MANKATO — Fans left Taylor Center with multiple reasons to be happy Saturday.
While the face-numbing cold greeting fans upon exiting the arena was not on that list, No. 2 Minnesota State women’s basketball’s 94-69 win over Bemidji State put multiple reasons onto said list.
For starters, it moved MSU to 18-0, including a 12-0 mark in the NSIC. It’s officially the best start in program history, topping the 17-0 start by the 2008-09 iteration of Mavericks women’s basketball, the season where they went 32-2 en route to the program’s first National Championship.
“That was great,” MSU head coach Emilee Thiesse said of the 18-0 start. “It’s another one of those milestones that a lot of us maybe were aware of. But we’re just really trying to stay focused on staying present.”
Also on the list was what senior Natalie Bremmer is on the verge of doing. With a 27-point showcase Saturday she sits at 2,063 points. That puts her within nine points of tying and 10 points away from breaking Lisa Walters’ all-time program scoring record of 2,072 points.
Bremmer, who was honored before Saturday’s game for corssing the 2,000-career point threshold, will have her next chance to break the program’s all-time scoring record be at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23 against Northern State at Taylor Center.
“It’s a really cool feeling,” Bremmer said. “My team celebrates me, and I couldn’t do it without them. They’re putting in the work on defense just as much as I am. They’re putting me in great spots. And TC, you know, she’s just putting me in great positions to be a threat out there.
“I give all credit to my team.”
Yet, Saturday’s win didn’t come as easy as it appeared on the scoreboard. Less than 24 hours removed from a narrow 81-78 win over Minnesota Duluth, who entered undefeated in NSIC action, everything was knotted at 14-14 after the first 10 minutes against the Beavers.
Uncharacteristically, MSU struggled from the floor going 6 of 25 from the floor and 2 of 7 from 3-point range compared to BSU’s 6 of 9 effort. Then came the second quarter. A frame where the Mavericks used runs of 8-2, 13-0 and 10-3 to take an authoritative 49-26 lead into halftime.
After a cold first quarter MSU snapped back to normal in the second. The Mavericks went 14 of 21 from the floor and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.
“We seemed a little out of sync on the defensive end in that in that first quarter,” Thiesse said. “We really started to pick that up as the end of the first quarter kind of trailed into the second quarter, and that’s usually how it goes for us. When our defense is locked in and and we’re playing well on that end (of the floor) then the offense generally takes care of itself. We just have to refocus ourselves on our defense and let the offense come.”
Mankato East graduate Mackenzie Schweim finished with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Ava Stier added 10 points, three rebounds and a steal. Rhyan Holmgren added nine points and six rebounds.