Box Score
MARSHALL, Minn. — The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball shot over 50 percent to defeat Minot State 79-69 for its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference win on Saturday night in the R/A Facility
SMSU (2-8, 1-4 NSIC) shot 50.9 percent (29 of 57) for the second time this season shooting over 50 percent, including tying a season-high 3-points on 8 of 17 for a 47.1 percentage from behind the arc. Minot State (4-6, 1-3 NSIC) shot 45.6 percent in the game making 26 of 57 shots, while adding 16 of 18 from the free-throw line.
The win is the first conference win for SMSU and the first win over Minot State since 2011.
Lauren Hedlund led the Mustangs scoring a season-high 20 points, while
Hope Bonlander netted 15 and
Annessa Rosch contributed 12 points.
Hedlund and Bonlander both pulled down six rebounds to pace the Mustang defense. SMSU forced the Beavers to turn the ball over 22 times—a season-high—and scored 24 points on the takeaways. The Mustangs bench added 21 points in the win.
Both team traded baskets to start the first quarter, but a 3-pointer by Buysse gave the Mustangs their first lead of the game at 11-9 with 3:28 left in the frame. Both offenses would continue to score, as there were five tie scores in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Mustangs would grab the lead again and build a seven-point lead with 9:02 left in the half. The Beavers wouldn't back down as they came back to tie the game again at 29-all with 4:35 left. Minot State grabbed the lead with 1:28 left in the half but back-to-back 3-pointer by
Sariah Cheadle gave the Mustangs a 39-38 lead going into half time.
At the break, Hedlund led the Mustangs with 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting, while also grabbing a team-high three rebounds.
The Mustangs held the lead for most of the third quarter, but the Beavers tied the game at 52-all with 3:20 left and went on to take a one point lead at the end of the quarter.
In the final frame, both teams traded baskets to start but a 11-2 Mustang run midway through quarter gave SMSU a 73-65 lead. The Mustangs lead the rest of the game to win 79-69.
Southwest Minnesota State will be back in action next week in the R/A Facilty as it takes on Culver-Stockton on Friday and Sioux Falls on Saturday.
