ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Minnesota State women's basketball team (30-5) is set to take on Cal State San Marcos (27-6) in the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament. The game is on Wednesday, March 27 at 8:30 p.m. at the St. Joseph Civic Arena.
 
How To Follow Along: Wednesday's game will be televised on CBS Sports Network (Charter - Channel 412, DirecTV- 221, Dish - Channel 158 availability based on your cable subscription). 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 also available on NCAA.com. Fans in the Greater Mankato Area are encouraged to gather at Buffalo Wild Wings in Mankato to watch the game. 
 
About the Mavericks
Elite Eight Recap: The Mavericks are advancing to the Final Four for the second time in program history after defeating Georgia Southwestern in the NCAA Quarterfinal round, 93-88. The game was tightly contested and included seven ties and 14 lead changes. The Lady Hurricanes shot the lights out in the first half, but MSU held GSW to fewer than 20 points in the third and fourth quarters, which was just enough to hold off the storm. Minnesota State guard Joey Batt led all scorers with 21 points, and she also ended with six assists in the game.
 
A Short Trip Down Memory Lane: Minnesota State is playing in its second Final Four game. The last time the Mavericks were in the national tournament semifinal was in 2008-09. The Mavericks went on to win the National Title that season. That season, MSU played Alaska-Anchorage in the Final Four game, defeating the Seawolves 83-60. Heather Johnson scored 25 points on 80% field goal shooting.
 
All-American Baller: Joey Batt is officially an All-American. She was named to the WBCA All-America First Team and the D2CCA All-America Third Team. She is averaging 16.3 points per game shooting 46% from the field and 37% from deep, 2.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.6 steals per game in 2023-24. The Minnesota State guard is having an even better postseason, scoring 19.3 points per game on improved shooting percentages during the team's last seven games. Batt is the second-leading scorer in program history and the is the all-time steals leader.
 
National Rankings: The Mavericks are one of the best teams in the country at forcing turnovers on defense, while also having one of the best offenses in the game. The team ranks first in turnover margin (+13), and second in turnovers forced per game (28.03) and steals (17.1). Minnesota State has the fourth-best scoring offense (83.1/game) and fourth-highest scoring margin (20) in the country. The Mavericks are also prolific on the offensive glass, creating the 10^th most second-chances in Division II and averaging 16 offensive rebounds per game. The team ranks 23^rd in assists per game (15.7) and 24^th in free throws made per game (15.3).
 
Doubled Up: Minnesota State has had four double doubles this season. Joey Batt recorded two, the first a 26-point-10-steal performance in a dominate win over Wayne State, the second was against MSU Moorhead in the NSIC Tournament, when she dished out 10 assists and scored 17 in the Mavericks' win. Both her steals and assists numbers were career-highs. Destinee Bursch scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a win over Bemidji State. Natalie Bremer scored 18 points and had a career-high 10 rebounds in the Central Region Semifinal against Fort Hays State.
 
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 780-528 in the first quarter throughout the season and 770-544 in the third. Overall, the team has outscored teams 2910-2209.
 
Approaching Greatness: Senior guard, Joey Batt, is just 12 points away from reaching the 500-point mark on the season. She scored 505 points last season. Sophomore Natalie Bremer is 24 points away from reaching 1,000 points in her career at Minnesota State. She will become the 26^th player in program history to score 1,000 points. She's scored a team-high 524 points this season. Destinee Bursch is currently tied at tenth in all-time MSU scoring with Joanne Noreen.
 
500 Club: Both Natalie Bremer and Destinee Bursch have surpassed 500 points this season, becoming the 16^th and 17^th Mavericks to reach that number. Bursch has scored 544 points and Bremer has 523. Joey Batt is just 12 points away from reaching 500; it would be the second time in her career she has reached that milestone.
 
Taking Charity: Minnesota State's 535 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.
 
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.
 
Fun With Numbers: The season box score for Minnesota State features a few eye-popping numbers including:
   •  Minnesota State has 200 more offensive rebounds than its opponents (560-356).
   •  Minnesota State has made 535 free throws this season... Its opponents have attempted just 601.
   •  Minnesota State has 285 more field goals made (1,031) than its opponents have made (746)
   •  Minnesota State has attempted 607 more field goals (2,537) than its opponents (1,930).
   •  50 percent of Minnesota State's made field goals have an assist credited to them (549 assists, 1,091 field goals made).
 
 
About the Cougars
A New Foe Has Appeared!: This will be the first ever matchup against the Cougars. Cal State San Marcos is a participant of the CCAA. San Marcos, California is about 40 minutes from downtown San Diego. The team holds a 27-6 record in 2023-24, with an 18-4 conference record, winning the CCAA in the regular season. The team played in two tight games in the CCAA Tournament, first beating Cal State LA in overtime, 82-78, then following that up with a two-point victory over Chico State in the championship game. The Cougars defeated #19 Montana State Billings in the NCAA West Regional Tournament Championship to advance to the Elite Eight, then, as the #8 seed in the tournament, defeated the top-seeded Gannon in another overtime victory, 85-80.
 
Key Cougars: Cal State San Marcos has three players averaging double-digit scoring in 2023-24. Jordan Vasquez is scoring 16.7 points per game on 57% field goal shooting and grabbing 11.5 rebounds per game. She was named to the D2CCA All-America First Team this season. Charity Gallegos is right behind her, averaging 15.8 points, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Mina Tameilau is averaging about 11 points per game for the Cougars.