But Batt and the Mavericks didn’t want to just “play in the Elite Eight” during their impressive run this year.

They wanted it all, and that’s what they got.

This past Friday, the Minnesota State women cruised to an 89-74 win over Texas Woman’s University to win the NCAA Division II Championship for the second time in school history, matching what the Minnesota State women’s team was able to do back in 2009.

If that wasn’t already enough of an accomplishment for Minnesota State, the men’s team had more in mind Saturday.

Photos courtesy of Arianne Boma Joey Batt holds a piece of the net she cut down after Minnesota State won the NCAA DII Women’s Basketball National Championship on Friday night at the St. Joseph Civic Center in St. Joseph, Missouri.

With the Division II Men’s Basketball Championship on the line Saturday, the Mavericks’ Malik Willingham found his brother Kyreese Willingham open for a corner 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds to play, lifting the Mavericks to an 88-85 win over Nova Southeastern at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

That made Minnesota State just the second DII college in history to win both the men’s and women’s NCAA championships in the same season. Central Missouri State first did it in 1984.

“I couldn’t draw up a better way to end my basketball career,” Batt said. “Especially with Malik Willingham, I’m really close with him. We’ve been through it all together. We came in the same freshman year and we both stayed our fifth years. I feel like it’s amazing to see how special Minnesota State University is because we are so close with the guys’ team. We are each other’s biggest fans and hype people.

“So to see the success that we had throughout the entire year together, we both won the regular season conference, the Conference Tournament, the Regional and then the National Championship. So to see each other succeed and to be able to be a part of that for each other is an unbelievable feeling and an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness and gratitude.”

Batt didn’t have her hottest shooting nights in the semifinals against Cal State San Marcos or the championship game against Texas Woman’s, shooting 3 for 15 in the semifinals and 3 for 12 in the championship.

But much like her entire career, Batt was a defensive menace in those games and made up for her off nights of shooting in many other ways. She had four steals and the game-ending deflection in the semifinals and finished the National Championship game with seven steals.

“I think this year we have proven that anybody can have a hot game, anybody can step up big, especially in postseason and our games in the NCAA Tournament,” Batt said. “I feel like everybody on our team stepped up in their role and executed it perfectly and Natalie Bremer was huge.”

Bremer was involved in the biggest play of the season for the Mavericks during their semifinals game with Cal State San Marcos as her give-and-go feed to Emily Herzberg for a layup gave the Mavericks a 70-68 lead with less than a second to play. Batt then knocked the ball away on the next inbounds pass to seal the win for the Mavericks and send them to the title game.

Batt and the Mavericks then went on to the National Championship game, scoring 40 points off turnovers to run away with the win.

“Our resiliency was really shown in that game,” Batt said of the title game. “We kind of got out — it was kind of like that [Central] Regional Tournament where we played Southern Naz, Missouri Western and Fort Hays — we kind of got that good jump right away. I think our defense kind of frazzled them at first a little bit. They made a run at the end of the game, but I think it just shows our grit and our competitiveness and our chemistry. All three of those together are the reason that we ended up becoming National Champions.

“There was never a moment in that game that I felt nervous or tense or that we didn’t have this game won. I feel like we all just were kind of clicking. Defensively, offensively, everything was kind of flowing and it was a very physical game. I think all three of the games were pretty physical, so just being able to prove and show that we can play at that high level.”

Batt, New Ulm High School’s all-time leading scorer with 2,301 points, was never able to make her state tournament dreams come true during her standout high school career.

But an NCAA National Championship is far from a consolation prize.

In many ways, a win for Batt is a win for all of her past coaches, teammates and fans.

“I texted my AAU coach [Dan Wolfe] and my dad [Brian], obviously, my coach in high school, and just thanked them for the way that they pushed me,” Batt said. “I’ve always thanked those two the most out of anybody that’s been a part of my basketball career. Because they pushed me to limits that I never thought that I could reach. I truly do believe that it’s because of the way that they coached me and pushed me to push myself, push my limits, that’s why I ended up where I ended up.

“Obviously, looking back on high school, it was kind of crappy that we never made it to the state tournament, but I kind of feel like it was just setting up my motivation and dedication to this sport to get to the National Championship in my fifth year and my last year.”

Batt said she also stays in touch with other area coaches and supporters like Ryan Hulke and former Mavericks men’s basketball player Kory Kettner.

“I always text Ryan Hulke and Kory Kettner, too, and thank them a lot because they run the [AAU] programs, too, and they’ve always been so supportive of me and my career through high school and AAU and throughout college,” Batt said. “So the fact that they are reaching out to me still means a lot. … And not a lot of people have heard of Minnesota Rise for AAU, so [it’s] just kind of showing that there are some really good basketball players and talent within Southern Minnesota.

“We have a couple girls that have signed to play DII. Rhyan Holmgren from St. Peter is going to MSU next year. So it’s super exciting and it’s a great community, New Ulm, Minnesota Rise, all of them combined.”

Batt, who was named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Women’s Basketball All-America Third Team last Tuesday, ends her career as a three-time Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Defensive Player of the Year. Batt was also named a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association First Team All-American while making the NSIC All-Conference First Team this year.

The 5-5 guard was also named the NSIC’s Most Outstanding Senior this year, was the NSIC Tournament MVP and was the MVP of the Central Region Tournament.

Batt finishes her time with the Mavericks first all-time in steals (381) and second all-time in points (1,937).

Batt said her next plans include moving to the Suburbs in Minnesota this summer to look for a teaching job, but coaching basketball is in her mind also. However, she wants to get more experience before she seeks out any head-coaching opportunities.

“It’ll take some getting used to for coaching, so making sure that I get some experience in that sense, in that way of being like an assistant coach, more so,” she said. “But I am just so excited to get the opportunity to spread the experiences, the love, the passion and the joy that basketball brings.

“Not just playing it, but the memories and the friendships that you gain from it, and even just learning about yourself, too. I feel like sports and basketball have taught me so much about myself as a person that I’ll be able to carry throughout the rest of my life.”