Bemidji State continues homestand against Vikings and Wildcats this week
Beavers are 3-6 at home this season
The Bemidji State University Women’s Basketball team continues the homestand this week hosting Augustana on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and then against Wayne State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. inside the BSU Gym in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
Bemidji State (3-11, 0-10 NSIC) is coming off a heartbreaking 44-43 loss to Sioux Falls last time out in which a pair of late free throws denied a late rally by the Beavers. BSU also faced Minnesota State last week at home with the Mavericks claiming the 79-51 victory.
The Beavers average 57.5 points and allow 64.6 points. BSU makes 298-794 (37.5) from the field, 68-275 (24.7) from three and 141-211 (66.8) from the foul line. Opponents are making 336-829 (40.5) from the field, 49-224 (21.9) from three and 181-260 (69.6) at the foul line.
Alyssa Hill leads the team in points per game (13.3) and rebounds (4.9), while shooting over 51 percent (77-150) from the field. She is shooting nearly 84 percent from the foul line going 26-31. Sam Pogatchnik is averaging 9.9 points per game and 4.8 rebounds, along with 31 assists and 13 steals. Amme Sheforgen is at 6.4 points and leads the team with 5.2 rebounds per contest. She has 30 assists, 21 steals and 11 blocks. Sydney White is at 5.6 points per game and Alayna Suprenand adds five points per game. Suprenand leads the team with 16 three-pointers.
Head coach Chelsea Stoltenberg is just three wins from moving to fourth on the program wins list, currently at 68. Hill is closing in on 500 career points, currently at 441.
Bemidji State continues to lead the NSIC and rank fifth nationally in three-point field goal percentage on defense (21.9). BSU is fourth in the NSIC in turnovers forced per game (15.21) and fifth in bench points per game (19.6).
Individually, Suprenand ranks 16th in the NSIC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.43). Sheforgen is 17th in the conference in both blocks (11) and blocks per game (0.79). Ella Giorgi is 16th in the conference in blocks per game (0.82). Hill ranks third in the NSIC in field goal percentage (51.3) and 10th in both field goals (77) and points per game (13.3).
First up the Beavers will face Augustana. The Vikings are 4-11 overall and 3-8 in NSIC play, going 1-6 away from home. They lost last time out at Northern State by a score of 63-49. The only road win of the season was the game before that when Auggie shocked UMary in Bismarck by a score of 68-62.
Augustana averages 61.5 points and allows 66 points per game. Auggie makes 344-938 (36.7) from the field, 93-312 (29.8) from three and 141-199 (70.9) at the foul line. Opponents are making 355-891 (39.8) from the field, 63-203 (31) from three and 217-283 (76.7) at the foul line.
Michaela Jewett leads the way averaging 15.9 points and 7.1 rebounds. She has a team-high 37 three-pointers. Lauren Sees averages 13.7 points and leads the team with 38 assists. Jennifer Aadland is at 10.9 points and leads the team with 7.8 rebounds. She leads the team with 24 blocks.
Augustana is 15-2 in the series against Bemidji State since 2006 and have won the last three meetings. BSU is 2-5 against the Vikings in Bemidji having split the last two meetings. Last year, Augustana claimed the 82-38 win in Sioux Falls. The last win in the series for the Beavers was during the 2019 season winning in Bemidji by a score of 74-57.
To close the week and the homestand, Bemidji State will host Wayne State on Saturday. The Wildcats are 4-10 overall and 1-10 in NSIC play and are currently on a five-game losing streak. They’ve gone 0-5 on the road this season. This past week, Wayne State lost to Northern State (62-53) and UMary (73-40). Their last win was on Dec. 13 defeating Augustana (60-51).
Wayne State is averaging 61.4 points and allowing 64.9 points. The Wildcats make 319-815 (39.1) from the field, 65-235 (27.7) from three and 156-217 (71.9) at the foul line. Opponents are making 325-772 (42.1) from the field, 76-239 (31.8) from three and 182-251 (72.5) at the foul line.
Britney Ho leads the team averaging 10.7 points and 3.9 rebounds. Jordon Heckert adds 8.9 points, with Maya Fitzpatrick at 8.2 points and 41 assists.
Wayne State leads the series 37-14 against Bemidji State since 1993 and won the last meeting. BSU is 10-14 at home during that time. Last year in Wayne, the Wildcats claimed the home victory by a score of 71-55. The last meeting in Bemidji in Jan. 2022 went to the Beavers by a score of 60-51.
A look around the NSIC standings has Minnesota State in first at 9-1, followed by Southwest Minnesota State in second at 9-2. Northern State is third at 8-2 and both Concordia-St. Paul and UMary are tied for fourth at 7-3. Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota Crookston and MSU Moorhead are all tied for sixth at 6-4.