Despite facing a double-digit deficit at the half, senior Grace Pyle said the Gorillas knew the game wasn’t over for them.
“We gathered together and rallied together,” she said. “And, you know, this wasn't even the biggest deficit we faced all year. We felt like we hadn’t given them our best shot, even though they gave us their best shot in the first half, and we just rallied and stuck together.”
In addition to starter Macie Mays suffering a knee injury less than two and a half minutes into the game, PSU also had several players in foul trouble. Six Gorillas finished the game with three or more fouls. According to Head Coach Amanda Davied, the conversation at halftime was about controlling what they could control.
“I never question this group's effort,” she said. “We had to play smarter. If you have three fouls, you know, make them make the shots. We need players on the floor. And so there were some of those conversations going on.”
As a team, PSU shot 55.2 percent from the field compared to the Mavericks’ 48.5 percent. Both teams recorded 21 turnovers and MSU stole the ball two more times, but the Gorillas pulled down six more rebounds and had eight more assists.
Senior Karenna Gerber led the Gorillas with another double-double, finishing with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Behind her were fellow seniors Grace Pyle and Sydney Holmes who had 14 and 13 points. For the Mavericks, senior Destinee Bursch had 37 points, followed by junior Natalie Bremer with 26.
PSU will now play Southwest Minnesota State University at 7 p.m. on March 17 at John Lance Arena. The winner will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
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