The season started with much fanfare as the Minnesota State women’s basketball team opened at No. 2 in the national polls.
Turns out, the national pollsters undersold the Mavericks.
Minnesota State defeated Texas Woman’s University 89-73 in the NCAA II championship game Thursday night at St. Joseph, Missouri.
It was a vintage performance, with the Mavericks forcing 30 turnovers and making 21 steals. Natalie Bremer, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, again led the offense with 27 points, and senior Joey Batt had 10 points, 6 assists and 7 steals.
Minnesota State won its first national championship in 2009, and several of those players were in the crowd Friday night.
The Mavericks, who won 30 of the last 31 games with a 19-game winning streak during the season, were seeded seventh in the Central Region, and drew the No. 5 seed at the Elite Eight.
and were the higher seed just once.
All season, as the lineup became more stable, it became more and more apparent that Minnesota State was the best team in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Central Region. The Mavericks were able to avenge three of their early-season losses during the NCAA tournament and bring home another trophy.