MARSHALL, Minn. –The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team snapped an 11-game road losing streak in a resilient 66-59 victory over the Winona State Warriors on Friday night at the McCown Gymnasium in Winona.
It was SMSU's first victory at Winona since Jan. 15, 2005, and its first road win since Nov. 23, 2021, at Sioux Falls.
Sam Wall led all scorers, scoring 17 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the field and 3 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Hannah Parsley was solid again for the Mustangs, scoring 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field, adding five rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Bri Stoltzman scored 11 points and
Peyton Blandin scored nine points, with each grabbing four rebounds in the process.
Madison Gehloff led the Mustangs with seven rebounds and scored eight points.
The Mustangs, now 6-3 on the season and 3-1 in conference play, shot 45.5 percent (25 of 55) from the field and 26.1 percent (6 of 23) from the three-point arc. Winona State, 7-3 overall and 1-3 NSIC, shot 44.4 percent (24 of 54) from the field and 31.3 percent (5 of 16) from three.
SMSU turned an 8-1 offensive rebound advantage to a 12-4 advantage in second chance points to help lead to victory. The Mustangs also stepped up off turnovers, giving up 16 points off 19 turnovers while scoring 21 points off 16 WSU turnovers.
The Warriors set an early tone, jumping to a 9-2 lead in the first 3:05 of the game. The teams then split eight points, bringing the score to 13-6 with 4:07 to go in the first quarter.
The Mustang would heat up to close the quarter, scoring the final nine points, including a Stoltzman three-pointer to beat the buzzer, to take a 15-13 lead into the second quarter.
After a Warrior layup to open the second quarter scoring, SMSU kept the foot on the gas, racing to an 11-2 run behind five points from Wall to lead 26-17 with 5:03 to go in the first half.
The Warriors inched back in the final 5+ minutes, scoring 10 points and holding SMSU to six, bringing the game to a 32-27 halftime score.
WSU continued to grind away in the third quarter, scoring 11 of the first 17 points in the third quarter to tie the game at 38-38 with 6:05 left in the quarter.
SMSU wouldn't trail in the quarter, but the final 6:05 saw three ties, including at 45-45 after a Warrior layup closed the scoring heading into the fourth.
WSU finally broke through to open the fourth, hitting a three-pointer in its first possession to lead 48-45 with 9:44 to go in the game. Wall countered with a three, igniting a 9-2 run to give SMSU a 54-50 lead with 6:22 to go.
The Warriors achieved their final lead with 1:59 to go, sinking a pair of free throws to lead 59-58. Parsley came down the other end with a layup, and Wall would get a steal before sinking a dagger three with 1:02 to play, giving SMSU a 63-59 lead.
Blandin closed the game making three free throws, bringing the game to its final score.
The Mustangs finish the weekend on Saturday afternoon with their final trip to Fayette, Iowa, facing off against Upper Iowa at 3:30 p.m.
