College sports: MSU women finish with win

Feb. 18—The Free Press

FAYETTE, IOWA — Natalie Bremer scored 21 points to help the No. 13 Minnesota State women's basketball team defeat Upper Iowa 99-82 on Saturday and claim the South Division championship in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Joey Batt had 19 points and four assists, Emily Herzberg scored 13 points. Molly Ihle added 11 points, making 3 of 3 on 3-pointers, and Emily Russo added eight points and nine rebounds.

The Mavericks shot 54.4% from the field, including a 9 of 20 from 3-point range.

Minnesota State (23-3, 19-3 in Northern Sun) gets a first-round bye in the conference tournament and will play in the quarterfinals Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Women's hockey: Alexis Paddington finished with a goal and an assist for the Mavericks in a 5-2 WCHA road loss to St. Cloud State. Minnesota State lost Game 1 of the series 6-3 Friday.

Brooke Bryant also scored for the Mavericks.

Minnesota State finishes the regular season at 15-18-1, good for sixth place in the WCHA. The Mavericks will play a best-of-three quarterfinal series at Wisconsin next weekend.

Men's basketball: Upper Iowa scored with four seconds to play to defeat the Mavericks 86-84 in a Northern Sun game at Fayette, Iowa.

Harrrison Braudis had 21 points and six rebounds, and Malik Willingham scored 20 points, passing the 1,000-point mark in his career. Trevor Moore also scored 20 points.

The Mavericks (17-11, 11-11) will open the Northern Sun tournament on Wednesday at Minnesota Duluth.

Softball: The Mavericks went 1-1 in the first day of the Emporia State Classic, losing 9-4 to Northwest Missouri State and defeating Washburn 5-0 at Emporia, Kansas.

Kacy Nickerson took the loss against Northwest Missouri State, allowing four earned runs in 2 1/3 innings.

Kylie Sullivan hit a two-run home run, and Emma Dennison added a solo homer. Sydney Nielsen had an RBI single. Sullivan and Dennison both had two hits.

McKayla Armbruster pitched the shutout against Washburn, allowing six hits.

Nielson hit a solo home run, and Cheyenne Behrends, Ellie Tallman and Sydney Nelson each had an RBI. Nielsen and Ava Smithson each had two hits.

Minnesota State (2-4) plays Newman and Emporia State on Sunday.

Baseball: Brock Johnson and Aidan Byrne each had an RBI in a 12-2 loss to Northwest Missouri State at the Southern Missouri State Invitational at Joplin, Missouri.

Chandler Fochs took the loss after allowing four earned runs on five hits and three walks in two innings.

The Mavericks (1-1) play Southern Missouri State on Sunday.

Gustavus Adolphus

Women's hockey: Hailey Holland had the hat trick as Gustavus defeated St. Olaf 6-1 in an MIAC game at Northfield.

Brooke Power, Tina Press and Kaitlyn Holland each scored one goal. Katie McCoy made 12 saves to get the victory

The Gusties (22-3, 17-1) are the No. 1 seed fo the MIAC tournament and will host a conference tournament semifinal on Saturday.

Men's basketball: The Gusties ended the season with 77-69 loss at St. Mary's, finishing at 9-16 and 9-11 in the MIAC for seventh place.

Ashton Dingmann led the Gusties with a career-high 17 points, making five 3-pointers. Spencer Swanson added 15 points and nine rebounds.

Women's basketball: Emma Kniefel scored 16 points as the Gusties extended their winning streak to 15 with a 75-51 MIAC victory over St. Mary's at Winona.

Kylie Baranick and Morgan Kelly each scored 11 points, and Syd Hauger had 10 points, making 3 of 3 from 3-point range. Grace Benz had eight rebounds, and Baranick made five steals.

The Gusties (20-2 in MIAC) will host a conference tournament semifinal on Thursday.

Bethany Lutheran

Softball: In the opener of the Kwik Trip Invitational, the Vikings defeated Concordia 5-4 at the Maverick All-Sports Dome.

Kaija Mork had three hits, while Bailey Erlandson has two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored.

The Vikings play Macalester and St. Mary's on Sunday at the Maverick All-Sports Dome.

Women's basketball: The Vikings shot just 38.8% from the field in a 79-68 UMAC loss to North Central at the Sports & Fitness Center.

Annika Younge led the Vikings with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Kaylee Hunter and Sara Kottke each scored 14 points.

Bethany finishes the season at 7-18, 5-9 in UMAC games.