaged 66.4 points with a team shooting percentage of 42.7%. The Warriors have shot 32.5% from three and 74% from the charity stripe this season. The team grabs 35.7 rebounds and dishes out 10.5 assists per game while averaging 14 turnovers per contest.
 
Senior guard Olivia Gamoke leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game on 43% field goal shooting. She ended the game against SMSU with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Gamoke has reached 20 points three times this season.
 
Players Hailey Markworth and Mattie Schimenz are both averaging double-digit scoring for the Warriors this season. Markworth is averaging 11.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 49.6% from the field. Schimenz is averaging 10.4 points, 2.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game in her fifth season with the team.
 
The Warriors are led by head coach Ana Wurtz, who has been with the program since she was a player between 2006-2010. Wurtz served as a graduate assistant and associate head coach at Winona State before being named the head coach in 2022.
 
Minnesota State leads the all-time series 46-23 against Winona State. The Mavericks have won five-straight against the Warriors.