Bellevue, Neb. - The Mayville State Comets Women's Basketball team looked to finish their non-conference game schedule on a high note Monday afternoon. The Comets took on the Midland University Warriors in what would be a back and forth battle. 

Midland, who was 0-5 outside of their home gym, made the Comets work for their win Monday afternoon. Despite trailing by as much as 13 in the first half, a big offensive 3^rd quarter and defensive 4^th quarter, aided the Comets to a 65-58 win over the Warriors.

1^st Quarter:

• Midland wins tip but turns it over quickly by stepping out of bounds & again with a travel
• Comets can't capitalize & the Warriors get on the board first with a layup a minute and a half in
• Hannah Stark sinks the first bucket for Mayville State at 8-minute mark, 4-2 Warriors
• Comets go on a 3-minute scoring drought until Misti Zempel is able to lay it in, Comets trail Warriors 8-16 with 2:30 left to go
• As time expires, Mackenzie Hughes drains a three pointer to cut their deficit to 8; 19-11 Warriors

2^nd Quarter:

• Warriors score first again to extend their lead to 10; 21-11 Midland
• Hughes takes it down the court and drives it in herself; Comets 13, Warriors 21, 7:45 left
• Jes Mertens gets back-to-back buckets after a steal and 3 offensive rebounds; 24-17 Midland with 6:30 left
• Warriors have their largest lead of the night with 13 at the 2 minute mark; 33-22
• Comets go on a 5-0 run in the last 1:30
• Hughes nails the final shot of the half, Comets trail the Warriors 27-35
• Midland led the entire first half

"At the half, we talked about attention to detail and shoring up the little things that we weren't doing well like finding their shooter early, not settling for just shooting jump shots, and limiting turnovers all of which we did much better in the second half," said head coach Ryan Carpenter.

3^rd Quarter:

• Comets score first after Hughes is sent to the line, she sinks one & cuts their deficit to 7
• Followed up by a pair of free throws drained by Mertens, making it a 5-point game at the 6:30 mark
• Comets go on a 12-2 run as Annika Reierson sprints down the court and lays in a left-handed lay up to make it 32-35
• Semester transfer, Taylor Hill, nails a 3 to give the Comets their first lead of the game 37-35 with 5 minutes left in the quarter
• Warriors score just 1 point in the first 7 minutes of the 3^rd quarter as the Comets outscore them 15-1
• Comets go 12-15 at the free throw line in the first 8 minutes of the second half
• Mayville State outscores the Warriors 19-7 and lead 46-42 at the end of the quarter; the Warriors were just 2-16 from the floor
• Mertens had 16 points and a whopping 13 rebounds with 5 steals through the first 3 quarters

4^th Quarter:

• Warriors score first a minute and a half in to make it a two-point game; 46-44 Comets
• Alex Page commits her 4^th foul of the game
• Zempel takes a big charge to turn the ball over to the Comets with seven and a half minutes to play
• Hughes takes her sixth trip to the free throw line, gives the Comets a 3-point lead 47-44
• Warriors take the lead at 5:45 but Comets immediately respond to go back up 49-48, but the Warriors nail a 3 right after taking the lead at 2
• Mertens goes to the line and ties it up 51-51 with 5 minutes remaining
• Comets defensive pressure causes a back court violation and the 30^th turnover of the game
• Mertens gets her 10^th steal of the game and lays it in, putting the Comets up 62-57 with 1:38 remaining – Mertens now has a triple double 24 points, 13 rebounds, 10 steals
• Page fouls out at 1:22 mark; Comets lead 62-57
• Hill knocks down a 3 pointer, just the Comets third of the game, putting the Comets up 65-57 with 45 seconds left
• Mayville State is able to hold off the Warriors and get their 10th win of the season beating Midland 66-58

Team Leaders:
- Jes Mertens - 24 pts, 14 rebounds (season & career high), 10 steals (season & career high), 4 assists and 2 blocks
- Mackenzie Hughes - 21pts, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

Overall:
- 21-69 from the field (30.4%)
- 3-29 from behind the arc (10.3%)
- 21-30 from at the line (70%)
- 34 Points in the Paint

 "We have a short turn around this week taking on two tough NSAA opponents Friday and Saturday, but it will be so good to finally be back at home and get to play while sleeping in our own beds for the first time in a long time," added Carpenter. "WE need to clean up turnovers and shot selection more than anything. When we do the stuff we are supposed to do we can be really good but when we stray away from the game plan and go away from what we are supposed to do we have a tendency to struggle. Heading into this weekend, we just need to have longer stretches of mental focus."
 
The Comets will finally be back in the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse this Friday and Saturday after playing on the road since November 26th. Mayville State will take on Dickinson State Friday at 5:30pm and No. 24 Jamestown on Saturday at 3:00pm.

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