WAYNE, Neb. – No. 16 Minnesota State (6-2, 2-0 NSIC) defeated the Wayne State Wildcats (3-3, 0-2 NSIC) 85-68 on Friday night. After a tightly contested three quarters, the Mavericks outscored the Wildcats 29-11 in the fourth quarter to cement the victory. Senior guard Destinee Bursch led all scorers with 19 points on 5-11 field goal shooting.
 
The Mavericks made their first field goal after two minutes on a three from Mackenzie Schweim to go up 5-2. Natalie Bremer sunk a three off an assist from Adeline Kent to put the team up six. A few minutes later, Kent found a cutting Lucy Leininger for another assist to put the team up 10-4. Delaney Clark pulled up from deep and sunk a three-pointer to cut the Maverick lead to three. Clark hit another three to tie the score at 10-10. Mallory Czinano made a turnaround jumper to break the tie after she grabbed her own rebound, but the Wildcats tied it up on the following possession. Hannah Herzig and Czinano made two-point buckets to put Minnesota State up 16-15 to end the first quarter.
 
Kent made a layup to open the scoring in the second quarter to put MSU up three. Clark hit a two-pointer to reach 10 points in the game to cut the Maverick lead to one. The Wildcats took the lead with a floater in the paint which made the score 19-18. After Minnesota State took the lead on a couple of free throws, Leininger drove through the lane to put the team up 22-19. Schweim put MSU up five after a score and a steal. Bremer and Bursch made a pair of shots to make the score 28-25. Herzig made an up-and-under layup and was fouled, but missed the free throw, but the Wildcats made a corner three in response to cut the Minnesota State lead to two. Wayne State cut its deficit to one after two trips to the free throw line. Kent nailed a jumper at the elbow to put the away team up by three. When the clock hit zeroes, Minnesota State led 34-33.
 
Minnesota State shot 41.9% from the field in the first half and made 2-6 attempts from beyond the arc. The Mavericks made 6-11 free throws in the first 20 minutes. The team had 23 rebounds, six assists and eight steals in the first half. MSU entered the locker room with a turnover deficit, as the team committed 13 turnovers compared to Wayne State's 12. Wayne State made four three-pointers in the first two quarters.
 
Bremer led the team with seven points at the half. She made one of her two three-point shots and had three steals along with a rebound and an assist. Bursch, Schweim, Leininger and Czinano each had five first-half points. Czinano led the team with five rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Kent had two assists in the first half.
 
After the Wildcats opened up the second half with a made layup, the Mavericks grabbed four offensive rebounds on their opening possession before Bremer found Herzig under the hoop while saving the ball out of bounds for a layup. Wayne State tied the score at 37-37 but Bursch made a layup to put MSU up by two. Kent found Bremer for a layup to end a two-minute field goal drought to put the team up 42-39. The guard from Becker, Minn. made a layup in a wide-open lane to put the team up by five. Leininger put MSU up 46-40 after making a turnaround jumper in the lane, her third make in as many tries. Clark made her third three-pointer of the night to cut the Maverick lead to one and a pair of made free throws from Maya Fitzpatrick swung the lead towards the home team. Ava Stier sunk a three-pointer to put Minnesota State back up, but the Wildcats scored a layup to tie it up, 49-49, with two minutes remaining in the quarter. WSC took a four-point lead following a layup. Schweim hit a three to cut the score with 0:24 left in the third. Wayne State held a 57-56 lead with 10 minutes remaining.
 
Fitzpatrick hit a pull-up two but Bursch responded with a tough layup inside to keep it a one-point game. She made the most of an and-one opportunity after getting fouled on a made layup to put Minnesota State up 61-59. Kent made a fastbreak layup after she grabbed the ball from a Wildcat ball-handler to make it a four-point game. Leininger found Stier for a layup for the ninth-straight Maverick points, which forced a Wayne State timeout and put the Mavericks up 65-59. Bursch made a contested floater on the block and Stier hit a jumper to put Minnesota State up 10. Leininger put the Mavericks up 13 with a layup with 4:11 in regulation. MSU went up 78-63 after a pair of made free throws from Bursch. The Minnesota State squad closed out the game with an 85-68 win.
 
MSU shot 42.3% (30-71 FG) from the field in the win, 33.3% from three (4-12 3P) and 60% (21-35 FT) from the charity stripe in its second conference win of the season. The team outrebounded the Wildcats by eight with 44 boards, which included 19 offensive rebounds. 12 baskets were assisted on in the game for the Mavericks. Minnesota State forced 34 turnovers, which resulted in 22 steals and 32 points off turnovers. The team also had two blocks.
 
Bursch led all scorers with 19 points. She finished with one rebound, one assist and one steal. Bremer and Leininger each scored 14 points in the victory. Bremer led the team with six steals and contributed three rebounds and three assists. Leininger's 14 points set a new career high for the freshman and she had a Maverick-high four assists to go along with four rebounds and three steals in her best game. Schweim also scored 12 points and had a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Clark ended with 15 points in the Wayne State loss. She led the Wildcats with five rebounds and three assists. Clark also had a block and a steal.
 
"Winning on the road requires a great deal of toughness and our team showed that toughness in the fourth quarter," said Minnesota State head coach Emilee Thiesse. "It was great to see our defense and rebounding spark our team to pull away down the stretch. We need to find a way to bring that toughness much more consistently as a team right now."
 
The Mavericks are back in action with another NSIC matchup tomorrow afternoon. Minnesota State travels up to Sioux Falls, S.D. to take on the Augustana Vikings (1-6, 0-2 NSIC) on Saturday, December 7 at 3:30 p.m. in the Sanford Pentagon.