St. Paul, Minn. --- The No. 17 Minnesota State women's basketball team netted nine three pointers in the first half, to earn a convincing 87-63 win over No. 14 Concordia-St. Paul, improving to 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in NSIC action.

The Mavericks would find themselves trailing 17-10 with 11:30 remaining in the opening stanza before MSU caught fire from behind the arc, going on a 20-0 run opening a 30-17 lead with 6:05 to play in the first half. 

The Golden Bears would find some offensive rhythm, but the Mavericks outscored them 12-8 in the final six minutes of the frame taking a 42-25 lead into intermission.

MSU would see nine different athletes contribute buckets in the first half led by senior Ali Wilkinson (Blue Mounds, Wis.) who poured in nine points.  As a unit the Mavericks connected on 14-of-31 (45%) from the field and 9-of-19 (47%) from behind the arc.

The Mavericks would cool off in the second half, as they only connected on 33% of their shots from behind the arc and 45% field, but still outscored the Golden Bears 45-38 in the closing frame, earning the 87-63 win.

Wilkinson was one of three Mavericks to reach double figures, leading the way with 16 points. The senior tandem of Karlee Gengenbacher (Quincy, Ill.) and Alli Hoefer (Plymouth, Minn.) finished with 15 points and 13 points respectively. Junior Aubrey Davis tallied a season-high seven rebounds in the winning effort.

As a unit the Mavericks connected on 12-of-28 (43%) from behind the arc, 30-of-66 (46%) from the field but hauled-in 48 rebounds compared to the Golden Bears 31. MSU held CU to a 21-of-63 (33%) shooting effort from the field, while only allowing the Golden Bears to connect on two shots from behind the arc (13%).

MSU will return to action as it hosts Upper Iowa at Taylor Center on Friday, opening tip is slated for 6 p.m.