Henderson State had the quickness and size to bother Minnesota State, but the Mavericks’ depth prevailed Saturday.

“We finally saw somebody that wasn’t going to go away and stay down,” senior Alex Andrews said. “We had to keep our intensity up and play defense and not let them control the tempo.”

Andrews, playing undersized in the post as she will for most of the season, came up with 19 points, and more importantly, a career-high 15 rebounds to pace the Mavericks in an 85-59 victory over Henderson State at the Pepsi Tip-Off women’s basketball event at Bresnan Arena. It was Andrews’ eighth career double-double.

“She has an incredible vertical jump and quickness,” Minnesota State coach Pam Gohl said. “Rebounders naturally know where the ball’s going to bounce.”

Andrews had six points to help the Mavericks take a 15-4 lead after the first five minutes. Heather Johnson hit a 3-pointer and top-of-the-key jumper to push the gap to 24-10 at the 10-minute mark.

Henderson State put together a nine-point run to draw within 28-22, but Tiffany Moe’s 3-pointer temporarily stopped the momentum. After the Reddies scored consecutive baskets, Moe mad a steal, layup and free throw to rebuild the lead at 34-26 three minutes before halftime.

Freshman Lauren Barber’s 3-pointer, off a feed from Andrea Walsh, at the buzzer put Minnesota State up 42-30, surviving a half in which the Mavericks made only 3 of 15 from 3-point range and were outrebounded by three.

We had to sort through some things at halftime,” Gohl said. “We have so many veterans, they aren’t going to get rattled. We settled down and put together a good run (in the second half).”

Minnesota State maintained a comfortable lead through the first eight minutes of the second half, but Henderson State answered nearly ever basket. Finally, the Mavericks scored nine straight, highlighted by a putback basket from Andrews and a 3-pointer by Johnson on a broken play, that made it 63-44 with 10:31 to play.

The biggest lead came at 79-52 when Andrews made her first 3-pointer of the season.

Minnesota State outscored the Reddies 43-29 in the second half and ended up with a 43-40 rebounding advantage.

“We have to use our quickness,” Andrews said. “We’re not small, we’re strong.”

Johnson, who was named the Tip-Off’s most valuable player, ended up with 17 points and became the 15th player in program history to reach 1,000 points. Joanne Noreen and Tiffany Moe, who earned the Tip-Off hustle award, each scored 11 points.

The Mavericks (3-0) continue this season-opening homestand with a 6 p.m. game Tuesday against William Penn.

“The Tip-Off games are always important,” Andrews said. “It’s good atmosphere. It’s good to get the crowds, and we hope they come back.”