MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team (14-10, 12-7 NSIC) snapped a three-game slide this evening against the Winona State Warriors (15-10, 12-7 NSIC) in a pivotal fight for a first-round bye in the NSIC Tournament by a score of 81-66.
 
Audrey Swanson led the Mustangs with 23 points on 8 of 15 shooting and 4 of 5 from deep. Swanson was one of four Mustangs with three assists in the game. Natalie Nielsen secured her ninth double double of the season with an 18-point, 12 rebound performance. Nicole Maenke shot 4 of 9 from behind the 3-point line adding 16 points, and Kylan Gerads reached double figures with 10.
 
As a team the Mustangs shot 49 percent from the field (31 of 63), 37 percent from deep (11 of 30), and 89 percent from the charity stripe (8 of 9). Both teams had 33 rebounds in the game, with SMSU committing eight turnovers and WSU committing 11. The Warriors, led by Hailey Markworth with 15, shot 42 percent from the floor and 26 percent from 3-point range.
 
SMSU came out in the opening 10 minutes shooting 59 percent from the field and making four 3-pointers while the Warriors were limited to one 3-pointer. With the score at 12-10 favoring SMSU, the Mustangs went on a 10-0 run in a four minutes span, closing out the first half with a 25-14 lead.
 
In the even second quarter, the Mustangs making two 3-pointer proved the difference as WSU missed both of their attempts from behind the line. Nielsen and Swanson both had six points in the second, leading at the half 44-31.
 
SMSU shot 57 percent in the third quarter on 8 of 14 shooting, making 3 of 6 from downtown. Tough defense by the Mustangs allowed WSU to only shoot 35 percent in the period, while making two 3-pointers. Nicole Maenke made three 3-pointers in the third quarter, and went into the final quarter with a 66-47 lead.
 
WSU shot their best mark of the game in the fourth quarter, shooting 60 percent from the field while making six free throws. With the Mustangs leading 78-52 with six minutes to play, SMSU went scoreless for the next five minutes, but the Warriors could only amount to scoring nine points in that time frame, and with Brynn Busse's 3-pointer, killed off the game for SMSU with the final score of 81-66.
 
The Mustangs return to the R/A Facility Saturday, facing the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears at 2 p.m. The game will be streaming live on the NSIC Network.