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Senior guard Mikayla Larson tied a career-high 18 points Saturday for the Bemidji State University women’s basketball program in a 66-61 loss at University of Minnesota Duluth at Romano Gymnasium. Larson shot 6-for-7 from the field en route to tying her career scoring mark for the Beavers (4-9, 3-6 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference).

An early steal by Larson in the opening quarter set up a 3-pointer by senior forward Sam Adamich on the first field goal attempt of the night. Adamich’s shot went in to put BSU up 40 seconds into the game, 3-0. The Bulldogs caught the hot hand right after, going on an 11-0 run. The run continued despite a jumper made by junior forward Emma Rappe as UMD ended the first quarter with a 17-5 lead.

Larson scored the first five BSU points of the second quarter which was the spark of an 18-point period for the Beavers. After trailing by as many as 14 points, Bemidji State went on a 13-2 run through the majority of the second quarter to pull Minnesota Duluth’s lead to one, 22-21. UMD scored five of the quarter’s final seven points to hold a 27-23 lead at halftime.

Larson again scored the first five points in the third quarter to give BSU its first lead of the game since the initial 3-pointer by Adamich. The remainder of the third quarter was spent with both teams within one possession of each other while UMD held a 44-42 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Following the opening basket by BSU in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 44-44, UMD followed on a 15-4 run while holding BSU cold from the field. The Bulldogs built their final lead to 11 points at that time, 59-48, which was enough to hold off the Beavers’ final push.

Following Larson’s team-high 18 points, freshman guard Brooklyn Bachmann scored 15 points and added four rebounds and two assists. Adamich was the only other BSU starter to score, putting up six points on two 3-pointers. Senior center Sierra Senske added eight points off the bench and led the team with 10 rebounds.

Bemidji State shot 35.2 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc, while going 84.2 percent from the free throw line. The Beavers held the Bulldogs to 35.8 percent shooting from the field but allowed them to go 42.1 percent from long range and 87.0 percent from the charity stripe.

Bemidji State continues a five-game road trip next weekend while heading south to face University of Sioux Falls Friday and Southwest Minnesota State University Saturday.