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Minnesota State vs. Missouri Western: NCAA DII Central Region Tournament Preview
| Event | Date | Time | Location | Watch | Live Stats | Listen | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Missouri Western vs No. 5 Minnesota State | Friday, March 14, 2025 | 7:30 p.m. | John Lance Arena, Pittsburg, Kansas | Watch | Live Stats | Listen | Tickets |
About the Mavericks
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Regular Season Recap: | After starting 4-2 through the team’s first six games, Minnesota State kicked off a 13-game winning streak that started with a win against Regis in Colorado on November 30 and ended with a loss on the road to Northern State in late January. The Mavericks found the bulk of their success this season at home, winning all 12 games in the Taylor Center by an average margin of victory of 28.75 points per game. Despite this, the team struggled on the road, losing four of its final five conference road games. MSU had three 100-point games this season and has surpassed 90 points in 16 regular season games. |
| NSIC Tournament Recap: | The Mavericks earned the third seed in the NSIC Tournament and took on the UMary Marauders in the quarterfinal round. MSU dominated UMary 90-66. The team had five players reach double figures. In the semifinal game, Minnesota State advanced to the tournament championship game after defeating the second-seeded Mustangs of SMSU, 87-74. Ava Stier scored a career-high 17 points in the win. Destinee Bursch and Natalie Bremer combined for 43 points and eight steals. In the NSIC Tournament Championship, Minnesota State fell victim to a rough day shooting, as the team lost to top-seeded Concordia-St. Paul, 92-73. Tournament MVP, Lindsey Becher, ended the game with 25 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Bremer scored 19 in the loss. Her and Stier both made it to the NSIC All-Tournament Team. |
| NCAA Central Region Tournament Preview: | Minnesota State earned the fifth seed in the Central Region Tournament in 2025. For the second consecutive season, the Mavericks will play the Griffons in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. If Minnesota State beats MWSU, the team will take on the winner of No. 1 seed Pittsburg State and No. 8 seeded Harding. |
| Team Stats: | Minnesota State has the best scoring offense in Division II and one of the most challenging defenses to play against. The Mavericks average 87.5 points per game, the top mark in the country, while shooting the 11th-best field goal percentage at 45.3%. The team ranks 15th in scoring margin, winning games by an average of 15.3 points, 16th in assists per game with 16.5 scores each contest coming by way of the pass, and 24th in rebounding, grabbing 41.6 boards per game. MSU is also aggressive on the offensive glass, averaging the 10th most offensive rebounds in the nation at 16.4 per game. Minnesota State makes a lot of trips to the foul line, shooting 24.1 free throws per game, making the fourth-most in the country. Defensively, the Mavericks force the second-most turnovers per game amongst DII teams with 27.6 takeaways per contest. The team leads the nation in steals with 17.6 per game while turning those extra possessions into 30.5 points per game. Nine Maverick players are averaging at least one steal per game, including five players averaging over two each game. |
| Star Power: |
Minnesota State has two All-American caliber student-athletes on its roster in 2025. First, senior Destinee Bursch is having the best season of her Maverick career that is already loaded with highlights. She is averaging 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 52.2% from the field, all of which are career-highs. Bursch reached 20 points 12 separate times this season and has shot over 70% from the floor in six games. She reached 1,500 career points early in the season and has since moved into third in all-time scoring in MSU history, one spot behind former teammate Joey Batt. Her nomination to the 2025 NSIC All-Conference First Team was her fourth overall all-conference nomination. The Mavericks’ best player is arguably junior Natalie Bremer, guard from Lake City, Minnesota. Bremer led the team in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game in 30 starts in 2024-25. Thus far in the season, she has posted a 49% field goal percentage, shot 41.5% from three-point range and 83.7% from the line. Bremer also averaged five rebounds per game and led the team with a 2.7-steals-per-game average. She led the team with 16 20-point performances and ended with 30+ twice. Bremer scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 10 boards in a win at Augustana. She is currently in the midst of the fifth-best scoring season in program history with 597 points scored. Bremer was the ninth Maverick to surpass 1,500 career points; she moved into fifth in all-time scoring with 1,629 points and is five points behind Ali Wilkinson for fourth place. Her 2025 NSIC All-Conference First Team nomination was her second time on the team and third overall nomination. |
