They have needed no big shots, no clutch free throws, not even a key defensive stop.
Minnesota State has cruised through the postseason with hardly a challenge, destroying teams with a quick start and keeping the pressure on for the rest of the game.
“I think all the adversity we had to start the year really prepared us for any hardship we might face,” Minnesota State senior Joey Batt said. “I think those losses made us even closer as a team and gave us confidence that we can overcome anything.”
The Mavericks (29-5), the fifth seed, will face No. 4 Georgia Southwestern at 8:30 p.m. Monday in the national quarterfinals at St. Joseph, Missouri. After a tough start to the season because of injuries, Minnesota State has won 27 of its last 28 games, but given the quality of opposition, the last six have been the most impressive.
“I think this has happened because of all the good leaders we’ve had in the past that helped us build this,” coach Emilee Thiesse said. “They helped us build a tradition, and the other players have just gotten on board and continued it.”
The Mavericks, who won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular-season championship, opened the conference tournament with a 101-74 victory over Minnesota State Moorhead, scoring first and leading the entire game.
Then came an 88-72 win over Southwest Minnesota State, trailing for just 9 seconds in the second quarter.
There was no panic when the Mavericks fell behind by 3 in the first quarter, and also trailed briefly in the second quarter of the tournament championship game, as the Mavericks dumped Mary 89-74 to get the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
“We’ve had such hot starts because we’ve worked hard in practice,” Batt said. “By the time we get to the games, we just keep believing in each other and it usually ends up well.”
In all three region games, the Mavericks scored first and never trailed, winning each by 20 or more points. MSU beat Missouri Western (78-58), Fort Hays State (78-66) and Southern Nazarene (80-48) at the Central Regional. In the regular season, MSU lost to Southern Nazarene and Fort Hays State, but that was with Batt out of the lineup due to an injury.
“These last three games, we’ve been really locked in,” said sophomore Natalie Bremer. “That first game (at the region tournament), we thought we could play a lot better, but now we’re playing our best.”
Batt, who was named the program’s fourth All-American last week, is averaging 16.1 points with 105 steals, second most in team history for a single season. She’s scored 1,909 points in her career, which ranks second, too.
Destinee Bursch is averaging 16.1 points and 3.5 rebounds, and Bremer is averaging 15.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals.
The Mavericks’ depth has been a strength, with 9 players averaging at least 15 minutes of playing time.
“The team is really confident, and they trust our system,” Thiesse said. “A few games, we haven’t played our best and still won, which is exciting. We just need to stay locked in and focus on what we do.”
The Mavericks are expecting tougher games at the Elite Eight, although the Central Region had a few teams in the national polls. They’ll find out starting Monday.
“This is the best feeling, especially to do it with the people you love so much,” Bremer said. “This team loves to be around each other, and we just want to keep playing. We still have more to accomplish.”
Please follow Chad Courrier on X @ChadCourrier.