MANKATO, Minn. – The 13^th-ranked Minnesota State women's basketball team (29-5) sets off to St. Joseph, Mo. to take on the Lady Hurricanes of Georgia Southwestern (28-3) in the NCAA Elite Eight. The game will be played on Monday, March 25 at 8:30 p.m. at the St. Joseph Civic Arena.
 
About the Mavericks
Elite Company: The Mavericks dominated the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The team did not trail at any time in its three games in Bethany, Oklahoma. MSU took down the second seed Missouri Western Griffons, 78-58. Minnesota State's "Killer B Trio" of Joey Batt, Natalie Bremer and Destinee Bursch combined for 50 points and the team held the Griffons to just two three-point makes in 22 attempts. The Mavericks defeated the third seed, Fort Hays State in the semifinal round, 78-66. Four Mavericks had 14+ points in the game and the team forced 35 Tiger turnovers. In the championship game, Minnesota State took on the top-seeded and tenth-ranked Crimson Storm of Southern Nazarene, a team that had gone an impressive 30-2 heading into the game. The Mavericks jumped out to a 24-5 lead after the opening ten minutes and never looked back. Minnesota State ended up winning the game 80-48, thanks to a 28-point performance from Batt and a 23-point showing for Bursch. With the win over the Storm, the Mavericks advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in program history. The previous MSU team to go to the Elite Eight won the National Championship in 2008-09. This is also the first Elite Eight for Minnesota State head coach Emilee Thiesse. Associate head coach Amy Sander was a coach on the 2008-09 team, so this will be her second trip.
 
Tournament Standings: The Mavericks were awarded the #5 seed in the Elite Eight after the reseed post-regional championships. Georgia Southwestern is the #4 seed. The #1 seed, and the highest seed on MSU's side of the bracket, is Gannon (35-2).
 
Regular Season Recap: MSU began the 2023-24 regular season shakier than expected upon arrival. The team started the season 2-4, including losses to #24 Texas Woman's, Southern Nazarene, Fort Hays State and conference rival #25 Minnesota Duluth. However, the loss to the Bulldogs at home in late November sparked a school-record 19-game winning streak, surpassing the record set by the National Championship 2008-09 team. During that stretch, the Mavericks owned a scoring margin of +25.6. Minnesota State eventually lost to Northern State in Aberdeen, before closing out the regular season and conference tournament with five consecutive wins.
 
Historic Season: This Minnesota State team has had several historic accomplishments this season. Besides the program-best winning streak, the team won a regular season conference title for the third time in program history. The Mavericks won their first ever NSIC Tournament Championship. This trip to Elite Eight is the second in team history.
 
Put Her In The Rafters: When all is said and done, senior guard, Joey Batt, will go down as one of the greatest players in program history and has been one of the best players in the country this season. She is averaging 16.1 points per game, 2.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.6 steals per game while shooting 47% from the field, 39% from three and nearly 80% from the free throw line. The New Ulm native tied Maverick legend Rhonda House for second most steals in a season in program history with 105. Both her steals total and steals per game statistics rank fourth out of all players in the nation. She became the program steals leader during the game against Winona State. She currently sits at second in all-time scoring in Minnesota State women's basketball history with 1,893 points. She is just 33 points away from scoring 500 points in a season for the second time in her career. Batt was named to the WBCA DII Coaches' All-America First Team this past Thursday; she is the first Maverick All-American since Heather Johnson earned All-American honors in 2008-09. She was also named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in her career and was awarded with NSIC Most Outstanding Senior of the Year honors. She was named to the All-Conference First Team, as well as the All-Central Region First Team. She was named the Central Region Tournament MVP for her performance in the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament. In her final season as a Maverick, Batt helped her team win the third regular season conference championship, the first conference tournament championship and the second regional championship in program history.  
 
Destined For This: Junior guard Destinee Bursch has been great all season for Minnesota State. The former NSIC Freshman of the Year winner is averaging 16.1 points while shooting 48% from the field, 26% from three and 75% from the free throw line. Bursch is also averaging 3.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game in 2023-24. She has scored 20+ points 11 times this season and 10 games with more than five or more assists. Her season-high in points in 25, which she has reached twice. In a win over Bemidji State, the Chaska, Minnesota native became the 25^th player in program history to score 1,000 points. In that same game, she had one of the four double-doubles of the season for Minnesota State. She is 13 points away from moving into 10^th in all-time scoring, currently sitting at 1,322 points scored in her career. She has assisted on 112 baskets this year, by far the most in her career. Bursch was one of three Mavericks named to the NSIC All-Conference First Team and she was also named to the All-Tournament teams for both the NSIC Tournament and the Central Region Tournament. In the last six postseason games, she is averaging 19.5 points, over four assists and three rebounds per game while shooting 59% from the field and 42% from three.
 
What Is A Sophomore Slump?: Sophomore Natalie Bremer has been the most consistent piece of the Mavericks' attack in 2023-24. The Lake City, Minnesota native has scored a team-high 509 points this season and has started in all 34 games. She is averaging just under 15 points per game, shooting a 46% field goal percentage and 87% from the free throw line. Her free throw percentage ranks 20^th among all players across Division II. Bremer is also averaging 4.2 rebounds, one assist and 2.5 steals per game. She was the third Maverick to make the NSIC All-Conference First Team this year. She scored 20+ points in four consecutive games against MSU Moorhead, Minnesota Duluth, Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. She scored a season-high 22 points with nine rebounds, two assists and two steals against the Mustangs in early February. In Central Region Semifinal, she had a career-high 10 rebounds hauled in, along with 18 points scored to record her first double-double. Bremer is currently at 962 points in her career, currently 38 points away from becoming the 26^th MSU women's basketball player to reach 1,000 points.
 
