CHADRON, Neb. — Tom Webb claimed his 100th career victory as the head coach of the Southwest Minnesota State University womens basketball team on Wednesday night as the Mustangs went on the road to claim a 93-72 non-conference win over Chadron State. The win brings SMSU up to 4-0 on the season while dropping Chadron State to 0-4.

Audrey Swanson scored a career-high 23 points for SMSU in the win. While her shot from beyond the arc wasn’t falling, she shot 11 of 14 from 2-point range to improve upon her previous career high of 16 points that she set as a sophomore against Martin Luther. 

Bri Stoltzman led SMSU in scoring and rebounding on the day. She finished with 27 points on 11 of 18 shooting from the field and grabbed 11 boards to propel SMSU to a 42-32 advantage on the glass, along with help from Swanson’s eight rebounds. Stoltzman also accounted for five of SMSU’s 13 offensive rebounds, aiding the team in building a 15-8 advantage in second-chance points.

While SMSU has been a sharpshooting team over the last few seasons, they struggled on Wednesday and shot 4 of 21 from beyond the arc. Still, they found other ways to put the ball through the net, slashing their way to a 64-36 advantage in points in the paint.

Peyton Blandin, Maddie Thorfinnson, Brynn Busse and Kenzie Jones each dished out three assists in the win. Blandin also finished with 17 points, putting her past every player on Chadron’s roster except Kyra Tanabe with 19 points.

SMSU finished with nine steals, including two apiece from Swanson, Blandin and Busse. Yet, they struggled to make the most of those opportunities; SMSU finished with 13 fastbreak points while Chadron scored 19 points after recording six steals.

Kylie Krise had a quality defensive game for Chadron State, accounting for three of her team’s four blocks. Swanson and Nicole Maenke each had a block for SMSU. 

The game was tied at 8-8 through the first three minutes of the first quarter when a Stoltzman jumper put SMSU in the lead for good. The Eagles hung around within one possession until Brylee Iverson hit a 3-pointer six minutes into the game, sparking a 9-0 run for the Mustangs to help build a 27-10 lead after the first quarter.

Halfway through the second quarter, Blandin hit a layup and a 3-pointer and Stoltzman hit another layup to bring SMSU’s lead up to 19 points, 38-19. From there, however, Chadron outscored SMSU 18-8 for the remainder of the first half with a Tanabe layup in the final seconds making the score 46-37 at halftime.

SMSU rebuilt its lead in the third quarter by coming out of the locker room on a 12-0 run. Blandin converted a pair of free throws and a layup to make the score 58-37 with under six minutes remaining in the period. The Mustangs coasted from there, leading by as many as 24 points in the victory.

SMSU, now 4-0 on the year, will take on Black Hills State in Spearfish, S.D. on Friday at 7 p.m. before opening Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play at home against Wayne State on Tuesday.