Orange City, Iowa - Comets Women's Basketball traveled to Orange City Iowa to participate in the Northwestern Classic. Their first game pitted them against the host team Northwestern Red Raiders. Mayville State used fantastic shooting at all three levels to win 87-81.

"I thought we really put forth a competitive effort in the second half. We withstood numerous runs by them. Road wins are nice. If you want to be successful you have to be able to win on the road," said head coach Dennis Hutter.

The Comets attacked the basket throughout the contest, starting in the first few minutes, which resulted in several layups and free throws. Northwestern countered by corralling offense rebounds and forcing turnovers. With just under four minutes remaining, the score was tied at 13.

Mayville State then rattled off an 11-2 run to go ahead 24-15. Jes Mertens tallied five points during that run. The Red Raiders managed to hit a three pointer at the end of the quarter to trail 24-18. The Comets connected on 9 of 11 shots in the first quarter for an 82% clip.

In the second quarter, neither team could build much momentum, as the lead hovered between three to six. Five straight points by Mackenzie Hughes put the Comets ahead 42-35 with two and a half minutes to halftime. The Red Raiders scored the last six points of the quarter to get within one at 42-41.

Mayville State quickly boosted the lead back to eight with a 9-2 run in the first three minutes of the third quarter. The quick pace suited both offenses with another high-scoring quarter.

Jordan Zrust and Hughes combined for 16 of the 24 points for the Comets, and with 10 minutes remaining the score was 66-60.

The Red Raiders mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, going on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 73 with just over five minutes to play.

With 2:25 remaining, Northwestern took their first lead since early in the first quarter at 79-78. Erin Walcker hit two clutch baskets on the next two possessions to reclaim the lead 83-79, and free throws by Zrust and CJ Decker sealed the road win for Mayville State 87-81.

For the game Mayville State shot 61% from the field including 6 of 13 from the three point line and hit 19 of 21 from the charity stripe for 91%.

"Jordan had a gutty performance. On the road against good teams you need your best player to play well. And Jordan did that tonight at both ends of the floor. I thought Mackenzie Hughes and Erin Walcker both had strong offensive games. Taylor Dean and Sydney Brekken played some big minutes for us. Jes Mertens shot the ball well for us tonight. It was an al around good team win," added Hutter.

Zrust poured in 28 points on the night and grabbed nine rebounds. Hughes was next with 16 points, Mertens added 13 and Walcker finished with a dozen points. Mertens led the team with three steals and Walcker added two blocks.

The win boosts the Comets record to 4-0. Mayville State is quickly back in action tomorrow, as they will battle the #2 Dordt Defenders. Tip off is at 10:00am.

Hutter commented, "It's always nice to go into the second night of a back to back after a win. It does not change our focus at all. Effort and attitude again tomorrow against a very good Dordt team."

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