Women’s basketball dominates UMC in first round

Andrew Neururer
Sports Editor

The Minnesota State Mavericks women’s basketball team began the NSIC Tournament with an 87-54 win against the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles on Feb 26. 

MSU entered the tournament as the second seed in southern region with a record of 16-10 and a conference record of 13-9. The Golden Eagles entered play as the seventh seed in the northern region with a record of 5-21 and a conference record of 4-18.

Minnesota State entered the half leading 42-28 and a large reason for it was the team’s ability to score the ball efficiently. The Mavericks through two quarters shot 43.2% from the field and limited the Golden Eagles to 32.2%

The Mavericks didn’t use the 3-point shot to help create separation from Minnesota Crookston, shooting 1-for-6 from distance. Instead They did the bulk of their work from the charity stripe and inside the arc. MSU shot 9-of-9 from the free throw.

The beginning of the second half was good for Minnesota State. The Mavericks climbed out to a 52-29 lead by the media timeout at 4:59 in the third quarter. 

After successfully shutting Minnesota Crookston down for the majority of the third quarter, Alyssa Peterson made a basket and gave the Golden Eagles 31. By the start of the fourth quarter, Minnesota State had a 30-point lead, 65-35, limiting Minnesota Crookston to just seven points in the third quarter.

The Mavericks and the Golden Eagles had an even fourth quarter, with MSU winning the battle 22-19 and would go on to win 87-54. 

Minnesota State shot 40% from the field and 21.1% from the 3-point line. Where they really excelled was getting to the free throw line and controlling things there. The Mavericks got to the line 24 times and made 23 of those. Whereas the Golden Eagles went 7-for-14.

Sophomore Kristi Fett led the way for MSU, scoring 20 points and collecting seven rebounds. She shot the ball efficiently too, going 9-of-11 from the field. 

Senior Kirstin Klitzke scored 12 points and was second on the scoring list. The other players to score in double figures was freshman Joey Batt (11) and senior Taylor Drost (10). 

The Mavericks will next face the University of Mary on March 1 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Header photo: Minnesota State forward Taylor Drost (30) attempts a shot during a game against Minnesota Crookston at the Taylor Center Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020 in Mankato Minn. (Mansoor Ahmad/MSU Reporter)