| Team Leaders: |
Besides Bursch and Bremer, there are several key Maverick players who make significant impacts on the court. Junior post Ava Stier leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per game. Stier offensively averages 8.3 points per game on 45/37/74 shooting splits. She was named to the NSIC All-Tournament team for her excellent performance in the conference tournament. Freshman Elisabeth Gadient is a leader off the bench for Minnesota State. In her rookie campaign, Gadient is averaging 9.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game while shooting 44% from the field. She has reached double figures 13 times this season. One of the team’s minutes leaders is Mankato native Mackenzie Schweim. Schweim is vital to the defensive success of Minnesota State and is a threat to connect on three-point jumpers. She leads the team with 36 three-point makes and is averaging 7.6 points and 1.2 steals per game. Starting point guard Hannah Herzig has missed some time this season, but has been great when she has been in. She is averaging 7.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and three steals per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. |
| True Leadership: | With a win over Wayne State, Minnesota State head coach Emilee Thiesse became the winningest coach in program history and with another against St. Cloud State, she became the first coach in MSU women’s basketball history to reach 250 career wins. In 13 seasons, Thiesse holds an all-time record of 252-124 and an NSIC record of 187-89. Minnesota State has won 78.5 percent of its games in the Taylor Center under Coach Thiesse. She has led the Mavericks to seven 20-win seasons and now six NCAA Tournament appearances. MSU teams under Thiesse are 9-4 in NCAA Tournament games. Last season, Thiesse was named NSIC Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. She won her first National Championship as head coach of the Mavericks last season with an 89-73 win over Texas Woman’s in St. Joseph, Mo. |
| History vs Missouri Western: | Minnesota State is 2-2 against the Griffons all-time. The last matchup was last season, 2024, as the Mavericks took down Missouri Western 78-58 in the First Round of the Central Region Tournament. MSU is on a two-game win streak against MWSU. |
| Maverick NCAA Tournament History: | Since the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1986, Minnesota State has gone 16-8 in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Mavericks won the Central Region Tournament against hosting Southern Nazarene, 80-48, then moved onto the Elite Eight where the team secured a spot in the National Championship game with wins over Georgia Southwestern and Cal State San Marcos to take on Texas Woman’s University. Minnesota State won the NCAA DII National Championship for its second national title in program history, 89-73. The first NCAA National Championship for Minnesota State came in the 2008-09 season, as the Mavericks defeated Franklin Pierce 103-94. |
About the Griffons
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Season Standings: | Missouri Western is 20-9 headed into its matchup with Minnesota State. After starting the season 2-3 and losing three-straight, the Griffons went on a 9-1 stretch to get the year back on track. After a pair of close losses to Nebraska Kearney and Central Missouri in January, MWSU won eight of its last 10 regular season games. |
| MIAA Tournament Recap: | The Griffons defeated Arkansas-Fort Smith 79-73 in the first round of the MIAA Tournament before falling to Fort Hays State, 77-73, in the semifinal round. |
| Team Stats: | The team averages 74 points per game while shooting 42.1% from the field, 31.8% from deep and 71.7% from the charity stripe. MWSU averages 36.4 rebounds, 16 assists, 8.4 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. The Griffons turn the ball over 14.3 times per game on average. |
| Star Players: |
Senior Alyssa Bonilla had a great final season. She was second in the MIAA averaging 17.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Bonilla led the league with 70 steals. She averaged 18.9 points per contest against conference opponents. She had four double-doubles in 2024-25 and had 10 20-point games. Bonilla was named to both the MIAA All Conference First Team and All-MIAA Defensive team. Marie Sepp, a first-year player from Estonia, averaged 11.9 points per game while shooting 53.1% from the field. Sepp was an honorable mention All-MIAA athlete this season. |
| Coaching: | Ashton Feldhaus took over as head coach of the Missouri Western women’s basketball program this season after spending five years as the associate head coach for Eckerd College. |
| Recent Success: | Missouri Western has won 100 games over the past five seasons and made the Elite Eight in 2022-23. |