Mavs lose 11-game winning streak, drop three straight

The Minnesota State women’s basketball team was on a roll after starting out the season 11-0, until most recently where the team has hit a wall, dropping their last three games. It was an impressive start for the Mavericks, which has come to an end after losing games to Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota Duluth, and St. Cloud State opening up 2022.

The team entered winter break undefeated and extended that streak with wins over Wayne State, Sioux Falls, and Southwest Minnesota State. 

A 63-52 win over Wayne State helped propel the Mavs to 9-0 on the season and 5-0 in the NSIC at the time. MSU’s Taylor Theusch and Maddy Olson combined for 30 points in the win over the Wildcats while Wayne State’s Kylie Hammer generated nearly half of Wayne State’s offense scoring 25 points. 

The Mavericks then travelled back home to the Taylor Center to face off against Sioux Falls, winning that contest 73-64. Joey Batt got back on track against the Cougars, scoring a team-high 16 points to go along with an impressive five steals. The Cougars were amazing from the line in this one, making 17 of 20 free throws but it was not enough to go home victorious. 

Minnesota State then drew SMSU for their final game of 2021, defeating the Mustangs by a score of 96-74. Both teams had a duo of starting players combine for 32 points in the outing, the Mavs coming from Olsen and Batt, and the Mustangs coming from Abuk Akoi and Sadie Stelter. MSU’s depth came to be more crucial in the win, with Destinee Bursch and Emily Russo scoring 20 and 17 points respectively.

The Mavericks then closed out their 2021 campaign and started their 2022 debut off against Concordia-St. Paul. The Mavs were not able to hold on in the fourth, losing their lead and taking their first loss of the season from the Golden Bears by a score of 83-85. The Golden Bears rallied behind only six scorers in the win, each of whom reached the double digit points mark.

MSU then got to face Duluth in one of the biggest NSIC matchups of the season so far. The Mavericks came out horribly slow, only scoring four points in the first quarter before erupting for 26 points in the second to take a lead into half time. The Mavs could not hold on, however, dropping the final two quarters of play in the hands of the Bulldogs to receive their second loss of the season 61-52. 

In their final game before the start of the new semester, the Mavericks got a chance to play yet another top opponent in the NSIC, the St. Cloud State Huskies. Unfortunately for the Mavs, they were in for yet another disappointing ending.

The two teams started off the first quarter strong, but MSU struggled to find buckets in the second to go into half behind 24-29. Minnesota State could not revive their offense enough to catch up to St. Cloud State, despite out scoring the Huskies 18-14 in the third quarter. 

SCSU dominated the fourth which helped propel the team to an impressive 66-52 win over the Mavericks.

The Mavs fell to 11-3 overall and 7-3 in NSIC play with the loss to the Huskies and are now set to play Bemidji State on Jan. 13 in the hopes of turning around their three-game losing streak.