MANKATO, Minn. – Following a pair of tough road losses, No. 14 Minnesota State (18-4, 14-2 NSIC) rebounded in a big way on Saturday. The Mavericks dominated Winona State (9-13, 5-11 NSIC) 105-49 in the team's biggest win of the season. MSU stars Natalie Bremer and Destinee Bursch led the way for the team, as the two guards combined for 33 points, nine assists and seven steals. Freshman Lucy Leininger also had one of the best games of her young Maverick career, as she finished with 13 points on 6-8 shooting, four assists and five steals. She also led the team in plus/minus with plus-37 points when on the court.
 
The Warriors struggled mightily as MSU forced 35 turnovers and had 24 steals throughout the game which limited the team to fewer shot attempts. Winona State scored less than 10 points in two of the game's quarters.
 
Bremer hit a three to kick off the scoring in the game, which was followed up by another three-point make from Elisabeth Gadient. Mackenzie Schweim hit the third Maverick three of the game to put MSU up 10-2 with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter. The Mavericks then jumped out on a 10-0 run resulting from threes from Bursch and Schweim. With 24 seconds left in the quarter, Olivia Gamoke sunk a three to cut into the Maverick lead, but Bursch hit a three of her own to close out the period. That shot gave Minnesota State a 23-9 lead after 10 minutes of action.
 
Hannah Herzig made her first shot of the game to score first in the second quarter. Following free throw makes from both teams, there were no scores for over a minute until Bremer sunk a three from the wing to put Minnesota State up 30-11 on the Warriors. Ava Stier pivoted through the Winona State zone defense for a jumper from the wing, but the Warriors made a three on the other end. Bursch found Leininger cutting to the rim for a nice assist to put the Mavericks back up by 20. Winona State sunk its third shot from deep, but Stier responded with an and-one layup off a nice feed from Bremer. Hailey Markworth hit her second three of the game and pulled up for two at the free throw line the next time down for the Warriors. Bremer and Leininger each hit pull-up jumpers from the elbow, then Herzig made a three from the wing to put MSU up 45-24 with 3:11 left to play in the half. She stole the ball away from the Warriors and found Leininger streaking down the court for a wide-open layup. After Gadient made a pair of shots at the charity stripe, Minnesota State went into halftime with a 51-28 lead.
 
The Mavericks hit half of their shots through the first two quarters and had an outstanding half from beyond the arc, as the team made 8-13 from deep in the first 20 minutes. MSU forced 16 first-half turnovers and had 10 steals. The team scored 20 points from those takeaways. There were also 13 assisted shots in the first half for the Mavericks. Minnesota State outrebounded WSU 25-11 in the first two quarters.
 
Seven Minnesota State players ended the first half with at least five points. Leininger led all scorers with nine points in the first half. She also had two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Both Bremer and Bursch ended the half with eight points. Bursch was facilitating the offense incredibly well, as she also had four rebounds, five assists and four steals in the first 20 minutes. Gadient tallied seven points and a pair of steals in the first half.
 
Winona State bounced back after a rough first quarter shooting and ended the half with a 40% field goal percentage. Markworth led the team with eight points after two quarters.
 
Schweim pump-faked and drove in for a left-handed finish inside to start the scoring in half two. Leininger stole an inbound pass and took it all the way to the hoop for a fast-break finish to put the team up 57-28. She stole the ball two more times which led to an easy layup for Bremer and an and-one finish from Bursch to extend the Maverick lead. Gamoke sunk a three on the other end, but Leininger made her sixth bucket of the game in response. Bremer and Gadient made back-to-back fastbreak layups after steals to force a Winona State timeout as the Mavericks took a 37-point lead. Lilly Nuytten hit a two-point jumper to put the team up by 41 with 1:45 left in the third quarter. She hit another jumper, then Stier sent the game into the final quarter with a three to put MSU up 81-35 with one period left.
 
After the Warriors opened up the fourth with a three, Stier made a layup off an assist from Herzig. Bursch found Bremer on an inbound pass and she took one dribble before pulling up for two, which found the bottom of the net to give the Mavericks a 45-point lead. On offense, the ball was hopping from player to player until Herzig found Bursch right on the block for an easy look inside. Minnesota State responded to a Warrior make with an 11-0 run to cement the team's victory. When it was all said and done, the Mavericks took down Winona State in an emphatic 105-49 win.
 
Minnesota State shot 53.3% from the field (40-75 FG), its second-best shooting performance of the season. The team shot 11-21 from beyond the arc (52.4% 3P) and 14-20 from the free throw line (70% FT). The Mavericks dominated on the glass, grabbing 24 more rebounds and 13 more offensive boards in the win. MSU dished out 26 assists and ended the game with 24 steals and 35 forced turnovers, also the team's second-highest total on the season.
 
Bremer led all participants with 18 points. She shot 7-12 from the field, grabbed four rebounds, assisted on three baskets, had two steals and blocked one shot in the victory. Bursch was also great, as the senior tallied 15 points on 6-10 shooting, five rebounds, six assists and five steals. Leininger scored 13 points off the bench on eight shots, dished out four assists and grabbed five steals. Both Schweim and Gadient ended with 11 points each; Gadient also contributed five steals on defense. Stier ended the game with 10 points on a perfect 4-4 from the floor.
 
Winona State shot 34.7% from the field (17-49 FG) and ended the game with six three-point makes (27.3% 3P). Markworth, Gamoke and Megan Schuman each had eight points in the loss.
 
The Mavericks play two games next week. First, the team hosts Wayne State (10-10, 7-9 NSIC) on Thursday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Taylor Center. Then, on Saturday, February 8 at 5:30 p.m., Minnesota State is on the road to face off against Sioux Falls (13-9, 9-6 NSIC).