Women’s basketball Salvage a win in season-opening Series against Bemidji State

Daniel McElroy ® Staff Writer |

The Minnesota State University (1-1) women’s basketball team split their first series of the season against the Bemidji State University Beavers (1-1) the past weekend. 

Saturday’s 63-62 win started with Tayla Stuttley’s 3-pointer, sparking back and forth scoring, although the Mavericks held the lead for most of the game. 

The Mavericks offensive pressure forces five turnovers in the first quarters, scoring 8 points off of turnovers, ending the first quarter with a score of 21-18.

The Mavericks started the second quarter with a 10-3 run, giving them a 31-21 lead. They would continue to hold onto their lead to the end of the half with a 38-28 lead.

Stuttley, a senior from Onalaska, Wisconsin, led all scorers at the end of the first quarter with 9 points, which would end her scoring for the day. 

Minnesota State kept a two possession lead for the entire third quarter, being led by junior guard Rylee Menster. Menster put up 12 points, going 5-9 in field goals, and 2-4 on free throws. 

Bemidji State fought back to cut the lead down to 52-51, sparking more back and forth scoring. The Mavericks would finish out the game allowing 4 points in the last 16 seconds, although not being enough to take the win away, giving the Mavericks their first win of the season with a score of 63-62.

The Mavericks were not as fortunate in Sunday’s matchup, as they fell to the Beavers in overtime.

Rachel Shumski started out the scoring for Minnesota State, making her first two shots. The Beavers took the lead with five minutes remaining in the first quarter, ending the quarter with a score of 16-13.

At the start of the second quarter, the Beavers went on an 8-2 run, giving them a 29-21 lead.

The first half ended with the Mavericks cutting the lead from a pair of free throws from Menster, and a pair of layups from sophomore Joey Batt. The teams would exchange field goals and end with a score of 40-38 in favor of the Mavericks.

The second half started with a 13-3 run from the Beavers, giving them a 51-43 lead. The Mavericks answered by going on a 16-5 run of themselves, giving them a 59-56 lead to end the third quarter.

The fourth quarter only saw a one possession game except for one occasion, where Batt’s layup gave the Mavericks a 65-61 lead.

The fourth quarter ended with a score of 69-69, pushing the game into overtime.

A back and forth overtime would push the Beavers to ultimately take the win with a score of 82-76.

Joey Batt would finish the game as the leading scorer with 26 points, connecting on 9-23 field goals, and 6-8 from the free throw line.

The women’s next meeting is against Augustana University next Friday and Saturday in Sioux Falls.

Header photo courtesy of Maverick Athletics.