Box Score Dickinson, N.D. - Comets Women's Basketball, who recently moved up in the national rankings from 18 to 13, hit the road to Dickinson to battle the Blue Hawks on Saturday. Mayville State turned 19 Blue Hawk turnovers into 25 points which proved to the difference in a 71-54 win.

"We did not come out very strong in the first half of the first quarter. getting down 12-2. I think we dug down and really defended and rebounded well tonight. We had to grind it out offensively as we struggled to gain any rhythm offensively. This was a tough week for us with the midweek game and also both games being on the road." said head coach Dennis Hutter.

The Blue Hawks took the early initiative and jumped out to a 12-2 lead five minutes into the game. The Comets responded by attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line and converting all eight attempts.

That combined with some baskets starting to fall allowed Mayville State to storm back and outscore Dickinson 12-5 to lead 22-17 after one quarter.

The second quarter started with a Blue Hawk basket, then the Comets scored eight straight points to stretch the lead to 30-19 with just under seven minutes left in the period.

Dickinson chipped away at the lead but the Comets went into halftime ahead 38-30.

The teams played even to start the third quarter, as the Comets lead fluctuated between eight and twelve points. With four minutes remaining in the stanza, the Blue Hawks went on a 6-0 run to slash the deficit to 44-42.

Mayville State finished the quarter with a 7-2 run of their own to lead 51-44 with 10 minutes left.

The Comets continued to shut down any comebacks in the final quarter and never let the Blue Hawks get closer than six points. Mayville State's defense clamped down and finished the game with a 11-1 rally to win 71-54.

The two stats which stood out was the turnover battle mentioned above and the free throw difference, as the Comets attack generated 28 free throws to only four for the Blue Hawks as their shots came outside the paint.

Mackenzie Hughes led all scorers with 18 points and also added three steals. Jordan Zrust finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals, and Alex Page nailed three critical triples for nine points.

The Comets record now stands at 15-2 and 4-0 in the North Star. Mayville State is on the road next weekend, with a huge game against #11 Dakota State on Friday, tip off is at 5:30pm.