Friday

The Bemidji State University women’s basketball fell to Winona State University Friday 78-41 in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game that brought the Beavers’ overall record to 7-8 and 3-8 in NSIC play. Junior Morgan Lee (G, Hayward, Wis.) posted 11 points.

BSU shot just 26.9 percent from the field, while Winona State posted a 50.9 percentage. WSU went 12-for-22 (54.5%) from beyond the arc. Senior Emily Kaus (C, Eagan, Minn.) led the team with five rebounds, a category the Beavers struggled in, losing the battle for the boards 47-22.

The first half didn’t start out very well for the Beavers who quickly trailed the Warriors 3-0 in the first two minutes. A layup by WSU was answered by one from Kate Warmack (Jr., C, East Grand Forks, Minn.) with 18 minutes left in the first half bringing the score to 5-2. A 3-pointer by Lee broke the Beavers’ 3:35 scoreless streak and put the road team down 12-5. With 11:31 left on the clock a foul on Winona State gave Lanae Rash (Jr., G, Milwaukee, Wis.) two free throws BSU needed to bring the deficit down to single digits, 18-9. Unfortunately this would be the closest the Beavers would get to the Warriors during the first half. Two 3-pointers by Lee wrapped up the first half and the teams went into the locker rooms with a score of 41-20.

Two free throws by Jessie Althoff (Jr., F, Becker, Minn.) started the second half off right for BSU who trailed the Warriors 43-22. With 15:32 left in the game Lee stepped up to the free-throw line and scored two baskets for her team, as the Beavers trailed 48-24. Sophomore guard Allison McKee (New Brighton, Minn.) made her third 3-pointer of her collegiate career with 8:17 left in the game bringing the score to 65-33. A layup by Ellie Wessling (Jr., G/F, Winsted, Minn.) with 3:27 left on clock would be the last BSU ball to see the bottom of the net. Another layup from WSU ended the game 78-41.

Saturday, the Beavers travel to Fayette, Iowa to play Upper Iowa University at 6 p.m.

Saturday

The Bemidji State University women’s basketball team suffered a 79-67 set back at Upper Iowa University Saturday in Fayette, Iowa. The Beavers fall to 7-9 overall and 3-9 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.

Junior Jessie Althoff (F, Becker, Minn.) posted a season-high 17 points to lead the Beavers in scoring. She went 7-for-14 (50%) from the field and added five rebounds. Kate Warmack (Jr., C, East Grand Forks, Minn.) posted 13 points and nine rebounds, while junior Lanae Rash (G, Milwaukee, Wis.) had 10 points, four rebounds and four steals.

Bemidji State shot 37.3 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc, while UIU posted a 46.2 percentage from the field. The Peacocks made 15 more free throws than the Beavers and went 25-for-31 (80.6%).

After a jumper from UIU, Warmack put the Beavers on the scoreboard with a basket that tied the game 2-2. With 10:46 left in the first half BSU was down by four points until a three point jumper from Althoff put them within a point from Upper Iowa, 13-12. Freshman guard Emily Reichert (Rogers, Minn.) quickly put the Beavers in lead with a jumper of her own. To widen the gap Rash made a bucket that brought the score to 16-13.

With 7:52 left until halftime, Morgan Lee (Jr., G, Hayward, Wis.) answered a 3-pointer from UIU with her first basket of the game. Another Peacock 3-pointer tied the game 18-18 until a free throw from senior guard Shannon Thompson (Rosemount, Minn.) put the Beavers a point ahead. After 3:20 without a bucket from Bemidji State and eight points from UIU, Althoff made a jumper that brought the score to 26-21 in favor of the home team. Another jumper from Althoff ended the first half with Upper Iowa owning a 32-27 lead.

The Peacocks opened the second half with five points in just over a minute and it wasn’t until 18:38 that the Beavers were able to make a jumper. A foul on UIU with 16:04 left in the game put Rash at the free-throw line where she scored two points for BSU, who were still trailing its opponents 41-34. With 14:43 left in the second half senior Emily Kaus (C., Eagan, Minn.) made a layup that put BSU two points closer to their opponent, unfortunately for the Beavers this would be the closest they would get to UIU for the rest of the game at 43-38.

With 1:32 left on the clock Lee made a jumper that put BSU 15 points behind, 77-62. Rash made the final bucket for the Beavers with 1:05 left in the game and the jumper was answered by free throw from UIU to end the game 79-64.

The Beavers are back in action on January 25-26 at home against Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University, respectively.