MAYVILLE, ND – The Comets road to a North Star Athletic Association conference tournament championship began Wednesday night with a bang, as the 19^th ranked team in the nation defeated the Waldorf Warriors 74-55 in the first round of the conference tournament. The win propels the Comets into the conference tournament semifinal round, which will take place on Saturday in Watertown, S.D.
"I thought we played really good in the first half," Comets head coach Dennis Hutter said. "It's some of the best offensive basketball we've played in a long time."
Mayville State and Waldorf played well defensively out of the gate, with the game going back-and-forth for the first minutes of the contest, as Nicole Bunting broke the ice with a free-throw just 2:11 into the contest.
The score remained 1-0 until under seven minutes left in the first quarter, when Kylee Heurung nailed her first of back-to-back buckets, which put Mayville State ahead 5-0 with 6:11 to go in the first quarter.
Waldorf eventually found their stride and tied the game 7-7 with 3:41 left, but the Comets bounced back.
Each time the Warriors tied the game in the first quarter, Mayville State answered right back. But, an Ashley Schindele three-pointer put the Warriors ahead by one point with 2:12 to go in the quarter. Bunting answered back with a free-throw with 1:27 left, and then Cyan Hale gave Mayville State the two-point lead with 1:03 left. Less than 30 seconds later, the Comets had built the lead out to six points on a Jordan Zrust jumper with 36 seconds to go.
Waldorf started the second quarter by pulling the game to within four points, but Bunting had other ideas—as she, 18 seconds later, extended the lead back to six points. Then, just 50 seconds later, she extended the lead to eight points, just before Claire Blascziek gave Mayville State a double-digit lead early in the second quarter.
The Comets kept their foot on the pedal, eventually taking a 20-point lead with 1:11 to go in the half, on back-to-back two-pointers by Zrust.
Mayville State held a 41-25 lead heading into the third quarter.
Waldorf cut the lead to 17 points on back-to-back free-throws by Nichole Oberthien, but Bunting blasted the game wide open with a three-point basket with 7:38 to go in the third quarter.
With 4:45 to go, Bunting again had another three—this time putting Mayville State ahead by 20.
The Warriors battled back to within 15 points, but Heurung stopped the rally with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.
Mayville State never looked back—cruising to the 19-point victory.
The Comets were led by Bunting's game high 25 points. Heurung was the lone other Comet in double-figures, with a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 14 rebounds in the win.
"She's (Heurung) has elevated her game this year to a whole other level," Hutter said. "She is a rebounding machine."
With the win, Mayville State moves into the semifinals of the conference tournament, where they'll take on the third seeded Dakota State Trojans at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Watertown at the Watertown Civic Arena.