Basketball squads fail to capitalize on win streaks

The men’s and women’s basketball teams had a pair of away games this weekend, as both teams traveled to Duluth and St. Cloud. The men’s team entered the weekend on a six-game winning streak and looked to keep the momentum going as their season winds down, while the women’s team looked to continue their winning streak moving into this weekend.

Men’s summary
The Mavericks took care of business against the University of Minnesota – Duluth Bulldogs Friday night, earning a 76-58 victory. This win also pushed the Mavericks to seven consecutive wins. This game was also a great example of team basketball on the part of the Mavericks, as each player who entered the game would score at least two points.

Charlie Brown led the Mavericks with 14 points and three assists. Chris Hendrix and Cameron Kirksey also scored in double figures, with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Minnesota State was handed a boost off the bench from Carter Asche, who shot three-for-six from behind the three-point line. Freshman guard Jamal Nixon also came into the game and pulled down six rebounds.

The Bulldogs were led by Brandon Myer’s 23 points and nine rebounds.

The Mavericks traveled to St. Cloud on Saturday for a match-up against NSIC rivals St. Cloud State.

The Huskies entered this contest with a record of 16-6, including a 12-4 conference record. The Huskies, like the Mavericks were also on a winning streak entering this contest. The Huskies had won five consecutive games entering Saturday.

Brown led the Mavericks again, this time scoring 26 points, while providing six rebounds and four assists. Carlos Anderson would add another 11 points while coming off the bench.

The Mavericks were, unfortunately, no match for the Huskies, as they would pull off the 80-71 victory.

St. Cloud ended MSU’s winning streak at seven consecutive games.

Gage Davis led the Huskies with a game-high 33 points and eight rebounds.

The player of the game was undoubtedly Sean Smith of the Huskies. Smith logged his sixth double-double of the season against the Mavericks. Smith would end the game with 11 points, a game-high

14 rebounds, and seven blocked shots.

With the weekend split, the Mavericks move to a record of 19-5, including 15-3 in NSIC play. The

Mavs fall to second place in the NSIC with the defeat at St. Cloud.

The Mavericks will return to the stomping grounds of Mankato this week to face Upper Iowa on Friday and Winona State on Saturday. The Mavericks hold a home record of 9-2.

The Peacocks of Upper Iowa have struggled this season in NSIC play. They hold a NSIC record of 7-11.

In the reverse fixture against MSU, the Peacocks were beaten by the Mavericks by a final score of 86-83.

Upper Iowa has a road record of 5-5, meaning this game could easily go MSU’s way.

On Saturday, the Mavericks will host the Warriors of Winona State. This contest may prove to be a little more difficult, as the Warriors have a NSIC record of 11-7.

This may not be of much importance, however, because the Mavs defeated the Warriors by a score of 83-72 in the reverse fixture in Winona.

Winona State also holds a road record of 5-5. With the victory in Winona going to the Mavericks, I do not see a reason why this game would not either.

Women’s summary

The women’s team had a heartbreaking weekend, with a pair of losses to the University of Minnesota – Duluth Bulldogs and St. Could State Huskies.

On Friday, the Lady Mavs traveled to Duluth to face the Bulldogs. The Mavericks would enter this contest with a two-game winning streak. Unfortunately for the Mavs, the streak would end there, as the Bulldogs would win by a score of 68-55.

Claire Ziegler would record her seventh double-double of her senior season for the Mavericks. Ziegler would end the game with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor Klug led the team in assists with five, while adding 11 points as well.

The Bulldogs had three players score in double figures, compared to MSU’s two.
Minnesota – Duluth was led by Sammy Kozlowski, who finished the game with a game-high 20 points, six rebounds, and eight assists. Emma Boehm would add another 19 points and five rebounds, while Katie Stark would contribute 11 points and six rebounds.

The Mavericks traveled to St. Cloud on Saturday to face-off with the St. Cloud State Huskies. Unfortunately, the Huskies would pull out the 68-67 victory against MSU.

Claire Ziegler recorded her eighth double-double of the season against the Huskies. Ziegler finished the contest with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Monica Muth added 11 points for the Maverick starters as well.

The MSU bench played extremely well, with three players coming off the bench to score in double figures.

Freshman Brooke Tonsfeldt would contribute a season-high 14 points, three rebounds, and four steals from the bench. Taylor Klug would also add another 13 points and three steals as a reserve. Kirstin Klitzke would add 10 points and three rebounds of her own.

This effort by the Mavericks was still not enough to take down the Huskies.

The Huskies were led by Tori Wortz. Wortz would end the game with a game-high 19 points, while dishing out five assists. Andrea Thomas, Nikki Kilboten, and Madelin Dammann all would finish in double figures for the Huskies. Dammann was close to a double-double, as she ended the contest with 11 points and nine rebounds.

With the pair of defeats, the Mavericks fall to a record of 8-16, including 6-12 in the NSIC.
The Mavericks look to turn things around this week as they will host the Upper Iowa Peacocks and the Winona State Warriors.

The Mavericks have a better record at home this season than on the road. They are 5-6 at home