MOORHEAD, Minn. – No. 25 Minnesota State (22-6, 18-4 NSIC) lost its last game of the 2024-25 regular season, 74-69, against MSU Moorhead (13-15, 11-11 NSIC) Saturday night. The Dragons held the Mavericks to just nine points in the third quarter and 30% shooting in the second half. Minnesota State fell just short of a comeback and dropped its fourth away game in its last five.
 
Despite the loss, Natalie Bremer was still solid for the Mavericks. She led the way with 22 points on 7-18 shooting and 4-7 shooting from three. She also had three rebounds, two steals and a block.
 
It was a scoreless game for over a minute until Bremer put two on the board for Minnesota State, then Destinee Bursch made a layup to give the Mavericks an early two-possession lead. Hannah Herzig grabbed a three-point miss from a teammate before she put it back for two, then Bremer made her first field goal to give the Mavericks an 8-0 lead. The Dragons immediately responded with a three-point make and two layups to cut it to a one-point game. Mackenzie Schweim hit the away team's first three of the game which kicked off an 11-1 run which left the Mavericks with a 19-8 lead. Natalie Jens ended the run with a three, the last make of the first quarter. MSU led 19-11 against MSU Moorhead.
 
The Dragons started the second quarter on a 6-0 run as the Mavericks went on a nearly six-minute scoring drought before Elisabeth Gadient made a trio at the line to maintain a 22-17 lead. MSUM made a layup and a pair of free throws to cut it to a one-point game, but Bremer sunk a three for the first Maverick field goal in almost nine minutes, then freshman Lucy Leininger made a layup to create some separation. Bursch made her second and third buckets to put the Mavericks up by nine with 3:12 left in the half. Leininger had another shot inside, then Adeline Kent connected on a layup and forced a timeout call from the home bench. Out of the break, the two teams traded three-point makes to send the game to halftime with the Mavericks leading 38-30.
 
Minnesota State made 40% of its shots in the first half, with three threes and a 7-8 mark at half from the line. MSU Moorhead shot 37.5% from the floor with four three-point baskets. The Dragons outrebounded the Mavericks 22-16 on the glass, but defensively, the away team forced 15 turnovers and scored 16 points from those takeaways. The Mavericks also dominated the paint, outscoring MSUM 20-10 down low.
 
For the Mavericks, Bremer led the way with seven points and tallied a pair of rebounds and steals with a blocked shot in the first half. Bursch had six at half with 3-6 shooting. Ava Stier and Gadient each scored five points through two quarters.
 
The Dragons were led primarily by Natalie Jens and Ashton Safranski, who scored 23 of the 30 MSU Moorhead points in the first half. Both made two three-pointers.
 
MSU Moorhead scored the first basket of the second half but Bremer hit a three. With the bucket, she reached double figures. An and-one layup from Abby Berge kicked off a 15-0 run that gave the Dragons a 47-41 lead with 4:12 in the third. A free throw from Schweim and the second three of the game from Stier cut the Maverick deficit to two. Jens swished a floater and a pair of free throws from the Dragons extended the home lead, but a make from Bremer kept it a five-point game. Terryn Johnson sent MSU Moorhead into the fourth quarter with a 54-47 lead with a layup to close the third. The Dragons dominated the period 24-9.
 
The home team made a pair of free throws before Berge and Jens gave MSU Moorhead a 13-point lead before Schweim hit a much-needed three to hold the deficit to 10 with 8:32 left in regulation. The Dragons took their biggest lead of the game with their sixth three of the game, 66-52. Bremer sunk a two-point and a three-point jumper to make it a nine-point game with 5:20 left to play. Stier made a long two-point jumper to cut it to a six-point game, then two Gadient makes at the free throw line cut the Dragon lead to four. Jens made a jumper to make it a six-point lead, but Bremer connected on a shot from deep to make it a one-possession game with 2:09 left in the fourth.
 
Berge and Gadient traded baskets back and forth, then Bremer missed a good look at the rim, which led to an MSUM timeout call with 0:32 left on the clock. The Dragons killed some clock and made a free throw to secure the five-point win, 74-69.
 
The Mavericks shot 35.4% from the field (23-65 FG), made one third of their three-point attempts (8-24 3P) and ended the game making 15-20 from the line. The team was outrebounded 43-33.
 
Bremer had 22 points on 7-18 shooting. She had four threes, three rebounds, two steals and a block. Stier scored 12 points shooting a perfect 4-4 from the line. She grabbed five rebounds and had a steal. Gadient and Bursch scored nine and eight points, respectively.
 
The Dragons made 48.1% of their shots in the Senior Day win. The home team made 6-19 from three (31.6% 3P) and 18-28 from the charity stripe (64.3% FT). Jens also had 22 points for MSU Moorhead. Berge had 17 points and Safranski ended with 14.
 
"Our biggest lesson tonight is we let our offense dictate our defense and that is not who we are as a team," reflected Maverick head coach Emilee Thiesse. "We did not lean on our defensive principles in the third quarter and we lost the game in those 10 minutes. Credit to the Dragons who played hard and competed for 40 minutes. 
 
With the regular season complete, Minnesota State holds the No. 3 spot in the NSIC, which means the Mavericks get a first-round bye in the NSIC Tournament. MSU will play on Sunday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m. in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.