Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow start in a 75-57 loss to No. 17-ranked Minnesota State, Mankato in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament quarterfinals Saturday in Mankato, Minn.
MSUM ended the season with a 16-12 mark, while Mankato, which has won 13 straight, improved to 24-4.
Junior
Morgan Zabel paced the Dragons with 15 points, while senior
Kaycee Charette, playing in her final game as a Dragon, had 11 points. Junior
Megan Strese had nine points and a team-best seven rebounds for MSUM.
The Dragons shot 32.2 percent (19-of-59) for the game, compared to 42.1 percent (24-of-57) for Mankato. The Dragons committed 22 turnovers and were outscored 22-13 in points off of turnovers.
A rough start proved to be the Dragons' undoing, as Mankato opened the game on a 20-0 run over the first 7:11. MSUM finally snapped the cold spell when Zabel hit a three at the 12:36 mark of the half.
The Mavericks pushed the lead to 41-13 at one point in the half before the Dragons were able to go on a run late in the half to cut into the lead. A 12-0 spurt to close the frame brought MSUM within 41-25 at halftime, the closest the Dragons had been since the early part of the half. Zabel led the run with six points, while Charette converted a three-point play.
MSUM shot just 25.9 percent (7-of-27) in the first half, compared to 45.7 percent (16-of-35) for Mankato. The Dragons also committed nine turnovers in the first half.
The Dragons' hopes to carry over the momentum from the late part of the first half were dashed by the Mavericks early in the second half, as Minnesota State opened on a 12-2 run to push the lead to 53-27. The Dragons never got closer than 18 the rest of the night.
Senior
Marisa Yernatich, who like Charette was playing in her final game as a Dragon, had eight points and a team-best three assists. Junior
Haley Thomforde also had eight points.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The only other time the Dragons and Mavericks played in the post season was on March 14, 2009. Minnesota State Mankato beat the Dragons 59-39 in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Mankato, then marched on to claim the National Championship later that month.
