Women’s basketball continues hot streak, improves to 5-0
Minnesota State extended its winning streak to five games last weekend with victories over Concordia-St. Paul and Wisconsin-Parkside. The Mavs moved to 4-0 after an NSIC conference win over the Golden Bears, 91-61, and 5-0 with a 80-71 win against the Rangers.
Last week the Mavs returned to the Taylor Center after eight days away and came out hot. Jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes, the Mavs were eager to prove their dominance. Midway through the first, the Mavs held an 11-point lead and were shooting above 50% from the field, and held that lead heading into the second period up, 21-9.
The Mavs kept it going in the second period. They never trailed at any point, bringing the halftime score up to 43-24. Putting on a clinic of efficiency, Destinee Bursch led the team in scoring at the halfway point with 10 points on over 70% shooting, while Taylor Theusch added eight points herself.
The Golden Bears came out with more energy in the second half, trying to knock the Mavs’ lead down under single digits. Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, they were only able to trim the Mavs’ lead to 16 points, 55-39, midway through the third quarter. In what was a turning point in the game, the Mavs worked together to score 13 straight points in under three minutes, bringing the lead up to 29 points with two minutes remaining. Heading into the fourth period, the Mavs led 73-44.
The Mavericks never trailed in this game, and led by as many as 33 points in the fourth quarter. In a 30-point win, the Mavs shot 47% from the field and 33% from three on the way to a final score of 91-61. Bursch ended the game with 14 points, leading the way for the Mavs, and Emily Herzberg followed close behind with 12.
In their first game after Thanksgiving, the Mavs went on the road to face the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers Saturday. In what was a historic night for junior Batt, she went 11-19 from the field en route to 31 points on the night and over 1,000 points in her MSU career. Batt has placed herself among an elite group of Mavericks, becoming the 23rd player to join the 1,000 point club.
The Mavericks jumped out to another early lead in this game with a 19-10 lead at the end of the first, led by 5 early points from Batt. However, the Rangers fought back early in the second quarter, cutting the lead down to 5 points in the first minute after the break. The second quarter would be back and forth, with the Mavericks struggling to bring their lead above 10 points. A three from the Rangers late in the first half brought the Rangers within one possession before the break, with a score of 35-31.
Coming out of the break, the teams would trade baskets until the Rangers took a two point lead midway through the third, and it was a dogfight from there. At the end of the third the Mavericks held a 53-30 lead led by Batt’s 7 points.
The fourth quarter was tightly contested, as neither team held a lead greater than 5 points until Bursch scored a layup with 2 minutes remaining to put the Mavs up 72-65, starting to shut the door on a comeback from the Rangers. A layup from freshman Natalie Bremer would slam the door on this one, as the Mavs took an 11 point lead with 40 seconds remaining. With a final score of 80-71, the Mavericks brought home another win in close fashion yet again.
Batt’s 31 points led all scorers, and she proved to be the X-factor in this match, as her dominance gave the Mavericks the edge in this game.
Looking good are the Mavs, and now sitting at 5-0, the Mavericks will roll into another conference matchup at Winona State on Thurs. Dec. 1 at 5:30 pm.
Header Photo: The Minnesota State Women’s basketball team remains undefeated with a five-game win streak after defeating Concordia St.-Paul Tuesday, Nov. 22. (Dylan Long)
Write to Hayden Lee at Hayden.Lee@mnsu.edu