Mavs break school’s single-game scoring record against Golden Eagles

The Minnesota State women’s basketball team got a bounce back 123-61 win against the University of Minnesota Crookston Friday. 

The Mavericks’ 123 points  is a new program record. The previous record of 122 points was achieved by the 2007-08 team in a game against Ohio Valley.  

After the 92-87 loss to Northern State University that ended their 19-game winning streak, the Mavs were chomping at the bit to get back to winning ways. They played like it from the opening tip-off.  

The Mavs started the game with a 6-0 run, and Destinee Bursch assisted on all three of those early buckets. Minnesota Crookston’s Emma Miller got the Golden Eagles on the board with a three-pointer. The Mavs responded to their lead being cut in half after Miller’s shot with a 8-1 run to give them a 14-4 lead. MSU got four steals during the run. The Mavs would then add to their lead later on in the quarter with a 9-0 run, before both teams traded buckets towards the end of the quarter, to give the Mavs a 31-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

The start of the second quarter was a lot like the first quarter. With the Mavs pouncing on their opponent early by going on a 16-0 run in the first three minutes of the quarter. They made seven of nine shots during that stretch, including seven points from Bursch and five from Joey Batt. They also forced the Golden Eagles to commit five turnovers, four of which were steals. Minnesota Crookston did manage to score eight unanswered points later on in the quarter, but at that point the damage had been done and the Mavs went into halftime with a 56-23 lead. 

In the first half, the Mavericks shot 46% from the field, made two three-pointers and knocked down seven of their nine free throw attempts. They also forced Minnesota Crookston to commit 19 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of play. 

Despite a dominant first half, MSU didn’t take their foot off the gas at the start of the second half. If anything, they turned it up a notch. 

The Mavs started off the third quarter by scoring 22 unanswered points. They made nine of 10 shots during this stretch and also forced seven turnovers out of the Golden Eagles. Bursch and Batt were crucial to this run as well. Bursch scored 10 points and got herself five on their way to having a 78-23 lead after a little over three minutes had gone by in the quarter. 

Not letting themselves get satisfied whenever they have big leads is part of the reason that the team was able to go on a couple of significant runs during the game. 

“We definitely make that a point. Do not get complacent. We have goals that we’re supposed to throughout each game. So having those I feel like really makes us stick to that. Not letting up ever, and just our drive. We’re all so competitive and hungry to get a good win and play for each other, play as a family,” Batt said. 

The Mavs went into the fourth quarter up 98-43. Emily Herzberg’s shot at the start of the quarter got them to 100 points. Later on in the quarter, Taylor Theusch hit a three that put the Mavs up 52 points and started a 17-0 run. 

The record-breaking shot for the Mavs occurred with 20 seconds left in the game when forward Delaynie Luneckas made a turn-around jumper. 

Batt believes that breaking this record shows the work that the team puts in. 

“It’s huge. It proves how much work we put in. This game was like our bounce back. How are we going to respond to that loss? It was outstanding. We were clicking on all cylinders. Our defense was amazing and that transitioned into our offense. So it means a lot to us,” Batt said. 

Head coach Emilee Thiesse thought her team’s response to losing their first game in nearly three months was “outstanding.” 

“You can go one of two ways, and this team really rallied together. They leaned on each other. It allowed us an opportunity to get back to the basics of what’s really important about our program, and just lock in and focus in a little bit more,” Thiesse said. 

The Mavs will now shift their focus to the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals. They will know who they are playing after the matchup between Minnesota State University Moorhead and Winona State University Wednesday. 

Header Photo: The Minnesota State women’s basketball team awaits to find out who they will be playing in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament. They will know after Minnesota State University Moorhead and Winona State University face off Wednesday. (Dylan Long/The Reporter)

Write to Mohamed Warsame at mohamed.warsame@mnsu.edu