Valley City, N.D. - The Comets Women's Basketball team traveled to Valley City to take part in the 4th annual Dakota Clash where they faced the Dickinson State Bluehawks on day one. Mayville State pressured the Bluehawks into 20 turnovers and survived a cold shooting night to win 62-56.

The Bluehawks took an early lead in the game as the Comets could not buy a bucket. With three and a half minutes left in the first quarter, Dickinson State held an 11-5 lead. Four quick points by Jordan Zrust trimmed the lead to 13-10 after one quarter.

Zrust continued her strong offensive effort in the second quarter, as she scored 11 of Mayville State's 17 points in the second. However, the Bluehawks used good shooting from both two point and three point range to continue to maintain a small lead. A Bluehawk three gave them a 32-27 lead going into the half.

Assistant coach Claire Blascziek said, "Defensively in the second half we guarded on the block better and made their shots more difficult. We rebounded pretty well and gave us an opportunity to run on the back end of it."

The Comets started to find their shot from beyond the arc in the third quarter. An Alex Page triple gave Mayville State a 34-33 lead with just under seven minutes to go. The lead switched hands multiple times before a 7-2 run to end the quarter put the Comets up 46-43.

Mayville State maintained a small lead throughout the fourth quarter, until a 9-3 Dickinson State run gave the Bluehawks a 55-53 advantage with three minutes to go.

"I thought when it came down to the end of the game, we made shots when we needed to make them," said Blascziek.

Consecutive three pointers by Mackenzie Hughes and Zrust allowed the Comets to retake the lead, and four Zrust free throws sealed the win at 62-56.

The Comets won the turnover battle 20-8 and connected on 20 of 23 free throws, which keyed their victory. Zrust poured in 27 points, and also grabbed seven rebounds and recorded three steals.

Hughes finished in double figures with 10, and Erin Walcker added three steals. The win gives the Comets a 5-1 record on the season.

Mayville State battles #16 Dakota State on Saturday at 3:00pm.

"It's always fun to play good competition early in the year and it's another opportunity to play another ranked team," Blascziek commented on the ranked Dakota State.

Full coverage and schedule details visit: https://msucomets.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule