Mankato, Minn. – The Minnesota State Mavericks defeated the Dragons of MSU Moorhead Saturday evening, 73-56 in the Taylor Center.
The Mavericks allowed the Dragons to score the first two points off a jumper but would counter attack as senior forward Liz Trauger hit a jumper. MSU would go on a 12-2 run as sophomore guard Lauren Barber put down two shots from the arc and a jumper to give the Mavericks an eight-point lead in the first five minutes of play. The Dragons would battle back cutting the Maverick lead to one with three minutes remaining in the half. Minnesota State would close out the half with a five-point lead on the Dragons, 37-32.
Barber led the Mavericks with 14 points, shooting a stunning 4-4 from the arc, as Trauger followed close behind with 10 points. Sophomore center Laura Weber grabbed six boards for the Mavericks. MSU shot 43.8 percent from the field and 53.8 from the arc, taking six steals from the Dragons.
MSU opened the second half with the Dragons cutting the Mavericks lead to three points before Minnesota State would go on a 9-0 run to lead by 12 with 14 minutes left to go. The Dragons would once again cut the lead to five after stopping the Mavericks and dropping four shots from the field. Barber drilled her fifth shot from the arc to jump the Mavericks past a 10 point lead they wouldn’t lose. Minnesota State finished the last five minutes with five shots from the field and five from the line, closing out the game with a 17 point victory over the Dragons.
Leading the Mavericks was Barber with 19 points while Trauger posted 15 points, grabbing 10 rebounds for her second double-double this season and sixth career double-double. Freshman forward Ali Wilkinson tallied 14 more points for the Mavericks, bringing down eight rebounds.
Minnesota State shot 41.9 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from the arc, shooting 12-15 from the line. The Mavericks dished out 14 assists taking six steals from the Dragons while being losing the battle of the boards 40-46. MSU’s bench posted 19 points.
Minnesota State now 13-9 overall and 8-7 in the NSIC will hit the road to battle St. Cloud State Friday at 6 p.m.