Women’s basketball taveling to SMSU, USF

It has been quite the year for the Minnesota State women’s basketball team, who have officially claimed 15 wins before the month of February with their recent wins over MSU Moorhead and Northern State this past weekend. 

With six remaining games on the Mavericks’ schedule before the beginning of the NSIC tournament, the Mavs now have a chance to claim their fourth and fifth straight wins against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls this weekend. 

MSU first travels to Marshall to take on SMSU. The Mustangs come into the game with a 9-9 overall record while going 6-8 overall in NSIC action.

They face a tough Mavericks group who are third in the NSIC with an overall record of 15-4 and a conference record of 11-4. The Broncos also come into the matchup on a three-game losing streak, whereas the Mavs come in with a three-game winning streak.
The two teams have been fairly evenly matched the past few years, but overall history has not been kind to the Broncos who have only won 21 of the 65 meetings. In their most recent meeting, the Mavericks came out on top 96-74 back on Dec. 18 of last year. 

SMSU comes into the matchup led by senior guards Meleah Reinhart and Sadie Stetler who average 13.9 and 12.9 points per game respectively. 

MSU then moves on to Sioux Falls, who come into the matchup 13-8 overall and 8-6 in the NSIC. The Cougars can put points up on the board, and rank fourth in the NSIC in scoring offense averaging 69.6 points per game. 

This weekend’s game will be the first time the teams have met since Dec. 17 of last year, where the Mavs defeated the Cougars 72-64. Despite the win, Sioux Falls does own the all-time series record 7-11. 

USF is led by freshman guard Magan Fannin and senior forward Krystal Carlson, who average 14.6 and 9.9 points per game respectively. 

On the Mavericks’ side of the ball, the team is led by sophomore guard Joey Batt who averages 16.2 points per game as well as 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. Batt leads the top offense in the NSIC, with the Mavs averaging 79.1 points per game which is also ranked No. 16 in all of NCAA Division II women’s basketball. 

Not far behind her is freshman guard Destinee Bursch, who comes off the bench for the Mavericks while averaging 12.1 points per game. Bursch is an amazing second option at the point for MSU, making the most of her 18.4 minutes per game. 

MSU also boasts amazing special teams play, owning a massive plus-9.6 turnover margin over opposing teams. They do this behind their 274 total steals on the season, which helps them hold the fourth ranked turnover margin in NCAA Division II women’s basketball.

Header Photo: Freshman guard Destinee Bursch (14) has been great off the bench for the Mavs, averaging 12.1 points per game in 18.4 minutes per game. Bursch and the Mavericks face SMSU and USF this weekend on the road.