JAMESTOWN, N.D. – The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team (13-7, 11-4 NSIC) defeated the Jamestown Jimmies (4-15, 2-13 NSIC) Friday afternoon 88-74. The matchup was the first between the two squads since 1993 and the first since UJ became members of the NSIC.
Nicole Maenke led the team in scoring with 20 points shooting 50 percent (4 of 8) from deep.
Natalie Nielsen and
Kylan Gerads both added 19 points, shooting a combined 65 percent from the field.
Audrey Swanson led the team in rebounds with eight while scoring 16 points, and
Maddie Thorfinnson dished out seven assists.
SMSU shot nearly 57 percent from the floor (30 of 53), 52 percent from the 3-point line (12 of 23) and 95 percent from the charity stripe (16-17). Both teams grabbed 26 boards, with the Jimmies edging out a 10-8 offensive rebound advantage. Jamestown was led in points by Haidyn Crockett with 19 shooting 8-13 from the floor. Jamestown shot 52 percent from the floor (29 of 56) and 45 percent from 3-point range (10-22).
In the opening 10 minutes of the contest, despite the Mustangs shooting over 60 percent from the floor, Jamestown made 9 of 17 field goals and had five offensive rebounds to SMSU's one. The Jimmies forced SMSU into six turnovers and held a 21-20 advantage to start the game.
Both teams shot at an efficient rate in the second quarter, with Jamestown shooting 50 percent on the dot, and SMSU shooting just under 54 percent. The Mustangs capitalized on their 3-point shooting, going 3-8 from deep, while the Jimmies failed to make any of their three attempts. SMSU ended the first half with a 39-35 advantage.
The Mustangs came out firing in the third quarter, shooting 11 of 18 from the field and 80 percent from 3-point range (4 of 5).
Natalie Nielsen scored 10 points, and hit a 3-pointer ending an 8-0 run for SMSU, closing out the third quarter on top 68-54.
SMSU kept the momentum in their favor in the final 10 minutes, despite being out-shot by UJ from the floor. Jamestown connected on 4 of 7 3-point attempts, but the Mustangs perfect 9 of 9 shooting from the free throw line iced the game in favor of the visitors, extending SMSU's winning streak to five games.
The Mustangs travel to Aberdeen S.D. on Saturday, facing the Northern State Wolves at 4 p.m. in a rematch of a non-conference game between the two back on Nov. 30. The game will be streaming live on the NSIC Network.
