MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State women's basketball team (22-6, 18-4 NSIC) are set to take on the Marauders of UMary (16-11, 12-10 NSIC) in the quarterfinal round of the NSIC Tournament on Sunday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m. in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
No. 6 UMary vs No. 3 Minnesota State – 1:30 p.m.
Watch$
Live Stats
Listen
 
About the Mavericks
Regular Season Recap: After starting 4-2 through the team's first six games of the season, Minnesota State kicked off a 13-game winning streak that started with a win against Regis in Colo. on November 30 and eventually ended with a loss on the road to Northern State in late January. The Mavericks found the bulk of their success this season at home, winning all 12 games in the Taylor Center this season by an average margin of victory of 28.75 points per game. Despite this, the team struggled on the road, losing four of its final five conference road games. MSU has three 100-point games this season and has surpassed 90 points in 16 games.
 
Central Region Rankings: Minnesota State was ranked fifth in the second version of the 2025 NCAA Central Region Rankings. This was the first week the teams were ranked numerically.
 
Team Stats: The Mavericks boast the best offense in the nation amongst Division II teams, scoring an average of 88 points per game while shooting the ninth-best field goal percentage at 45.8%. The team ranks eighth in free throws made per game (16.3 FT/game) and 13^th in the nation in scoring margin, winning games by an average of 16.3 points per game. Minnesota State ranks 20^th in assists (16.5 APG) and 17^th in rebounds (42.2 RPG) and 10^th in offensive boards (16.5 ORPG). The Mavericks' aggressive style of defense results in lots of turnovers. Defensively, the team is third in the country in steals (17.4 SPG), fourth in turnover margin (10.21) and fifth in turnovers forced per game (27.25 TPG) while averaging 29.6 points per game from those takeaways.
 
Star Power: MSU has two First Team All-NSIC players on its roster. First, senior guard Destinee Bursch has had her best season in 2024-25. The Chaska, Minn. native averaged 17.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, four assists and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 53.1% from the field, all of which are career-highs. Her field goal percentage is also highest in the NSIC. Bursch reached 20 points 11 separate times this season and has shot over 70% from the floor in five games. She reached 1,500 career points early in the season and has since moved into third in all-time scoring in MSU history, one spot behind former teammate Joey Batt. Her nomination to the 2025 NSIC All-Conference First Team was her fourth overall all-conference nomination. Junior guard Natalie Bremer was the Mavericks' leading scorer this season, averaging 20 points per game while shooting 49.4% from the field, 40.8% from three and 84% from the free throw line. Bremer also led the team with 75 steals, an average of 2.8 per game. The Lake City, Minn. native also averaged 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game for MSU. She led the team with 15 20-point games during the regular season, including two 30-point performances. She scored 32 points and had 10 rebounds in Minnesota State's win on the road against Augustana, a career-high for the guard. Bremer, with 541 points this season, became the ninth Maverick to surpass 1,500 career points and moved into fifth in all-time scoring in program history. This is the second time Bremer has been named to the NSIC All-Conference First Team.
 
The Greatest: With a win over Wayne State, Minnesota State head coach Emilee Thiesse became the winningest coach in program history and with another against St. Cloud State, she became the first coach in MSU women's basketball history to reach 250 career wins. In 13 seasons, Thiesse holds an all-time record of 250-122 and an NSIC record of 187-89. Minnesota State has won 78.5 percent of its games in the Taylor Center under Coach Thiesse. She has led the Mavericks to seven 20-win seasons and five NCAA Tournament appearances. Last season, Thiesse was named NSIC Coach of the Year for the first time in her career.
 
History vs UMary: The Mavericks have nearly been unstoppable against the Marauders. Minnesota State is 20-4 against UMary, with nine consecutive wins. MSU was victorious twice this season against Mary, with a 69-63 victory in Bismarck on January 3 and a dominant 91-75 win at home to close out the season at the Taylor Center. The Marauders' last win against Minnesota State was in January 2019, when they won 85-71 at home.
 
 
About the Marauders
Heading into the NSIC Tournament, UMary is the No. 6 seed. The Marauders defeated Minnesota Duluth in the first round of the tournament, 64-43. After losing four in a row in February, the team defeated Sioux Falls in its last game of the regular season.
 
UMary averages 67.7 points per game while shooting 38.4% from the field, 31.6% from three and 70.9% from the free throw line as a team. The Marauders average 40 rebounds per contest while dishing out 13.9 assists per game. Defensively, the team averages 9.1 steals and four blocked shots each time it steps on the court. UMary turns the ball over 15.7 times per game.
 
Bergan Kinnebrew was the only Marauder to make an All-NSIC squad. She was named to the First Team as a sophomore after averaging 15.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for UMary. Kinnebrew dropped 21 points on 8-14 shooting in the team's game against UMD.
 
Head coach Rick Neumann is in the midst of his eighth season with the UMary women's basketball program. He has an overall record of 196-165 in Bismarck and has two 20-win seasons. Last year the Marauders made it to the NSIC Tournament Championship game where they eventually fell to the Mavericks, 89-74.