Highlighted by Aubrey Davis' 6-for-7 shooting performance from three-point range, Minnesota State-Mankato cruised to an 84-65 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Southwest Minnesota State Saturday in the regular-season finale in Mankato.
With the loss, the Mustangs finish the season 5-19 in NSIC play, 6-20 overall.
"She's one of those kids that's either on fire and doesn't hit much, and luckily for them, she was on fire Saturday," said Mustangs head coach Allison Kruger. "We let her get some easy looks and when she's shooting like that, it doesn't make it easy."
The Mavericks (13-9 NSIC, 17-9 overall) shot 53 percent, while holding SMSU to 35 percent.
But things started off encouraging for the Mustangs, who opened the game on a 14-2 run. But with David hitting five of her six threes in the first half, MSU-Mankato took a 32-30 lead following a layup by Laura Weber with 3 minutes, 9 seconds left in the first half. The Mavericks never trailed again.
"Early on, we were being patience on offense, playing basketball and making shots, and that gave us some energy on the defensive end," Kruger said. "But they weren't going to stay cold all game.
"In the second half, we didn't hit any shots and it affected how we played on the defensive end."
Trailing 42-37 at halftime, the Mustangs managed to cut the lead down to three following a jumper by Jessie Watts with 14:28 left in the game. But the Mavericks scored the next four points and never let SMSU get to within six for the rest of the contest.
In total, four MSU-Mankato players scored in double digits. Along with Davis, Alli Hoefer (17), Weber (14) and Jennie Noreen (14) all scored in double figures for the Mavericks, who gained the No. 5 seed in the NSIC tournament and will travel to No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth on Wednesday.
In her final game in brown and gold, Abby Kenealy finished with a team-high 15 points, finishing 11th in school history in career points (1,151). Bree Holleman had 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Hannah Beeler and Watts each dropped 11.
In their final collegiate games, Taylor Voss had six points, and Courtney McCarthy finished with two points.
"Those three (Kenealy, Voss and McCarthy) have definitely impacted the program, and the underclassmen have some big shoes to fill," Kruger said. "Not just in the numbers they put up, but as leaders, too. Those three gave their all every day."
SMSU (65)
Abby Kenealy 6-20 3-4 15, Bree Holleman 4-9 4-6 13, Jessie Watts 4-6 3-3 11, Hannah Beeler 3-5 3-4 11, Taylor Voss 1-5 4-4 6, Hope Bonlander 1-9 1-2 4, Nathalie Svensson 1-2 0-0 3, Courtney McCarthy 1-2 0-0 2, Ellen Degler 0-1 0-0 0, Emilee Duske 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-60 18-23 65. Three-Pointers 5-20 (Beeler 2-4) Rebounds 32 (Holleman 7) Assists 8 (Holleman 3) Steals 11 (Holleman 3) Blocks 2 Turnovers 11 Total Fouls 15.
MSU-Mankato (84)
Aubrey Davis 6-7 0-0 18, Alli Hoefer 7-12 2-3 17, Laura Weber 6-14 3-4 15, Jennie Noreen 5-12 3-3 14, Jamie Bresnahan 3-5 0-0 6, Sarah Wiens 3-4 1-1 8, Alyssa Van Klei 2-4 0-0 4, Lizzie Stenhaug 1-2 0-0 2, Kirstin Nelson 0-0 0-0 0, Jameila Hudnell 0-1 0-0 0, Lexie Ulfers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-62 9-11 84. Three-Pointers 9-19 (Davis 6-7) Rebounds 42 (Weber 12) Assists 14 Steals 5 Blocks 4 (Weber 3) Turnovers 16 Total Fouls 17.
Halftime Score: MSU-Mankato 42, SMSU 37.