Mayville, ND - The Comets Women's Basketball team opened their 2023-2024 season against the Providence Pilots. In a fast-paced game, Mayville State scored early and often to easily win 94-32.

Head coach Dennis Hutter commented, "I think we performed okay. Always things to work on early in the season. Early games are a good chance for the players to get some live competition while also seeing what we have to work on. I thought we played hard and competed. We certainly need to play cleaner and crisper."

The Pilots pushed the pace, as they opened with a full court press and used a hockey style substitution pattern, five new players every 90 seconds or so. The Comets were up to the challenge, and feasted on passing lanes. These turnovers led to multiple fast break points and gave the Comets a 33-9 advantage after one quarter of play.

The offense did slow in the second quarter, but a 13-0 Comet run boosted their advantage to over 30 points, eventually ending with a 51-15 lead at halftime. Jordan Zrust sliced up the Pilots defense enroute to 16 points.

Hutter also said, "You could see by our offense it was the first game of the year. We have to continue to work on our precision and timing offensively.  We shot the ball decently from inside the arc. Need to improve our three point shooting."

Mayville State showed no signs of letdown in the third quarter, as Mackenzie Hughes ripped off seven straight points to open the second half. The Comet defense continued to shine, forcing numerous turnovers and contested shots. The 29-9 third quarter bumped up the lead to 80-24.

The large lead allowed Mayville State to fully utilize their bench and those players continued the defensive intensity by only allowing 8 points in the quarter. When the final buzzer sounded, the Comets opened their season with a resounding 94-32 victory.

The Pilots only shot 21% from the field and turned the ball over 23 times, two signs of a stifling Comet defense.

"I thought we defended the ball very well this evening. Kept dribble penetration to a minimum and really took away the arc. I felt we did a very nice job with transition defense as well," commented Hutter.

12 Comets scored in the game, as Zrust led all players with 25, Hughes added 18 and Alex Page reached double figures with 11. Zrust, Jes Mertens and Annika Reierson each pulled down 8 boards, Mertens also dished out 5 assists.

"I just want to see us continue to compete and improve.  I would like to see us shoot the ball better. So hope we can do that. But really wanna stay focused on what we can truly control which is our effort and attitude and playing as a TEAM," Hutter ended with.

For full schedule and results visit: https://msucomets.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule