By Chad Courrier
Free Press Staff Writer
MANKATO — Liz Trauger became the 17th player in Minnesota State women’s basketball history to collect 1,000 points, and all 17 that she scored Saturday helped her team win.
“She and (Tiffany Moe) are really important for us,” coach Pam Gohl said. “They’re both strong leaders, and they keep everything calm. Liz also had a tough defensive assignment tonight, but she did a good job of making (Jheri Booker) shoot over her.”
Trauger led a balanced Mavericks’ attack with 17 points in a 92-80 upset of Minnesota Duluth in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game at Bresnan Arena. Five Mavericks had at least 14 points as the team shot 63 percent in the second half, making 6 of 8 from behind the arc.
“We were really desperate for a win,” Trauger said. “We hadn’t put two good halves together; we’ve been digging ourselves big holes in the first half so it was nice to be ahead at halftime.”
Sarah Wiens hit consecutive 3-pointers as the Mavericks went ahead 14-4 in the first six minutes, but the Bulldogs pulled even at 19 at the nine-minute mark.
Wiens put the Mavericks ahead at 34-29 with her third 3-pointer, but the Bulldogs tied the game again at 39. Jennie Noreen’s steal and layup gave the Mavericks a two-point advantage at halftime.
Minnesota State shot 48.5 percent in the first half but made only 4 of 12 from 3-point range.
The Mavericks opened the second half with a 14-2 run, with Laura Weber hitting two close-range shots and Lauren Barber and Trauger each making a
3-pointer. The lead grew to 68-54 as the Mavericks made 10 of the first 14 shots, with Trauger making two more 3-pointers.
After Minnesota Duluth cut the lead to six with 8:40 to play, the Mavericks responded with six straight, four by Moe. The Mavericks, who had lost four straight, maintained the lead in the final minutes, with Noreen hitting 6 of 6 free throws.
“It was concentration and execution,” Trauger said. “We’ve had times when we weren’t very good against the press, but we handled that pretty well and we made our free throws.”
Trauger’s 17 points included four 3-pointers, all in the second half. Weber added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Noreen and Wiens, who was 4 of 4 from 3-point range, each scored 16. Moe had 14 points and six assists.
“It was great to see us play to our ability and potential,” Gohl said. “We talked about not worrying about the score. When you’re in a losing streak, you put so much pressure on yourself. You have to stay positive and focus on playing your best.”
Booker had 29 points and Lindsay Miller scored 26 for the Bulldogs (13-7, 8-5 in Northern Sun). The two took 41 of the team’s 69 shots.
Minnesota State (11-9, 6-7) hosts Minnesota Crookston on Friday and Minnesota State-Moorhead on Saturday. The Mavericks, who lost to both earlier in the season, are tied for the eighth and final place in the Northern Sun tournament with seven games remaining.
“We just have to get to the conference tournament, and anything can happen,” Trauger said. “Hopefully this one will carry over to next weekend and the rest of the season.”
MINNESOTA DULUTH 80
Booker 13-25 2-4 29, Hewitt 4-10 0-0 8, Stemper 1-2 0-0 2, Mayry 1-2 0-0 2, Miller 10-16 0-0 26, Haas 0-0 0-0 0, Doucette 0-1 0-3 0, Olson 1-2 0-0 3, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Sygulla 1-2 0-0 2, Even 1-5 0-0 2, Van Winkle 3-4 0-0 6. Totals: 35-69 2-7 80.
MINNESOTA STATE 92
Weber 8-12 0-0 16, Trauger 5-9 3-5 17, Moe 5-14 4-4 14, Barber 4-8 0-0 9, Noreen 4-5 7-8 16, Nelson 0-0 0-0 0, Wiens 5-8 2-2 16, Thiesfeld 0-1 0-0 0, Wilkinson 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 33-60 16-19 92.
Halftime: Minnesota State 41, Minnesota Duluth 39. 3-point shooting: Minnesota Duluth 8-17 (Booker 1-6, Miller 6-8, Olson 1-1, Even 0-1), Minnesota State 10-20 (Trauger 4-5, Moe 0-3, Barber 1-5, Noreen 1-1, Wiens 4-4, Thiesfeld 0-1, Wilkinson 0-1). Rebounds: Minnesota Duluth 33 (Booker 9), Minnesota State 32 (Weber 9). Assists: Minnesota Duluth 11 (Booker, Mayry 4), Minnesota State 18 (Moe 6). Steals: Minnesota Duluth 5 (Booker 3), Minnesota State 2 (Noreen 2). Turnovers: Minnesota Duluth 10, Minnesota State 10. Total fouls: Minnesota Duluth 19, Minnesota State 14. Fouled out: none.
Attendance: 2,169.
