Box Score Mayville, N.D. - The No. 18 Comets Women's Basketball team opened their conference schedule as they hosted the Viterbo V-Hawks in the Lewy Lee tonight. Mayville State forced 26 turnovers and connected on 25 of 29 free throws to eke out a 58-51 victory. In the process, Coach Dennis Hutter earned his 300^th career win!

In the first quarter, the Comets edged out to multiple small leads, but the V-Hawks responded and tied the game back up. Mayville State only shot 20% from the field, but pressured Viterbo into 11 turnovers as the first quarter ended at 15 points apiece.

Neither team gained momentum in the 2^nd period, as there were six lead changes and five ties. Both teams shined defensively and held each other to 11 points which left the game tied at 26 heading into halftime.

The Comets attacked the rim in the third quarter. After a Viterbo triple, Mayville State rattled off nine consecutive points. Erin Walcker contributed five of those points and gave the Comets a 35-29 advantage.

The V-Hawks responded by scoring six straight to tie the game back up at 35. The Comets roared back with seven straight points, with Mackenzie Hughes scoring five of those. That last run gave the Comets a 42-37 advantage going into the fourth.

Mayville State boosted the lead to 50-39 with seven minutes remaining thanks to an 8-2 run to open the fourth quarter.

Viterbo battled back to get within three on multiple occasions, but the Comets clutch free throw shooting prevented the V-Hawks from getting any closer. The Comets start conference play with a 58-51 win.

"We obviously did not shoot the ball well at all from deep and that is a big part of our game. But I did think that we attacked them offensively and were very aggressive as we shot 29 free throws and they only shot 3," said head coach Dennis Hutter. "I also thought we defended relatively well for most of the game. Free throws and defense was what allowed us to pull that game out tonight."
Hughes led all scorers with 24 points, tying her season high. She was followed by Walcker with 13; Jordan Zrust added 11 points and nine rebounds, and Jes Mertens and Kayla Rocholl collected four steals each.

"Hopefully we will shoot the ball better tomorrow. We will need to defend with the same effort we defended tonight and rebound a bit better as well tomorrow," added Hutter.

The Comets record now stands at 12-2 and 1-0 in NSAA play. Mayville State is back in action tomorrow at the Lewy Lee against the Waldorf Warriors, tip off is 3:00pm.