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SMSU jumps out to early lead in win over Minot State

Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University guard Peyton Blandin (left) drives into the paint for a layup during a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference womens basketball game against Minot State on Saturday afternoon.

MARSHALL — The No. 25 Southwest Minnesota State womens basketball team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchup against Minot State on Saturday afternoon. The Mustangs led by as many as 19 points in the first half and as many as 38 with 10 minutes remaining in the second half of a 73-51 win.

SMSU entered the weekend ranked in the top 25 of the coaches poll for the first time since 2002. Still, they showed that they’re hungry for more, with Saturday’s lopsided victory coming on the heels of a 93-70 win over Minnesota State University-Moorhead on Friday.

“It’s definitely cool to know that people respect us, but we don’t take that for granted,” SMSU forward Natalie Nielsen said of the team entering the poll. “We work every day like we aren’t in the top 25. We just put our heads down. We never want to make that pressure too much.”

Beyond the team’s recognition in the national polls, Bri Stoltzman also was recognized as the conference’s Player of the Week for her play in SMSU’s weekend matchups.

Audrey Swanson got the Mustangs rolling on their first possession of the game with a pullup midrange jumper, and a Peyton Blandin 3-pointer and a Nielsen layup gave SMSU each of the game’s first 7 points.

Nielsen had the hot hand for SMSU early, scoring 12 first-half points on perfect 4 of 4 shooting. She went on to finish the night with a game-high 18 points, making each of her six shots from the field and six of her eight free-throw attempts. Bri Stoltzman added another 13 points on 5 of 12 shooting while Blandin and Swanson contributed 12 each, with Swanson shooting 4 of 5 from the field. Stoltzman’s seven assists were also a game-high.

“Something we talked about in practice this week and shoot around this morning is just going hard from the tip. We never really want to let them get any momentum,” Nielsen said of the team’s hot start. “Just going hard, making them call early timeouts was key for us to get that momentum on our side.”

Minot State responded with a layup from Maya Aguilar and a 3-pointer from Emma Mogen, broken up by a Nielsen layup, to cut SMSU’s lead down to 4 points. Yet, that was as close as the Beavers got from there. Minot State never made it a one-possession game again and, by the end of the first quarter, SMSU built a 22-12 advantage.

Beyond her scoring impact, Nielsen also had a big game on the glass to finish with a double-double. Six of her 10 rebounds on the night came on the offensive glass, and seven of her 10 rebounds on the night game in the second half. Stoltzman and Blandin also grabbed eight and seven rebounds respectively, all defensive, as SMSU built a 52-30 advantage on the glass and a 16-5 advantage in second-chance points.

“The past week or so, the coaches, [assistant coach] Hanna [Geistfeld] especially have just been pounding physicality into my head, just being physical on every play,” Nielsen said of her second-half success on the glass. “Going to the glass, obviously my height is something I know helps me get that, so I just focused more on going to the offensive glass because we knew we had the height advantage over them too.”

A big part of SMSU’s ability to break through early was its ability to generate opportunities in transition. SMSU recorded four first-quarter steals and turned that defense into a 13-3 advantage in fast-break points in the frame.

Blandin finished the game with three steals while Blandin and Swanson each logged another pair. Nielsen also had a block in the game.

“[Minot State] plays a lot like we did last year. They play a lot of 5-out dribble-drive, so we understood what to do as far as when to stunt, when to go for some things, when they turn their back and kind of go from behind and pick it a little bit,” SMSU head coach Tom Webb said of his team’s ability to turn defense into offense. “I thought we were aggressive in that second quarter especially, and then the third quarter we went and put 31 up, so that was good.”

While the Mustangs didn’t put together any particularly long scoring runs in the first half, they were consistent on both ends of the floor to steadily build a lead. SMSU opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run. Kenzie Jones knocked down a pair of 3-pointers on the run as SMSU’s lead ballooned to 32-14.

The Mustangs’ scoring efforts were well-distributed throughout. Six different players made multiple field goals by halftime and seven players recorded points. Nielsen led the squad with 12 points on perfect 4 of 4 shooting to lead the team to a 39-24 advantage heading into the locker room.

In the second half, SMSU came out flying. The Mustangs’ 9-0 run to start the half was longer than any first-half run and they continued to push from there for a 31-12 advantage in the quarter. They also closed the quarter with 12 unanswered points and kept it rolling into the fourth for a 16-0 run, bringing their lead up to as many as 38 points at 74-36.

With the game well in hand, SMSU’s lead dwindled once it took its starters out, but the Beavers never came within striking distance.

SMSU improves to 13-2 overall and 7-2 in the NSIC with the win, while Minot State falls to 4-13 overall and 3-7 in the NSIC. SMSU will return to action next weekend when it hosts Northern State (9-6, 6-3 NSIC) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and UMary (8-5, 5-4 NSIC) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Minot State, meanwhile, will go on a two-game road trip to face off against Wayne State (8-6, 5-5 NSIC) and Augustana (3-13, 1-9 NSIC) on Friday and Saturday at the same times.

Webb said that he feels both Northern State and UMary are quality opponents, and the Mustangs will begin preparing on Monday after taking Sunday off. He added that having class resume for the student-athletes will help the kids get back into a routine.

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