SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The #20 Minnesota State Mavericks (26-5) won their first NSIC Tournament Championship in program history against the University of Mary Marauders (22-11), 89-74 Tuesday at the Sanford Pentagon.

Minnesota State's Joey Batt, Destinee Bursch and Emily Herzberg all made the All-Tournament team, and Batt was named the NSIC Tournament Most Valuable Player for her performances in Sioux Falls. The New Ulm, Minn. native averaged 19.7 points, two rebounds, 5.7 assists and two steals per game in the NSIC Tournament.

Bursch opened the game with a three from the corner. The Marauders responded on the other end with a two-point jumper and a layup to take an early 4-3 lead. MSU ran an excellent fast break, with Bursch finding Batt who drove in for a reverse layup to take the lead back. Herzberg sunk a three to put the Mavericks up 8-6. UMary's Mariah McKeever went on a quick 5-0 run, making two free throws and a three to give the Marauders a three-point lead. Bursch responded with a three of her own to tie the game at 11.

The teams then traded baskets, with six lead changes in just over four minutes. As time expired on the quarter, Emily Russo grabbed an offensive board and put it back up to give the Mavericks a 23-21 lead after one quarter.

Some nice high-low post action resulted in an easy layup for the Marauders' Moriku Hakim to start the second. The Mavericks tied the game and took the lead on a couple of deep twos from Grace Mueller and Bremer. Another score from Natalie Bremer brought the score to 29-25. Lexie Schneider split two defenders, spinning into an easy bucket at the rim to cut the Maverick lead to four. Minnesota State went on an 11-0 run, capped off by a deep three from Mackenzie Schweim. The Mavericks led 44-29 with 2:16 left in the first half.

McKeever sunk another three to make the score 44-32 with just under two minutes to play in the half. Delaynie Luneckas connected on a turn around jumper to give the Mavericks a 47-33 lead heading into the locker room.

The Mavericks shot 44% from the field in the first half. The team made five of its 13 three-point attempts and made six free throws. MSU assisted on 11 of its baskets in the first half. Minnesota State forced 19 first half turnovers against the Marauders, while only turning the ball over three times in the first 20 minutes.

Batt and Herzig each had eight points in the first half. Batt ended the half with three dimes and a steal. Herzig had three first half steals. Bursch had six points through the first two quarters. She also had five assists and two rebounds.

UMary shot 52% in the first half, making three threes and eight of its 10 free throws. The Marauders outrebounded MSU in the first half, 20-15. They also protected the rim with four blocks in the first half. Megan Zander led the team with 11 points in the first half. She also had five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Bursch opened the scoring in the second half with a jumper assisted by Batt. Then UMary went on a 6-0 run to cut the Mavericks lead to nine. Herzberg and Stier both made jumpers to end the run. Zander nailed a three in the corner to make the score 61-51. A layup from Schneider was the last score of the quarter with over two minutes remaining. When the third quarter ended, the score was 63-53.

Russo corralled an offensive rebound and pitched it out to Herzberg for an open three to start the quarter. That shot began an 11-2 run for Minnesota State. A Marauder 3-pointer with just under six minutes to play in regulation cut the Maverick lead to 78-62. The game clock ran out and the Mavericks won their first NSIC Tournament Championship by a score of 89-74.

Minnesota State shot a 44% field goal percentage (32-73 FG) against UMary, making 6-19 from beyond the arc and 19-23 from the charity stripe. As was the case so often this season, the turnover battle was a major deciding factor in the game. The Mavericks forced 32 Marauder turnovers, scoring 46 points off those turnovers. The team dished out 19 assists and had 19 steals.

The Mavericks had five players finish in double digits. Batt led the team with 16 points. She also had five assists and three steals in the game. Bursch ended with 14 points, two rebounds and five assists. Herzberg scored 13 points, making 2-3 from three-point range. Bremer had 10 points, two rebounds, two steals and a block.

With the win, the Mavericks punch their ticket into the NCAA Regional Tournament. NCAA Tournament play begins Friday, March 15. The NCAA Selection Show will be streamed live on the NCAA website on Sunday, March 10 at 9:30 p.m.

Minnesota State became the fourth program to win NSIC tournament championships both men and women in the same season. The last team to do it was Wayne State College in 2011.