Box Score Bellevue, Neb. - Mayville State University Comets Women's Basketball returned back to the court after a much needed 10 day break. They headed to the Bellevue Bruins Classic held in Bellevue, Nebraska taking on the the Doane University Tigers.

The Tigers took down No. 11 Dakota Wesleyan & No. 19 Arizona Christian earlier this year, boosting their record to 9-2 overall. 

In what would be a thrilling game coming down to the final seconds, Mayville State was able to hold off Doane and get the win 84-82 to improve to 9-4 on the season.

"Like I said before break, it [10 day break] couldn't have come at a better time. I thought we looked more fresh tonight than we have in awhile which I think allowed us to make just enough plays down the stretch to pull it out," said head coach Ryan Carpenter. "As a coach, you love being around your team and getting to see them every day brings joy to your life so getting to see them every day again is a huge energy boost for me personally."

1st Quarter

• Comets win the tip & Mackenzie Hughes gets a lay up for the first points of the game
• Tigers immediately respond followed by back to back Hannah Stark 3 pointers to put the Comets up 10-2
• Four minutes in, Hughes lays it in to make it a 10 point game, 12-2 Comets
• Doane goes on an 8-0 run to make it a 2 point game, 12-10 Mayville State with 4 minutes left in the first quarter
• Jes Mertens buries a deep extending their lead 15-10
• With 2 minutes remaining, the Tigers take their first lead of the game after a shot behind the arc; 16-15 Doane
• Stark lays it in for 2, Tigers immediately respond, Alex Page lays it in & Doane responds again at the buzzer making it 20-19 Tigers

2nd Quarter

• Ava Butler kicks it off with a 3 pointer to take the lead; 22-20 Comets
• Tigers immediately tie things up at 22 each
• At the 8 minute mark, Mertens sinks another 3
• Comets go on a 6-0 run to make it 28-22 with 6 minutes left in the half
• Another Mertens 3 gives the Comets their largest lead of the night with 10; 3 minutes left
• Doane goes on a 7-0 run to get within 3 with 1:45 left in the half; 36-33 Comets
• Hughes sinks a 3 pointer 

3rd Quarter

• Comets led 46-43 at 7 minute mark 
• Stark nails 3rd shot from behind the arc to put Comets up 49-43 (11pts Stark – Averages 9)
• Doane Tigers commit foul & technical foul – Comets go 2-4 from line 53-47 5:40 left
• Hughes – 3pts puts Comets up 56-47 (Hughes 12pts)
• Doane 3ptr good 56-50 Comets
• Mertens – 18pts 58-50 3:57
• Doane has only used 7 players in the game
• Butler sinks a three pointer to extend lead 63-53 – gets to season high with 9 points
• 64-57 Comets with 1 minute remaining, Mertens heads to the line after Tiger foul
• 30 seconds, Berkley Neubauer sinks first 3ptr of the game, 68-58 Comets
• Doane 3ptr & a steal cuts their deficit to 5, 68-63

4th Quarter 

• Tigers trail by 5 at the start of the quarter - Jes has 20 points, 7-12 from the field with 4 threes
• Doane sinks a 3 to make it a 2 point game in the opening possession of the 4th quarter - 68-66 Comets
• Tigers get a steal and another 2 to tie up and send Doane to line for the lead 69-68 - haven't led since end of the 1st quarter 
• After over 2 minutes of no scoring for the Comets, Hughes (14 pts) lays it in to make it 70-71 Tigers
• Comets commit their 19th turnover allowing Doane to go up 76-70 with 5:30 remaining
• Misti Zempel fouls out at 4 minute mark, Comets trail 72-76
• Page knocks in a 3 pointer with 2:20 remaining to make it a 3 point game 78-75 Doane
• Deep 3 from Hughes ties it up 78-78 1:30 remaining 
• Mertens scores 22nd points to tie it up at 80 at 1 minute mark
• Tigers go to the line after Mertens commits her 4th foul; they score both 82-80 Tigers
• Butler nails her 4th shot behind the arc to give the Comets the lead 83-82 with 30 seconds left
• Mertens blocks a shot to give the Comets the ball up by 1 
• Hughes misses both free throws giving the Tigers the ball 
• Jump ball with the arrow pointed at the Comets gives Mayville State the ball up by 1 with 7.4 seconds remaining 
• Page blocks a shot by the Tigers and gives the Comets a 82-84 win over the Doane Tigers

Team Leaders:
- Jes Mertens - 23 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 assists
- Mackenzie Hughes - 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
- Ava Butler - 12 points (4-5 behind the arc)
- Alex Page - 12 points, 6 blocks, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

Overall:
- 31-66 from the field (47%)
- 16-35 from behind the arc (45.7%)
- 6-16 at the line (37.5%)

"We got stops on the defensive end tonight. When we got down after leading for most of the game it's easy to panic both as a coach and a player but we didn't do that," commented Carpenter. "The players showed amazing composure and we were able to buckle down and force tough shots or get some turnovers with our defensive activity. On the offensive end, Ava Butler hit the biggest shot of her career to get us the lead. Would have been night to hit some free throws to ice it but we got the stop at the end anyways. We obviously need to get some more contributions off the bench as we relied heavily on our starting group in the first semester so to get some big time production out of Ava is a good sign for us going forward."

The Comets added some much needed depth at the break as Taylor Hill from Grandview (Iowa) joined the team. She got her first minutes as a Comet this afternoon, putting up 2 points in 11 minutes of play.

"Taylor didn't play in the fall semester as she was coming back from an injury, but adding her gives us another quality perimeter defender with some length and the ability to knock down outside shots," added Carpenter. "It's going to take some time for her to look comfortable but I though she did some good things tonight in her debut and we expect her to continue to be a contributor the rest of the year."

The Comets will take on their final non-conference opponent tomorrow as they tip off with Midland University at 12:30pm. For full schedule details visit: https://msucomets.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule