Minnesota State captured its 13th straight victory with an 80-62 win over Southwest Minnesota State University in the final Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game of the 2012-13 season.
The Mavericks, (22-4, 18-4 NSIC) who led SMSU by just four at halftime, used a big second half in which they outscored the Mustangs 42-28. The Mavericks, who won their 12th straight game over SMSU earlier this season at the R/A Facility 86-56, extended their streak to 13 straight dating back to the 2004-05 season.
The Mustangs (4-24, 2-20) were impressive in the first half, shooting a season-high 64 percent (16 of 25) from the floor including 2 of 8 from behind the arc. The Mustangs would go into the break down just four points.
Minnesota State would begin to pull away from the Mustangs early in the second half as just eight minutes into the second half, the Mavericks grew their lead from four points to 23 when Ashley Olson connected on a 3-pointer to make it 64-41.
Minnesota State connected on 10 of 24 3-pointers in the game, including 6 of 14 in the second half. The lead would be too much for the Mustangs to recover from as turnovers prevented a comeback. SMSU had 27 turnovers in the game, tying a season high.
SMSU finished the game with a better shooting percentage than MSU, shooting 56.3 percent (27 of 48) to MSU’s 50.8 percent (31 of 61). SMSU also outrebounded MSU, 27-26. SMSU shot just three free throws in the game, finishing 1 of 3.
The Mustangs would get double-digit scoring from four players in the game as Alison Nagel had a team-high 13, while Rebekah Rolling and Mikayla Saathoff each poured in 11 and Ellen Degler finished with 10.
Just as she did in the first meeting, Kalee Gengenbacher led Minnesota State in scoring, this time finishing with 18 points. Aubrey Davis and Steffaney Thomas each added 14 points in the Maverick win.
SMSU will travel to take on St. Cloud State on Wednesday in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference / Sanford Health women’s basketball tournament.
Courtesy: Adam Henning, Assistant Athletic Communications Director, Southwest Minnesota State University
