MANKATO, MInn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team opened their 2011 schedule at Minnesota State University, Mankato after a winter storm pushed the game from Friday to Monday. The Dragons were unable to gain the victory as the Mavericks played a solid 40 minutes to take their third Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference win 71-57.
The game that was scheduled for Friday, began Monday night in Mankato after the entire Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference moved all games from the weekend to Monday and Tuesday to avoid travel during a massive snowstorm.
The Mavericks stuck first as Andrea Walsh scored the opening basket just over a minute into the game.
Marisa Yernatich would answer swiftly for the Dragons after nailing back-to-back three-pointers to take a 6-2 lead early in the first half.
Both teams would spend the next five minutes battling back and forth and finally lock into a 12-12 tie with 13:09 left in the first half after a
Jenna Van Dyke layup.
Ali Wilkinson would break the tie with a pair of free throws to start a 7-0 MSU Mankato run, eventually ending with a three-pointer from
Morgan Zabel with 8:23 remaining in the half.
The Dragons would keep fighting from behind and cut the Maverick lead to only one point after
Angie Jetvig made a three with 5:46 left, 23-22.
Another run for the Mavericks began on their next possession, pushing their lead to nine after outscoring the Dragons 10-2 in the next 1:40.
The first half would end with the Dragon's
Haley Thomforde and Jetvig hitting back-to-back jumpers to cut the Maverick lead to just five 35-30 at halftime.
In the beginning of the second half, the Mavericks would quickly push their lead to 12 after a quick steal and finish by Andrea Walsh with 16:23 remaining.
After a brief back-and-fourth battle in transition, the Mavericks would take a 14 point lead after Stephanie Haight three-pointer 50-36 at the 12:24 mark.
The Mavericks would hold a 13 point lead with 4:03 left in the game, but a pair of free throws from Thomforde and a Zabel layup would bring hope back for the Dragons by cutting the lead to nine, 64-55, with 2:57 remaining.
The surge was unfortunately not enough to hold the Mavericks off as three key Dragon turnovers squashed their hopes for a comeback. The Mavericks would use up the rest of the clock to earn the 71-57 victory over the Dragons.
The Dragons drop to 7-3 overall and 4-2 in NSIC play and look towards their next game against Southwest Minnesota State University on Tuesday to face the Mustangs at 6 p.m. in Marshall, Minn.
BOX SCORE
