ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Minnesota State women's basketball team (30-5) advances to the Final Four after defeating the Lady Hurricanes of Georgia Southwestern State (29-4). The Mavericks pull off the win, overcoming a 10-point deficit late in the first half. Senior guard Joey Batt scored 21 points and assisted on six baskets in the win. There were 14 lead changes in the game and seven ties.
 
Natalie Bremer sunk a shot in the lane to open scoring in the game. Then Destinee Bursch tipped the ball away from the GSW post player, and Emily Russo found her streaking down the court for the fast break layup. Jashanti Simmons for the Hurricanes went down and scored an and-one layup to make the score to make the score 6-5, Minnesota State. The Lady Hurricanes would take the lead on a fast break layup and make the score 10-6 with a three from the corner. Another three, this time from Destiny Garrett, put Georgia Southwestern up 13-8 with 4:27 left to play in the first quarter.
 
Batt made a jumper in the lane to get the Mavericks to double digits. Minnesota State made a few free throws to make the score 15-14 in favor of Georgia Southwestern. Emily Herzberg found Bremer in the corner for three to tie the game at 17-a-piece, but the Lady Hurricanes took the lead back with a two-point jumper. A couple of second-chance free throws from Ava Stier tied the game, and Batt made another jumper after a forced turnover in the paint. Bremer made a three with just over one minute left to play in the quarter for the final score, giving Minnesota State a 24-21 lead after one quarter.
 
The two teams traded buckets back and forth to begin the second quarter. Mackenzie Schweim nailed a three-pointer to make the score 31-27 in favor of MSU. After a made layup from Grace Mueller, Garrett raced down the court for a layup of her own. Georgia Southwestern went on a 9-0 run to take the lead, 40-35, but Taylor Theusch sunk a three to make it a two-point game with three minutes remaining in the half. The Lady Hurricanes went on a 10-1 run over a minute to go up 49-39. Batt would hit a three with a minute remaining in the half, but Kayhla Adams made her third three of the first half to give the GSW Lady Hurricanes a 52-45 lead heading into the locker room.
 
The Mavericks shot just 34% from the field in the first half, making five threes and shooting 12-16 from the free throw line. The team dominated the offensive glass in the first half, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds compared to just two for the Hurricanes. MSU forced 11 turnovers in the first half but also committed six turnovers in the first half.
 
Batt ended the first half with 12 points and three assists. Bremer had eight points, and Bursch had seven. Herzberg led the team with two steals in the first half.
 
The Lady Hurricanes shot the lights out in the first 20 minutes, making 64% of their shot attempts, including 5-6 from three. Garrett ended the first half with 12 points as well. Simmons and Adams had nine points on the board after two quarters of play.
 
A steal by Bremer and a two-point jumper kicked off the second half for the Mavericks. Russo made a couple of key plays, cutting across the lane for an easy layup and forcing a stop inside on defense, pushing the ball up the court to find Bremer for an easy fastbreak score. Minnesota State started the second half on a 6-0 run to cut into the Lady Hurricanes' lead. Russo would force a GSW turnover and take that to the hoop, giving the Mavericks a 55-54 lead.
 
Bursch found Batt for a reverse layup to cap off a 14-2 start to the second half. The Lady Hurricanes took a chunk out of the lead with two layups, but Schweim sunk her second three of the game to extend the lead back to four, 62-58. A three from Bursch put the Mavericks up by six with three and a half to play in the quarter. Lexi McCully for Georgia Southwestern made a layup to make it a one-point game, and a pair of free throws gave the Lady Hurricanes back the lead, 66-65. Batt made an and-one layup to make it a one-point lead, but Leah Johnson made a last-second inside bucket to give the Lady Hurricanes a 71-68 lead heading into the final quarter.
 
Bursch drew a foul on a jump shot, which she made, allowing her to tie the game at 71-a-piece. After both teams scored two-pointers, there was no scoring for nearly two minutes until Herzberg hit a pull-up jumper to give the Mavericks a two-point lead with 6:41 in regulation. After a drive in the lane for McCully gave the Lady Hurricanes back the lead, Hannah Herzig sunk a three from the wing to put the Mavericks back up 79-77 with 4:18 left to play.
 
McCully's second three of the game gave the Hurricanes an 80-79 lead with three and a half to play. After both teams traded baskets, Herzberg nailed a three-pointer to give the Mavericks a two-point lead with just over a minute to play. Minnesota State would break the Georgia Southwestern press several times to close out the game. The Mavericks advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament, winning 93-88.
 
The Mavericks shot 42.5% (31-73 FG) from the field in the game. The team made nine three-pointers in 28 attempts (32% 3FG) and 22-32 from the free throw line. MSU assisted on 18 made baskets and had 14 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 14 second-chance points. The Mavericks forced 26 turnovers, including 16 steals, scoring 27 points off those turnovers.
 
Batt led all scorers with 21 points on 6-18 shooting from the field. She also had four rebounds, a game-high six assists and one steal. Bremer ended with 14 points, five boards and six steals against the Lady Hurricanes. Bursch had 13 points in the game. Herzberg, Russo and Herzig all finished with nine points, each contributing huge plays in crucial moments of the game.
 
Georgia Southwestern gave all it had, making 55% of its shots from the field (30-55 FG), 53% from beyond the arc, and 20-26 from the charity stripe. The team won the battle on the glass, grabbing four more rebounds than the Mavericks. The Hurricanes' bench scored 52 points in the game. McCully scored 18 on 50% field goal shooting. GSW had five players reach double figures.
 
Now, Minnesota State will take on the Cougars of Cal State San Marcos (27-6) on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. at Civic Arena in St. Joseph. The Cougars defeated top-seed Gannon in an overtime battle, 85-80, in the Elite Eight. Like tonight, this will be the first matchup ever for the Mavericks against Cal State San Marcos.