Like Candy From A Baby: Minnesota State's full-court press defense has terrorized opposing offenses all season. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, the MSU press grants the Mavericks easy scoring opportunities and creates large amounts of pressure to ball-handlers. The team ranks second in the country in both steals and turnovers forced per game. The Mavericks average 17.1 steals per game as a team, with 582 in total, and 28.1 turnovers forced per game. MSU is also the nation's leader in turnover margin, forcing 13 more turnovers than they commit per game. The Mavericks had five players finish in the top 10 in the NSIC in steals. Along with Batt, Bremer and Bursch, MSU also has Hannah Herzig and Emily Herzberg both averaging over two steals per game. The Mavericks have eight players averaging at least one steal per game.
 
Simply Scoring More: The Mavericks' aggressive defensive style leads to vast scoring opportunities for the team. Minnesota State has shot 589 more shots than its opponents this season. Due to the large sum of shots taken in the game, the Mavericks have the fourth-best scoring offense in the country, averaging 82.9 points per game. The team wins its games by an average of 20.5 points per game, also ranking fourth in Division II. The team shoots 43% from the field, 29% from three and 73% from the free throw line.
 
Crashed glass: Another vital aspect to the success of this Mavericks team is the ability to create second-chance opportunities. Minnesota State ranks ninth in the country in offensive rebounds, grabbing 16.1 offensive boards per game. The Mavericks' tandem forwards, Emily Russo and Ava Stier, both average 2.3 offensive rebounds per game. Stier leads the team with 183 rebounds on the season, averaging 5.4 boards per contest.
 
Taking Charity: Minnesota State's 513 free throws made this season is a new school record, besting the 498 free throws made in 2013-14. The team is shooting 73% from the charity stripe.
 
Unselfish Play: MSU has assisted on exactly half of its field goal makes in 2023-24, assisting on 531 of 1060 makes.
 
Hot Out Of The Locker Room: The Mavericks are playing their best basketball in the first and third quarters of games this season. Minnesota State is outscoring opponents 756-507 in the first quarter throughout the season and 747-525 in the third. Overall, the team has outscored teams 2817-2121.
 
Coaching Legend: Head Coach Emilee Thiesse reached the 200-win mark against Sioux Falls on Dec. 1. She is the second head coach in program history to reach this milestone. Coach Thiesse's teams have now made the NCAA Tournament five times (2012-13, 2014-15, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24). She is the second head coach in program history to win conference Coach of the Year honors, winning the award for the second time this season. The Mavericks went on a program-record 19-game winning streak between Nov. 25 and Feb. 10., winning each game by an average of over 25 points per contest. This is Coach Thiesse's sixth 20-win season and the first team under Thiesse to win 20 conference games. Minnesota State also broke the program record for steals in a game, with 31 against Wayne State, as well as the single-game points record, scoring 123 points in a win over Minnesota Crookston in the team's final homestand.
 
It's in the Family:  Thiesse's sister, Amy Williams, is the head coach at the University of Nebraska.  The Huskers – who are the sixth seed in the NCAA tournament – opened with a 61-59 victory over Texas A&M.
 

About the Lady Hurricanes
A New Challenger Approaches: This Elite Eight matchup between Minnesota State and Georgia Southwestern will be the first time either team will have ever played one another.
 
About The Team: GSW is a member of the Peach Belt Conference. The Hurricanes went 29-3 and have won 13-straight games. The team, like MSU, won both the regular season title and the tournament title, going 16-2 in conference games and defeating Columbus State in the PBC Tournament Championship, 57-52. Georgia Southwestern, in the Southeast Regional Quarterfinal, defeated Lenoir-Rhyne in overtime before cruising to two double-digit wins over Catawba and Carson-Newman.
 
Team Stats: The Lady Hurricanes are averaging 74.5 points per game while shooting 47% from the field, 34% from beyond the arc and 71% from the free throw line. The team's field goal percentage ranks fourth in the nation. The team also ranks fourth in rebound margin, grabbing 11 more missed shots than opponents this season. Speaking of rebounds, GSW grabs 41 boards per game and dishes out 13 assists per game. The team turns the ball over 14.5 times per game and on defense, averages seven steals and 3.5 blocks per game.
 
Standout Storms: Jashanti Simmons is the team's leading scorer. The junior guard is averaging 12.5 points per game, shooting 51.5% from the floor and 34% from deep. She is averaging 6.5 rebounds, two assists and two steals per game. Kayla Langley is the Lady Hurricanes' senior leader, averaging 10.5 points, 6.5 boards and about a block per game. Overall, GSW has seven players who average above eight points per game.
 
On The Sidelines: Georgia Southwestern State is coached by Hana Haden. Haden, who is in her first year as the head coach of the Lady Hurricanes, previously coached at Moberly Area Community College in Missouri, where teams under her tutelage won 77% of their games. Haden was named the WBCA DII Coach of the Year in 2023-24.
 
 
How to Follow Along: Monday's game will be streamed live on NCAA.com. Viewers will have to pay for a subscription to watch the game. The game is also available live on AM 1230 KYSM the Fan Mankato feature Dan Brookens on play-by-play. Live stats are available on msumavericks.com and fans in the Greater Mankato Area are encouraged to gather at Buffalo Wild Wings in Mankato to watch the game.