Beavers aim to continue hot streak Jan. 14-15 at Mavericks, Golden Bears

Bemidji State University begins a four-game road trip against the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division, beginning Jan. 14 at Minnesota State University, Mankato and Jan. 15 at Concordia University-St. Paul. The Beavers and Mavericks open the weekend at 6:00 p.m. in Mankato, Minn. (note time change), followed by a 5:30 p.m. tip-off against the Golden Bears in St. Paul, Minn.

Minnesota State leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 35-15. The Beavers and Mavericks last met Jan. 3, 2021, an 82-76 win in overtime by BSU in Bemidji.

BSU and MSU split the 2019-20 season series during the season-opening weekend.
MSU leads the series when played in Mankato, 16-4.

Bemidji State and Minnesota State first met in 1976, a 48-41 win by BSU.
The Series vs. Concordia-St. Paul

Concordia-St. Paul leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 32-14.

The Beavers and Golden Bears last met Feb. 26, 2021, a 71-70 win by BSU in Sioux Falls, S.D., during the first round of the 2021 NSIC Tournament.

After winning just one game in the series between Feb. 3, 2007 and Feb. 8, 2019, BSU has won two of the last three meetings against CSP.

The Golden Bears lead the series when played in St. Paul, 14-5.

Bemidji State and Concordia-St. Paul first met in 1978, a 77-64 win by BSU.

BSU played just one game last weekend as COVID protocols within the Upper Iowa University program led to a cancellation of Saturday’s game. Bemidji State took down Winona State University, 75-60, on Friday, Jan. 7 at BSU Gymnasium. The 15-point win was the largest for the Beavers over the Warriors since a 17-point victory in 2006.

Both teams traded leads five times during the first quarter before a 14-14 tie to head into the second. After scoring BSU’s first two baskets of the game, senior guard Trinity Yoder added an and-one for the team’s first score of the second quarter. The Beavers would not trail the rest of the way and outscored the Warriors, 12-3, over the final 5:15 of the first half. Bemidji State’s lead was extended to double figures after a 7-2 run to start the third quarter. Just over one minute later, BSU took advantage of a WSU turnover for a 3-pointer from Zerr to spark an 18-6 run. The run pushed BSU’s lead to a game-high 22 points, 59-37.

The Beavers shot 43 percent from the floor (25-58), 32 percent from beyond the arc (8-25) and 65 percent from the free throw line (17-26) and limited the Warriors to 37 percent shooting overall (21-57) and 20 percent from 3-point range (3-15). Although the Warriors had just three more turnovers than the Beavers, BSU turned WSU’s turnovers into 17 points compared to allowing just three points off turnovers.

Yoder scored nine of her team-high 22 points in the second quarter to help BSU pull away after the first-quarter tie. She finished the game shooting 8-of-13 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line and added a team-high six assists. Yoder has now led BSU in assists in 10 games this season and 50 times during her career.

Sophomore center Rachael Heittola came two rebounds shy of a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds while senior guard Sydney Zerr added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Freshman forward Jana Swanson came off the bench to tally six rebounds for the Beavers.

Guards Sydney Zerr and Maddie Schires each rank among the top 25 nationally in 3-point field goal percentage.