BETHANY, Okla. – The #7 seed Minnesota State Mavericks (29-5) win the NCAA Central Region Tournament Championship in an upset victory over the #1 seed Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm (30-3), 80-48. Joey Batt and Destinee Bursch combined for 51 points in the dominating win over SNU.
 
Minnesota State got out to an early 4-0 lead after Bursch hit a pull up jumper for two. Emily Monaghan for SNU stepped through the lane for a nice lay in to score the first points of the game for the one-seed. The Mavericks responded with seven points in 41 seconds, giving the team an early 11-2 advantage. Batt hit her second three of the game to put Minnesota State up 12, giving her eight points in the first five minutes of play. An offensive rebound collected by Hannah Herzig was dished out to the corner, setting Batt up for an easy three.
 
Bursch, with 1:38 left in the quarter, hit a crossover, creating just enough space to get a shot off, sinking a three-pointer, despite getting fouled. After the Crimson Storm made a couple of free throws, the first quarter ended with Minnesota State up 24-5.
 
Batt found Emily Herzberg for her first three-pointer of the game. A steal for Natalie Bremer led to a shot at the rim to put the Mavericks up 29-5 with just under nine to play left in the half. Jena Bay nailed a three-pointer for SNU's first field goal in nearly 10 minutes. Bursch made a layup and a pull up jumper in consecutive possessions for MSU.
 
The NSIC Defensive Player of the Year nailed her fourth three-pointer of the game, putting the Mavericks up 36-12 and forcing a SNU timeout. Batt would find Taylor Theusch for a three, recording her fifth assist of the night. Both teams traded free throws, until Bay would score a layup with 1:33 left in the half. Bursch hit another turn-around jumper with 0:50 left on the clock. Ava Stier drew a foul on Bay, her fourth, with eight second remaining in the half. She made one free throw, giving Minnesota State a 46-16 lead heading into the locker room.
 
Minnesota State shot 51.5% from the field in the first half, making 7-12 from deep, while missing three free throws. The Mavericks outrebounded the Crimson Storm 18-15 and had seven more assists than SNU in the first half. MSU forced 12 first half turnovers, including six steals. The team scored 20 points off of turnovers; Southern Nazarene scored zero.
 
Batt ended the half with 16 points, two rebounds, five assists and three steals. Bursch had a nice half as well, finishing with 15 points on 7-9 shooting.
 
Southern Nazarene shot just 4-24 from the field in the first half. The team struggled with the pressure of the Minnesota State press, turning the ball over 12 times. The team did make 7-8 from the charity stripe.
 
Hannah Giddey made an and-one layup to start things in the second half. Bremer, who committed that foul, went back down the court and sank a floater. Batt hit her fifth three of the game with 4:26 in the third. 30 seconds later, she scored off of a steal, putting the Mavericks up 57-25.
 
SNU scored five quick points to cut into the lead a little. Bursch scored a layup to put the Mavericks up by 30. A couple of free throws and a buzzer-beater three from Bay ended the quarter, Minnesota State up 62-37.
 
Both teams traded layups back and forth in the first three minutes of the final quarter of the NCAA Central Region Tournament. Jillian Crawford scored an and-one layup with 6:26 left in the quarter. Batt nailed a step-back three to put the Mavericks up 25. Bursch came up with a loose ball for an easy layup. Theusch sunk a three to put MSU up 78-46 with 2:30 left in the game.
 
As time trickled off the clock, the Minnesota State Mavericks would win the Central Region Tournament Championship, 80-48.
 
Everything was clicking for the Mavericks in the most important game of the season to this point. Minnesota State shot a 48% field goal percentage (29-60 FG) and tied a season-high with 10 three-pointers made, making 59% from beyond the arc (10-17 3FG). The team ended with 15 assists and 12 steals, forcing 25 Southern Nazarene turnovers, scoring 34 points as a result of those lost possessions. The team also outscored the Storm in the paint, 32-26. The only place where the Mavericks struggled was the free throw line, where they made 63% of their shots (12-19 FT).
 
Batt led all scorers with 28 points on 10-18 shooting, including six threes, three boards, five assists and five steals with just one turnover. Bursch had 23 points on 10-15 field goal shooting. She also had three rebounds, as well as two assists and a steal. Herzberg had seven points, three rebounds and three steals. Bremer and Theusch both ended with six points.
 
SNU had its worst game of the season, finishing with a season-low in points (48), field goal percentage (30% | 15-50 FG) and tying its season-high in turnovers. The team only made 2-21 from beyond the three-point line, the second-worst shooting performance from deep this season for the Storm. Giddey led the team with 11 points. She also had seven rebounds and three blocks.
 
The Mavericks advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since the National Championship team in 2008-09. The final eight teams will be reseeded to form the tournament. The first game will be played on Monday, March 25 in St. Joseph, Missouri at the city's Civic Arena.