MSU Women Capture National Title

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Extending their win streak to 11 games, Minnesota State University dominated No. 7 ranked Texas Woman’s University 89-73 to win the 2023-24 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship Friday night at St. Joseph Civic Center. The title marked the second in program history (2008-09) and first under 13th year head coach Emily Thiesse.

For the third straight game, sophomore Natalie Bremer (Lake City, Minn.) led the Maverick offense with 27 points. She was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, totaling 70 points (23.3 ppg) in the Elite Eight with 17 rebounds and 11 steals. Friday, Bremer hit 9-17 from the field, including 3-4 from beyond the arc and 6-6 at the free throw line.

Senior First Team All-American Joey Batt (New Ulm, Minn.) posted 10 points, seven steals and six assists and was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

With Emily Russo out of the lineup, sophomore Ava Stier (Waconia, Minn.) stepped into a starting role in the Championship and finished with 13 points (6-12), adding eight rebounds and a pair of steals. Senior Emily Herzberg (Melrose, Wis.) collected 12 points with five assists and five steals.

The Mavericks (32-5) forced 30 TWU turnovers and passed 16 assists, shot 41.4-percent (29-70) overall and 43.5-percent (21-28) from long range. Ashley Ingram led the Pioneers with a double-double of 24 points (9-18), 14 rebounds and seven assists.WBB NCAA Championship Floor Soaking Up the Moment

Minnesota State did the most damage in the first three quarters. Batt scored the first points in the game with a jumper in the paint. Then a pair of free throws by Herzberg gave the Mavericks their first lead 4-2. They never looked back. Mackenzie Schweim, Bremer, and Batt extended the advantage with successive triples for a 13-5 edge.

Bremer converted a steal and score crossing the mid-point of the quarter and Destinee Bursch added a basket in transition before Texas Woman’s called a timeout trailing 17-5. Despite limitation with injury throughout the tournament, Bursch soldiered to score nine points in the Championship with notable early contributions on both ends. Schweim’s second 3-pointer helped the Mavericks maintain a double-figure advantage through 10 minutes 26-13.

The Pioneers closed to a nine-point deficit with free throws, but Bursch countered with a 3-pointer as MSU forced a trio of TWU turnovers.

The Mavericks kept command early in the second quarter. Bremer’s left-wing three gave the team its largest lead yet 37-21. Herzig drove the lane and drew a shooting foul with 1.6 seconds left and the Mavericks went to the locker room ahead 46-32.

A ferocious full-court press helped create 11 TWU first-half turnovers and Minnesota State was careful with the basketball, surrendering just two turnovers on offense. Bremer led the way with 16 points (6-12) through 20 minutes and Ava Steir added six rebounds as MSU shot 39-percent overall, including 6-13 from long range and 8-10 from the free throw line.Coach Emily Thiesse holds up the NCAA Trophy on March 29

Ashley Ingram went 5-11 from the field for 11 points for the Pioneers and TWU grabbed 21 boards compared to MSU’s 20. Texas Woman’s also shot 41.7-percent overall and went 1-3 from beyond the arc.

Herzberg drained her first 3-point basket of the game to open the third quarter and added another from the top of the key for a 59-38 advantage. Minnesota State continued to wreak havoc on defense, turning over the Pioneers 10 more times in the third quarter.

Bremer brought the fans out of their seats with a 3-point swish in transition to give the Mavericks a 66-45 edge with three minutes to play in the third and MSU took a 6-0 run into the final frame, ahead by 24 points (72-48).

Batt, a three-time NSIC Defensive Player of the Year, poked away another steal and went the length of the floor for two, a positive start for Minnesota State in the fourth quarter. Texas Woman’s then mounted a rally and cut the deficit to 10 with two minutes remaining in the game after holding the Mavericks without a field goal for more than six minutes.

To stem the late momentum, Herzig downed a three in the waning seconds of the shot clock to snuff out any opportunity for a Pioneer comeback.

“I just cannot express how proud of this basketball team I am,” Thiesse said. “This leadership. I feel like I had the easiest job in the world this year. I could take a back seat and watch this group take the lead and set the tone. I could just go on and on about what this team has done. Game after game, they had the confidence. I’m just so thankful for the families, the alumni, the band, the community, our president, our athletic director. The amount of support this program has received not just this year but, all the time. Minnesota State is a special place and I’m just so glad we are able to bring a championship back to the community.”

The Mavericks outscored their three top-25 Elite Eight opponents 252-229. Texas Woman’s University (34-4) entered the game as the No. 2 seed seeking their first NCAA Championship under head coach Beth Jillson (18th season) after they won the Lone Star Conference title.

The Mavericks were seeded No. 5 and evened the season series with TWU after the Pioneers won the first non-conference matchup 76-71 on November 4 in Billings, Montana (Batt was absent from the lineup).

Minnesota State won its first Division II National Championship in 2009 under head coach Pam Gohl. MSU defeated Franklin Pierce 103-94 in the highest-scoring Division II title game in history. Thiesse’s 2023-24 Mavericks equaled Gohl’s school record 32 victories Friday night.

Ranked No. 13 in the country entering the Elite Eight, the Mavericks won a school record 18 games in a row during the regular season and ranked second in the nation in steals per game (17.1), en route to conference regular season and tournament titles.WBB Locker Room Celebration NCAA Title Game

MSU entered the Elite Eight as one of three schools with representation from both men’s and women’s basketball teams (Gannon, Ferris State) and became just the second school in Division II history to send both to the National Championship game (Central Missouri, 1984).

Saturday, Minnesota State men’s basketball plays No. 1 ranked Nova Southeastern (2 p.m. CT, CBS) seeking to become just the second program in Division II history to win two national basketball championships in the same season (Central Missouri, 1984).

WELCOME HOME CELEBRATION
The Minnesota State Athletic Department will host a “Welcome Home Celebration” for the Minnesota State men’s and women’s basketball teams on Monday, April 1, in the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State University.

The event – which is free and open to the public – will feature both the teams as well as other University dignitaries. Doors open at 4:00 p.m., with the program beginning at 4:30 p.m. Following the program, fans will have the opportunity to get autographs from both teams. Parking for this event will be in University lots 20-22.