Women’s hoops nears 15 wins before Feb.

After a weekend road trip to N.D. to take on Minot State and the University of Mary this past weekend, the Minnesota State women’s basketball team now returns back to the Taylor Center to face MSU Moorhead and Northern State. The Mavericks finished off the weekend of Jan. 22 coming home with a 71-81 loss to Minot State and a 74-60 win over UMary.

The Beavers came in as home underdogs to the Mavericks, but thanks to a 30-point performance from junior forward Amber Stevahn, Minot State was able to come out on top. Both teams did not shoot well from the field, each shooting under 40 percent from the field and under 30 percent from the three-point line. 

Mavs’ leading scorer Joey Batt went 0-7 from the field against the Beavers, while senior guard Maddy Olson and freshman guard Destinee Bursch buried 18 points each. It was not enough however, as Minot State handed MSU their fourth loss of the season. 

The next day the Mavericks took on UMary in Bismarck, N.D. at the McDowell Activity Center. The Mavs fared much better in this one, capturing win No. 13 on the season behind Olson’s 15 points. 

It was a team effort for the Mavs in this one, where eight scorers each made a significant mark from the field. MSU did great from the free throw line, shooting 81.8 percent while also getting their field goal percentage above 40 percent.

For UMary, senior forward Lexie Schneider’s team-leading 13 points was not enough to get the job done as the Marauders fell to 10-12 overall on the season with the loss.

Minnesota State now heads into this weekend with an overall record of 13-4 and an NSIC record of 9-4. With the weekend split of games, the Mavericks sit third in the NSIC standings, shortly behind Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. 

The Mavs now get matchups with MSU Moorhead and Northern State this weekend who both sit middle of the pack in the NSIC with conference records of 5-5 and 7-6 respectively. Based on overall record, Northern State imposes more of a threat to the NSIC’s No. 3 Mavericks. 

The MSUM Dragons are up first this weekend, who are 6-8 overall on the season. The Dragons have an impressive upset over No. 20 St. Cloud State but have struggled to stay above .500. Moorhead is led by junior center Peyton Boom, who leads the team in scoring at 16.1 points while also grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game. 

Northern State is 10-8 overall on the season with one win over Sioux Falls and a four-point loss to ranked Minnesota Duluth. The Wolves leading scorer is sophomore forward Kalie Olverson who averages 13.9 points per game.

Despite having a rough weekend a few days ago, Batt remains the Mavericks leading scorer while averaging 16.2 points per game as well as 3.5 rebounds. A few points behind her is freshman Bursch, who is a real scoring threat from off the bench. The backup guard averages 11.4 points per game. 

With two wins this weekend the Mavericks can come closer to St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth in the NSIC standings while also giving themselves the chance at reaching 15 wins on the season before the end of Jan.

Header Photo: Senior forward Maddy Olson scored 32 total points this past weekend against Minot State and UMary.