Photo by Sam Thiel SMSU’s Erin Baxter drives past Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Rylee Menster during their game on Friday. The Mustangs defeated the Mavericks 74-73.

MARSHALL – The Minnesota State University women’s basketball team had three buzzer-beaters to end each quarter during their game Friday night against Southwest Minnesota State University. The Mustangs made sure the Mavericks didn’t get a fourth.

With a one-point lead, the Mustangs had possession of the ball with 10 seconds remaining. SMSU would inbound it, but a loose ball found its way to the Mavericks with four seconds. MSU Mankato pushed it up ahead to Brooke Tonsfeldt, but the Maverick forward couldn’t connect on the game-winner and SMSU escaped with a 74-73 victory at the R/A Facility.

In a historical win for the Mustangs, SMSU was able to defeat MSU Mankato for the first time since Nov. 27, 2004, snapping a 23-game losing streak in the process.

“It’s a great feeling,” Erin Baxter said. “This is what we’ve been working for last year and this year. For us to win even in a close game like that, it shows how it pays off to work hard in practice and what we’ve been working on is all paying off.”

After a tight, back-and-forth battle the entire evening, the Mustangs found themselves holding just a two-point lead going into the final quarter. SMSU got out to a good start in the fourth with a 3-pointer from Caleigh Rodning before a layup from Baxter gave the Mustangs a 62-53 lead with 7:49 left. The Mavericks continued to chip away at the deficit, though, getting an array of 3-pointers to take a one-point lead at 67-66 with 3:11 to go, but Baxter answered right back with a 3-point play to put SMSU back up 69-67.

After trading free throws, the Mustangs defense produced another big stop as Rodning got a steal and rifled it to Reinhart who took it in for the layup to make it 73-69 SMSU with 2:06 left. Both teams would commit a few turnovers before MSU Mankato drew a foul with 20 seconds to go and connected on a pair of free throws to make it a two-point game. After Reinhart hit a free throw on the other end, the Mavericks got a quick layup from Rachel Shumski to cut it to just one, forcing a timeout from SMSU to set up the final play.

SMSU coach Tom Webb said he’s proud of the way his team stayed the course and played tough the entire night.

“We grew up and showed poise,” Webb said. “Things didn’t always go our way but we still hung in there and it’s just a credit to our team and credit to them growing up and getting tougher. We’re proud of them.”

The back-and-forth nature of the game was seen in every quarter and right from the opening tip. The Mavericks were able to get out to the quick start with a 6-1 lead but the Mustangs battled back to tie things at 6-6 on a steal and putback layup by Sarah Buysse. Both teams then traded points before a layup from Abuk Akoi gave the Mustangs a 20-18 lead. MSU Mankato then closed the frame with a buzzer-beating jumper to take a 22-20 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Defense was a key storyline from both teams in the opening quarter, and SMSU kept that trend going to start the second. The Mustangs defense stifled MSU Mankato’s ballhandlers up the floor, resulting in key stops for SMSU.

Offensively, SMSU wanted to get out to a faster pace and took advantage in the second frame. A 3-pointer from Jenna Borchers gave SMSU a 27-22 lead with 8:05 left before a 3-point play by Meleah Reinhart pushed the Mustangs’ lead to nine. A layup from Erin Baxter gave SMSU its first double-digit lead of the night at 36-25 and capped a 16-3 run for the Mustangs that saw the Mavericks go scoreless for four-plus minutes.

MSU Mankato wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, as the Mavericks closed out the first half with a run of their own, this time an 8-0 spurt to cut the Mustangs lead to just three at the half at 36-33.

Using the momentum it had gained from the end of the first half, MSU Mankato shot out of the third-quarter starting gates with an 11-0 run and took a 44-36 lead with 6:53 left in the frame. SMSU responded, however, using an 8-2 spurt of its own to cut the deficit to two before a 3-pointer from Mateya Hutton and a layup from Sarah Buysse put the Mustangs back in front at 49-46. The two teams then swapped points for the remainder of the quarter, capped off by another shot to beat the horn by the Mavericks to make it a two-point game and set the stage for the fourth-quarter finish.

Leading the way offensively for the Mustangs was Baxter, who poured in 19 points while Reinhart added 15 and Akoi had a career-high 12. Rodning added nine while Sarah Buysse had six. As a team, SMSU shot 49.1 percent (28 of 57) from the field, and connected on 15 of its 20 free-throw attempts.

Baxter said offensively, their key was their ability to move the ball around and attack the open floor and get to the rim. SMSU outscored MSU Mankato 50-26 in the paint.

“We were passing the ball around and attacking the gaps,” Baxter said. “We saw that their defense was giving us gaps and we would just attack and get to the basket.”

SMSU also held the Mavericks to 44.4 percent shooting (28 of 63). Akoi and Hutton led in rebounds with five each while Akoi also collected five blocked shots. The Mustangs also had 20 steals on the night (most since 2009) and forced 28 Mavericks turnovers.

“Defensively, we just really had to lock in and communicate, that was our biggest key,” Akoi said. “Just talking to each other and knowing who we had and where we were on the floor.”

Akoi also collected five blocked shots on the night to add to her statline.

Webb said Akoi was a big factor on both sides of the floor to help their ability to run their style of play throughout the game.

“She was a difference-maker, she affected a lot of shots at the rim. It allows us to play a lot different when you have her as a shot-blocker on the backside, we can be more aggressive on the frontside and we were more aggressive,” Webb said. “She was really good and I thought she showed great energy and toughness; she was on the floor, and not many 6-foot-5 kids get on the floor. That just shows that she wants to win and it’s really again a credit to our kids and a credit to her and just staying with it.”

SMSU (4-3, 1-1 NSIC) will wrap up its opening conference homestand today with a 4 p.m. matchup against Concordia-St. Paul.