PITTSBURG, Kan. – The No. 7-seeded Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball team utilized tough defense to earn its first NCAA tournament game win since the 2001-02 season with a 77-64 victory over the No. 2-seeded Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears inside John Lance Arena on Friday afternoon.

SMSU, 27-4, finished the game shooting 43 percent (25 of 58) from the field including 8 of 24 from downtown, while CSP, ending the season 29-3, shot its fourth lowest percentage on the season at 36 percent (25 of 70).

Audrey Swanson poured in a team-high 24 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Mustangs to the win. Bri Stoltzman followed behind recording 19 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season, while also picking up three steals. Peyton Blandin connected 7 of 10 shots to add 18 points and pulled down five rebounds, while Natalie Nielsen pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

Lydia Haack led the Golden Bears' offense scoring 23 points and dishing four assists. Lindsey Becher helped by adding 13 points and six rebounds, while Ashley Schuelke chipped in 10 points.

Neither team could get much offense going to open the game, as SMSU and CSP combined for 18 percent (4 of 22) shooting through the first six and a half minutes. The Mustangs would reside on the better end of the otherwise quiet first, holding an 8-2 lead after six minutes of play. 

The final three minutes of the first would be back and forth, with CSP edging SMSU 8-7 to cut the deficit to five points heading into the second quarter. 

SMSU used a 7-5 run to keep the margin at seven points before CSP chewed up two minutes off the clock with a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to one with 4:30 to play in the half. The Mustangs would then limit the Golden Bears to one field goal over the following three minutes to build to an 11-point lead. The 11 points dwindled over the last two minutes of the half as the Golden Bears closed the half on a 7-0 run to cut the score to 34-30 at the half.

SMSU closed the first half shooting 39 percent (11 of 28) from the field including making 5 of 14 attempts from beyond the arc, while the Golden Bears shot 31 percent (11 of 36) from the field and 3 of 7 from three.

CSP controlled the opening minutes of the second half to shrink the margin to one point with just over five minutes to play in the third before the Mustangs exploded offensively to retake momentum. SMSU made 6 of its next 10 attempts from the field to close the quarter on a 17-2 run and lead by 16 heading into the fourth.

The Golden Bears battled to trim the deficit to seven points at 4:01 and 2:51 left in the quarter but the Mustangs would not let up, making shot after shot down the stretch to force the Golden Bears into fouling as time expired.

The Mustangs return to the court tomorrow for the NCAA Central Region semifinals, taking on No. 3 seed Fort Hays State (Kan.) at 5 p.m.