MARSHALL, Minn. – Jenna Borchers scored a season-high 25 points, becoming the 23
rd player in program history to score over 1,000 points, to help the Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team to an 86-74 victory over Northern Michigan on Saturday afternoon inside the R/A Facility.
Borchers, who came into the day with 982 career points, drilled three pointer with 8:32 left in the fourth quarter to give her 18 points on the night and giving her the milestone. She finished the day shooting 5 of 11 beyond the arc, bringing her within two of Sadie Stelter's career three point record of 199.
Bri Stoltzman was solid again for the Mustangs, tallying 18 points on 8 of 13 shooting, seven rebounds, and five assists while committing just one turnover.
Sam Wall poured in 17 points, shooting 6 of 11 from the field and 3 of 6 from deep, and
Madison Gehloff also reached double-figures in scoring, picking up 11 points and five rebounds.
For the third time in five games, SMSU, now 3-2 on the year, shot 50 percent or higher in a game, going 30 of 60 from the field. They also shot the lights out from deep, hitting at a 42.3 percent clip (11 of 26). Northern Michigan, now 3-1, shot 51.9 percent (28 of 54) from the field, but made just 3 of 13 three pointers and turned the ball over 17 times, while SMSU turned it over 11 times. The game was decided by the capitalization on mistakes, as the Mustangs outscored the Wildcats 27-9 off turnovers and 23-2 on the fast break.
The Mustangs came out firing to start the game, hitting every shot to take a 9-2 lead in the first 2+ minutes of action. NMU charged right back with a 16-2 run, taking an 18-11 lead with 2:40 to go in the first frame. SMSU closed the gap, sandwiching a Wildcat layup with a pair of three pointers to trail 20-17 into the second quarter.
A close opening to the second quarter saw NMU leading 30-26 with 5:40 left to halftime before a 7-0 Mustang stampede gave SMSU a 33-30 lead with 3:04 in the half. The Wildcats forced ties at 34-34 and 36-36, but the Mustangs scored four of the final six points in the half to take a 40-38 lead into the locker room.
The Mustangs carried momentum into the second half, scoring the first five points and nine of the first 13 to lead 49-42 with 7:14 to go in the third quarter. The next 28 points were split evenly before NMU made a pair of layups to cut SMSU's lead to 63-60. Borchers drew a foul just before the buzzer in the third quarter, drilling a pair of free throws and giving the Mustangs a 65-60 lead into the fourth quarter.
Borchers opened the scoring in the fourth with the three to give her 1,000 career points, igniting a 10-1 run to give SMSU a 75-61 with 4:31 left in the game. The Mustangs led by double digits the rest of the night, with Borchers scoring seven of the final 11 SMSU points to close out the win.
The Mustangs open conference play on Tuesday, hosting the Cougars of Sioux Falls at 7:30 p.m., inside the R/A Facility.
