Photo by Sam Thiel SMSU’s Erin Baxter drives past a Bemidji State University defender during their game on Saturday. The Mustangs defeated the Beavers 84-70.

MARSHALL – On Friday, the Southwest Minnesota State University women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome a poor shooting performance against the University of Minnesota Crookston. The Mustangs saw the complete opposite on Saturday, connecting on a season-best 53 percent of their shots from the floor en route to a bounce-back victory, with SMSU beating BSU 84-70.

The game was tight to start, with SMSU holding a slim 6-3 lead. Both teams would then trade points over the next few possessions before a 3-pointer from Sarah Buysse and a 3-point play from Caleigh Rodning gave the Mustangs their first double-digit lead of the afternoon at 18-8.

Bemidji State would cut the deficit to single digits, but SMSU continued to shoot well from the floor and held a 23-14 advantage after one quarter of play.

A 3-pointer from the Beavers got things started in the second before another shot from long distance cut the Mustangs lead to just four with 6:30 left in the half. Both teams would then trade baskets before SMSU used a small run to go up six at 34-28 with 2:40 to go. The Mustangs then got a 3-pointer from Emily Buysse and a layup from Taylor Holicky to take a lead as large as 13 points, but the Beavers answered with a couple of baskets of their own, including a layup to beat the halftime buzzer to make it 41-33 SMSU.

Just like they did in the first half, the Mustangs came out firing in the second half, with SMSU maintaining at least a 10-point lead throughout the third quarter. A small run from the Beavers would cut the deficit to six at 53-47 with five minutes to go in the frame, but a 3-pointer from Sadie Stelter would temporarily stop the bleeding.

SMSU would go on another spurt late in the quarter highlighted by a 3-pointer from Erin Baxter before a running layup from Meleah Reinhart beat the third quarter buzzer and give the Mustangs a 69-58 advantage heading into the fourth.

The Mustangs would continue its offensive run to start the final frame, going up 16 before an Abuk Akoi layup pushed SMSU’s lead to 20 with seven minutes left. A BSU 3-pointer cut the deficit to 15 before another triple from the Beavers brought it to within 12, but SMSU closed the game with a pair of late baskets to cap off the bounce-back victory.

SMSU coach Tom Webb said he was pleased with how his team responded after Friday night’s loss.

“We were aggressive early and had a good first quarter. I thought we played hard and I’m really proud of them,” Webb said. “That’s hard for a young team to bounce back and they’ve done that now, so now we’ve got to continue to grow and push.”

Rodning led the way for the Mustangs for the second night in a row, pouring in a career-high 26 points while Baxter added 13 and Reinhart had eight. Rodning led in rebounds with eight while Stelter led in assists with four. As a team, the Mustangs shot 52.5 percent from the floor, including 45.5 percent from beyond the arc and 83.3 percent (15 of 18).

Sarah Buysse said their key on offense was connecting on their shots early.

“I think the key is we’ve got to get out and hit shots early and once we do that, we’re fine,” she said. “But it’s in that beginning stage where we need to get that feeling.”

Defensively, the Mustangs forced 13 turnovers and recorded 10 steals while limiting BSU to just 35 percent shooting from the field. Webb said on defense

“We were aggressive early in the press and then we backed up the press and played one-on-one in the post,” Webb said. “Our kids did a good job of that and I’m really proud of them.”

SMSU (4-11) will hit the road this weekend with a pair of matchups against Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State University, Mankato. Webb said their biggest takeaway will be to continue to value the ball and win the rebounding battle.

“We’ve played four straight games where we’ve valued the ball now, and that’s a huge deal for us,” Webb said. “If we keep on valuing the ball and tie or win the glass, we’ll be in good shape every night and that gives us opportunities to win basketball games.”