Sam Thiel/Winonan

Abby Busch led the way for the Warriors with 20 points, but the Winona State University women’s basketball team continued its slide, this time a 77-53 loss to No. 25 Minnesota State, Mankato Friday in Winona.

Busch posted her 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, netting her seventh 20-point effort of the season. The senior also contributed six rebounds and a couple of assists for the Warriors. Busch has now grabbed 505 rebounds during her Winona State career, becoming the 13th player in school history to pass that milestone.

Tara Roelofs hit a couple of 3-pointers to chip in eight points for Winona State, while Kali Hackmann, playing in her first game since late December against Upper Iowa, added seven points off the bench.

On the defensive end, the Warriors applied the pressure, stealing eight Maverick passes, with Connor Nagle and Emily Passint each recording a couple of steals. Winona State also swatted away five Maverick shots as well.

Minnesota State went into the locker room with a 15-point advantage at the half and saw its lead increase early in the second half. The Mavericks built their lead to 22 with 16:13 to go, but the Warriors wouldn’t give up, cutting the deficit to 14 points three times—the last one coming with 7:24 left in regulation.

“We got off to a slow start offensively and didn’t shoot the ball well from 3-point land. We controlled the tempo and took care of the ball well but just couldn’t make shots,” coach Scott Ballard said. “In the second half, Caitie Zepcyzk suffered a knee injury, and we started giving up offensive rebounds and some turnovers that led to some easy scores for them that we couldn’t match.”

Saturday, the Warriors team dropped its seventh consecutive game, this time a 65-57 loss to Concordia, St. Paul in Winona.

Three different Warriors recorded double figures in scoring, with Nagle’s 17 points leading the way.

Kate Hartman chipped in 16 points and 7 rebounds for Winona State, hitting a team-high of four 3-pointers. The Warriors knocked down a total of eight shots from beyond the arc, with Nagle and Busch each netting two. Busch was the third of the Warrior trio that posted double figures in scoring in the game, with 15.

Nagle ended her day just one rebound shy of her first career double-double, snatching a career-high nine boards. The sophomore also dished out four assists for WSU.

The Warriors took their biggest advantage of the day early in the second half, posting a 34-24 lead with 18:43 remaining.

Concordia, St. Paul responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to two at 36-34, with a little under 15 minutes to go.

They took their first advantage of the afternoon since halfway through the first half, 57-55, with just a little over two minutes left.

A layup from Busch tied the game at 57 with 1:56 to go, but the Golden Bears recorded the last eight points of the game to pull away with the victory.

“We played well against Concordia and led most of the game. We took care of the basketball and only had 11 turnovers and we boxed out much better giving up four offensive rebounds,” coach Scott Ballard said. “However, the last 3 minutes of the game we didn’t get enough stops defensively and only made one of our last five shots which allowed them to take the lead and hang on.”

Winona State only managed to get to the free throw line nine times, hitting seven, while Concordia, St. Paul went 18-of-24 from the line.

Winona State went into the locker room with a five-point lead, 29-24, thanks to six 3-pointers. Hartman hit three triples to lead the way for the Warriors with nine points at the half while Nagle and Busch each had eight apiece.

The Warriors (8-10 overall, 4-10 NSIC) will start a four game road trip next weekend, starting with games at Northern State and Minnesota State, Moorhead.

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