Maria Boever and Jennie Sunnarborg combined for 44 points to lead South Dakota State to a 71-57 victory over Minnesota State, Mankato in a women’s basketball exhibition game Thursday night at Frost Arena.

Brookings native Tiffany Moe scored the first seven points for Minnesota State, which led 7-6 through the first four minutes of the game.

The Jackrabbits grabbed the lead for good at 8-7 on a Kristin Rotert layup at the 14:29 mark. SDSU built its largest lead of the first half, 27-16, on a Leah Dietel putback with just over five minutes left in the half. However, the defending NCAA?Division II national champion Mavericks scored the next seven points to pull back to within four.

Five straight points by Boever, who scored 15 of her game-high 23 points in the first half, stemmed the tide and helped give the Jackrabbits a 34-26 halftime advantage.

MSU opened the second half with an 8-2 run to cut the margin to two, 36-34, but reserve guard Alison Anderson put SDSU back over the hump with a three-pointer. The Jackrabbits continued to build the lead behind Sunnarborg, who scored 12 consecutive SDSU points in one stretch, including a pair of three-pointers from the top of the key. The sophomore forward from Osseo, Minn., finished the night with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field.

SDSU built the lead to 20 points, 71-51, with just under four minutes to play for its largest lead of the night.

The Jackrabbits finished the game 32-of-65 from the field, 49.2 percent, including Boever’s 11-of-15 effort from the field. SDSU made 6-of-16 three-point attempts, but struggled from the free throw line, making only 1-of-8 attempts.

Junior point guard Macie Michelson contributed six points, seven assists and three steals as the Jackrabbits forced 20 MSU turnovers.

SDSU also held a 36-33 rebounding advantage, led by Boever’s eight boards.

Moe paced the Mavericks with 21 points, with Jennie Noreen adding 14. Liz Trauger scored all 11 of her points in the second half and added a team-high eight rebounds.

The Mavericks finished the game 21-of-51 from the field, 41.2 percent, including a 7-for-17 effort on three-pointers. At the line, MSU made 8-of-10 attempts.

The Jackrabbits ended the exhibition season with a 2-0 record. SDSU will host Gonzaga (Wash.) in the regular season opener Nov. 13 in a matchup of 2009 NCAA?Tournament teams. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.

Courtesy: SDSU Sports Information.