WINONA – Southwest Minnesota State had a season-low seven turnovers on offense but Winona State had a trio of players combine to score 44 as SMSU fell, 61-46 on Friday night in the McCown Gymnasium.

SMSU, which entered the night having gotten to the free throw line more than seven previous opponents, failed to take a single free throw attempt and struggled offensively with a 30 percent (19 of 64) shooting night as a team.

The Mustangs were forced into a number of deep three point attempts and finished the night just 8 of 31 (26 percent) as a team from behind the arc as Winona State forced SMSU to it lowest point total during NSIC play this season.

While her teammates struggled to find a shooting rhythm, Erin Baxter went 3 of 5 from deep on her way to scoring a team high 11 points on the night.

SMSU finished with just seven turnovers as a team (the lowest total for SMSU since Jan. 3, 2014) and came into the night 2-1 when turning the ball over 15 or fewer times, but Winona State held a 39-37 advantage on the glass and finished 41 percent shooting overall as a team.

Liz Evenocheck and Rachel Novotny each had 16 points for WSU while Hannah McGlone had 12 points and 15 rebounds. The Warriors shot 44 percent (7 of 16) on three pointers and held a 32-18 advantage in points in the paint.

SMSU managed several first half runs from Winona State as a 9-0 Warriors’ burst gave them their biggest first half lead of 11 early in the second quarter. The Mustangs held WSU off of the scoreboard for nearly four and a half minutes following that run but would then give up a 15-0 run to end the first half and begin the second.

Hannah McGlone hit a buzzer-beating layup to finish off a 9-0 run for WSU going into halftime and hit the first layup that started a 6-0 run for the Warriors out of the break.

The Mustangs will look to snap their eight-game losing skid on Saturday against Upper Iowa, which SMSU defeated, 75-55 back on Dec. 1, beginning at 4 p.m., in the Dorman Gymnasium.

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