Bemidji State takes on Augustana, Wayne State in final NSIC South games

Bemidji State University faces off against the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division for the final time this regular season as Augustana University and Wayne State College enter BSU Gymnasium on Jan. 28-29. The Beavers and Vikings, Head Coach Chelsea DeVille’s alma mater, begin the weekend at 5:30 p.m. Friday before a 3:30 p.m. tip-off Saturday against the Wildcats.

The Series vs. Augustana

Augustana leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 18-3.
The Beavers and Vikings last met Feb. 26, 2020, a 75-56 win by AU in Sioux Falls to open the NSIC Tournament.
AU leads the series when played in Bemidji, 5-2.
Bemidji State and Augustana first met on Dec. 10, 1983, a 77-72 win in overtime by BSU.

The Series vs. Wayne State

Wayne State leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 34-14.
The Beavers and Wildcats last met Dec. 13, 2019, an 87-82 win by WSC in Bemidji.
WSC leads the series when played in Bemidji, 12-10.
Bemidji State and Wayne State first met Feb. 6, 1993, a 92-91 win by BSU.

BSU took a road split last weekend with a 66-59 loss at the University of Sioux Falls and a 70-67 win at Southwest Minnesota State University. The Beavers have alternated wins over their last two weekends and currently sit third in the NSIC North Division standings with four weekends to play before the postseason.

The Beavers took a 14-11 lead after the first quarter against the Cougars, sinking seven of its 14 points from the free throw line. After extending its lead to a game-high six points, BSU went just 1-of-10 from the field to finish the first half and face a 31-28 deficit. USF went on a run of 17-4 in the third quarter while BSU closed the gap with a 9-0 run to end the game.

Senior guard Trinity Yoder led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting with five rebounds, five steals and four assists. Sophomore center Rachael Heittola finished with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

In Saturday’s win, BSU shot over 46 percent to overcome a halftime deficit against SMSU. Trailing 26-21 at the break, the Beavers outscored the Mustangs in the third quarter, 24-10, and held a 45-36 lead heading into the final quarter. With just 13 seconds left to play, the Mustangs cut the Beavers’ lead to two points with possession. A missed SMSU layup and a free throw from senior guard Brooklyn Bachmann sealed the win.

Heittola led the Beavers with 21 points, her sixth 20-point game of the season, on 9-of-16 shooting from the field with 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. She now has four double-doubles this season and 10 in her career, becoming just the fifth Beaver since at least 1993 with at least 10 double-doubles.

Yoder led the Beavers with nine assists, moving into fifth-place all-time at BSU, and added nine points to bring herself within 21 points of 1,000 in her career. She would become the 22nd Beaver in program history to reach 1,000, joining Bachmann who hit the mark Nov. 16 versus Valley City State. Yoder also leads the NSIC with 5.6 assists per game.

Senior guard Sydney Zerr started her 103rd career game Saturday, surpassing Bachmann with 102, and will set the BSU all-time record with two more starts, according to available stats. She would overtake Amy Lawson (2003-08) who holds the record with 104 starts.