Box Score
MANKATO, Minn. -- Twenty-six turnovers proved costly for the Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team on Saturday as the Dragons fell to Minnesota State, Mankato, 74-55, in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Saturday in Mankato, Minn.
MSUM fell to 7-6 overall and 4-5 in the NSIC while Minnesota State improved to 11-2 overall and 7-2 in the league.
The Dragons struggled with turnovers in the game, committing 26, which helped Mankato hold a 31-8 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Senior
Kaycee Charette led MSUM with 12 points and six assists, while junior
Morgan Zabel had nine points. Junior
Megan Strese had eight points and eight rebounds, while freshman
Savanna Handevidt had eight points and six rebounds.
MSUM held a 7-5 lead at the 16:17 mark of the first half after a Strese basket, but over a span of nearly nine minutes, the Mavericks outscored the Dragons 22-9 to build a 27-16 lead.
The Dragons trailed 35-23 with 5:35 left in the first half but scored seven straight points -- four coming from Zabel along with a three from Charette -- to cut the Mankato lead to 35-30. The Dragons trailed 39-30 at halftime.
A Charette layup brought the Dragons within 41-34 a minute into the second half, but the Mavericks began to pull away from there, scoring 10 straight points to build the lead to 51-34 with 16:17 left. MSUM never got clsoer than 14 the rest of the way.
Charette, junior
Haley Thomforde and freshman
Jessy Noreen had two steals each for MSUM.
The Dragons return home to host Northern State on Tuesday. The game, part of a women's and men's doubleheader, begins at 6 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Hall.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The Dragon women have qualified for the NCAA tournament three times in their history. In each of those seasons, they were eliminated by the eventual Regional champion. In 2005 to St. Cloud State, in 2007 to the University of North Dakota, and most recently to Minnesota State Mankato in 2009. The Mavericks would go on to also claim the National Championship.
