MANKATO, Minn. – The No. 11 ranked Minnesota State Mavericks (14-2, 10-0 NSIC) won its 10^th-straight game against Bemidji State (4-9, 2-7 NSIC) on Friday night, 96-64. Five Mavericks ended in double figures against the Beavers.
 
Natalie Bremer led all scorers with 17 points on 6-12 FG. Senior Destinee Bursch scored 14 points and had nine rebounds and six assists. The team's minutes leader, Mackenzie Schweim ended with 13 points and four boards and was key on defense all night. Newcomers Adeline Kent and Lucy Leininger also finished the game in double figures off the bench.
 
Schweim scored the first points of the contest after she grabbed the rebound off her own miss. Scores from Bursch and Kent. The Beavers tied the game up after a pair of layups in transition from BSU post Ella Giorgi. Ava Stier nailed a three-pointer from the wing off an assist from Kent, and Bremer made her first two shots of the game to put the Mavericks up 13-6. Minnesota State closed out the quarter on an 8-2 run where the team shot a perfect 4-4 and freshman guard Elisabeth Gadient made back-to-back layups before Bremer closed out the quarter with a two-point jumper. After one, the score was 21-10 in favor of the Mavericks.
 
The junior phenom kicked off the second quarter with another jumper to put the team up by 13. After Bemdii State scored on the other end, Gadient hit a three to kick-start a 9-2 run for Minnesota State that saw a pair of made jumpers from Bursch. Tieryn Plasch made a three for the Beavers to make it a 16-point game. After two and a half minutes of scoreless play, Schweim and Bursch made buckets to put the home team up by 20. Freshman Rhyan Holmgren made an and-one layup with 0:06 left in the half to put the Mavericks up 42-21 at halftime.
 
Minnesota State shot 42.9% from the field in the first half and made two three-pointers. The team ended the half with 27 rebounds, eight assists and five steals. The Mavericks forced 11 first-half turnovers from the Beavers and scored 13 points from those takeaways.
 
Both Bremer and Bursch had 10 points in the first two quarters. Bursch had six rebounds, two assists and a steal in the first as well.
 
Bemidji State made one-third of its shot attempts in the first 20 minutes, grabbed 18 rebounds and dished out seven assists.
 
Bursch scored first out of the break as Bremer found her driving inside for a layup. Plasch made another three-pointer, but Bremer made good on an and-one opportunity on the other end to put the Mavericks up 47-24. With just under seven minutes in the quarter, Plasch hit her third three-pointer to make it a 22-point game. Leininger scored four straight points on a pair of free throws and a jumper in the lane, which put Minnesota State up 55-29. Bremer scored her last bucket of the game with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter to put the home team up 60-33. Bemidji State went on an 8-0 run to cut into the Maverick lead, but Schweim made a jumper and Shantell Harden made an and-one to start a 7-0 run for MSU. The Beavers ended the quarter with six straight points to make it 67-47 heading into the final quarter.
 
Schweim jumped out to a hot start to the fourth quarter, as the Mavericks' minutes leader made a three and a layup to put the team up 25 with 8:21 left in regulation. After an and-one for the Beavers, Minnesota State went on an 11-2 run that saw five points from Kent. That run put the team up 83-52. The Mavericks continued to run up the score with an 8-2 run that included two more scores from the transfer from Tampa. Both teams went on runs to close out the game. Minnesota State won 96-64.
 
The Mavericks ended up shooting 47.5% from the field (38-80 FG), 30.8% from deep (4-13 3P) and made 16-24 from the charity stripe (66.7% FT). The team outrebounded Bemidji State 53-32; 20 of those Maverick boards were offensive rebounds. Minnesota State dished out 21 assists as a team and ended with 10 steals and three blocks on the defensive end. The team made 63.2% of its shots in the fourth quarter to solidify the win.
 
Bremer led all scorers with 17 points while shooting 6-12 from the field. She ended with three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Bursch had a great game, as the senior ended with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists on 7-15 shooting. Schweim scored 13 points on 6-10 shooting. The Mavericks' leader in minutes played also had four rebounds and played excellent defense throughout. Newcomers Kent and Leininger both finished in double figures, as well. Kent had 11 points, two assists and two steals in the win. Leininger scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and had a steal.
 
The Beavers shot 41.3% shooting (26-63 FG) and made 6-20 from beyond the three-point line (30% 3P). The away team committed 21 turnovers in the loss. For Bemidji State, Plasch led the team with 11 points, six rebounds and two steals.
 
After a big win on Friday, the Mavericks will host Minnesota Crookston (6-9, 4-5 NSIC) tomorrow, January 11 at 3:30 p.m. in the Taylor Center. The Golden Eagles narrowly defeated Winona State on Friday night, 80-79. Minnesota State has won 23 of its 30 games against UMC.