The Mayville State Women's Basketball team finished out their Florida trip tonight, facing the Warner University Royals in Lake Wales, Florida. The Comets were looking to bounce back after their brief series of losses, and they did just that with a big 24 point win over the Royals.

The first quarter started out slow for both squads, as it took nearly four minutes before the first basket was posted on the board by the Royals. The game would get tied up at 5 with 4:23 to go in the first, but it was the Comets hitting the hot streak to finish the quarter off strong. Some sharp free throw shooting kept the score climbing at first, then Joelle Ertl added some extra zing to it, netting 9 points alone in the quarter to help the Comets take an 18-5 lead.  The lead would stay for the Comets for the entire game from that point, as a stingy Comet defense kept control of things in the second quarter and only allowed the Royals to score ten more points as they finished the half.  MSU poured in another 18 points and left the Royals scoreless over a 4 minute span in the quarter. Three 3-pointers coming from Claire Blascziek, Nicole Bunting and Kylee Heurung were helped extend the Comet lead in the first half. MSU ended it with a 36-15 lead at the break. 

Warner University tried to close the gap in the third quarter, able to get it down to a 15 point Comet lead at 43-28, but the Comets took control once again and went on a 16-2 run. Taylor Shamp led a nice 7-0 stretch to begin the run, getting five of the Comet points in that span. The Royals answered with a field goal until the Comets started up another 9-0 run, this time fueled mostly by Kylee Heurung with 7 straight points, which were capped off by two free throws from Blascizek to give the Comets a 59-30 lead into the fourth quarter. The Comets remained in control and finished the game with four players in double figures, able to bring home a win from Florida, 69 to 45 in the end. 

Coach Dennis Hutter was happy to see things come together for the Comets after their recent struggles. "We finally were able to play a complete game tonight at both ends of the floor. We really locked down and defended well. Along with rebounding effort, it was nice to see us get to the free throw line a little more tonight. It was a great team win, and a nice way to end our Florida trip."

Tied with game-highs of 14 points each were Joelle Ertl and Kylee Heurung. Ertl went 2-2 on three's and was a perfect 6 for 6 at the line. Heurung went 2-2 at both the free throw line and the three-point line. Joelle almost had a double-double with a game-high of 9 rebounds, too. Claire Blascziek finished with a solid 12 and Cyan Hale had 10. Blascziek was a perfect 3-3 on three's and also a perfect 3-3 from the line. As a team, the Comets were one shot away from being perfect on free throws, hitting 18 of 19 at the charity stripe. MSU shot an impressive 42% from the floor and shot 9 of 14 for a 64% three-pointer rate. 

The win lifts the Comets to 3-4 overall as they gear up for North Star Athletic Association play that begins this Saturday at home against Valley City State University. Game time is 3 p.m.