BEMIDJI, Minn. -- The Bemidji State women's basketball team used an 18-4 run in the final nine minutes of the first half to vault the team out of a 20-point hole and earn a 79-76 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference win over Northern State University Friday evening at the BSU Gymnasium. The win was the first over the Wolves since Jan. 10, 1998--a streak spanning 17 games.

Five Beavers netted double-digit point totals as BSU scorched the nets for 50 points on 20-of-33 attempts (.606) in the second half to motor past the Wolves down the stretch.

Sophomore point guard Amy Lawson (Spencer, Iowa) turned in one of her finest performances in the Green and White pacing the team with 16 points while grabbing six rebounds and collecting seven assists.

With the Beavers up by two and NSU threatening, Lawson turned up her defense picking the pocket of NSU's Sara Jensen with five seconds on the clock and was fouled attempting a layup at the other end of the court. She made the first half of the two-shot foul to put BSU up three, guaranteeing the Beavers no worse than a tie in regulation. NSU missed a desperation three-point attempt as the final horn sounded giving BSU and first-year head coach Mike Curfman their biggest win of the season and the single-biggest upset of the entire 2005-06 NSIC campaign.

In addition to Lawson's, 16 points, BSU sophomore post players Karlee Simonson (Rockford, Minn.) and Stephanie Peterson (Bismarck, N.D.) added 12 points while Maggie Gernbacher (Jr., G, Bloomington, Minn.) and Katherine Bremmer (Jr., G., Granite Falls, Minn.) each dumped in 10.

The Beavers earned a tie with the Wolves on the glass as Simonson equaled NSU's Miranda Beopple pulling down a game-best nine boards. Peterson and Gernbacher each gathered seven.

NSU was led by Noelle Hall who netted 11-of-15 shots in the paint for a game-high 24 points.

The Wolves came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. The visitors took an early 9-2 lead hitting four of their first six shots. The team would jump out to a 20-point lead (31-11) by the midway point of the half using four three-point field goals to spark a 16-2 run.

Through the first 10 minutes of play, NSU hit 13 of its first 19 shots, including a 5-for-8 performance from beyond the arc, for nearly 70-percent from the field. But with nine minutes to go in the half, the NSU shooters dipped below the freezing point. The once hot offensive attack sputtered hitting just 2-of-12 shots (.167) in the final minutes of the first stanza. All the while the Beavers pilled up 18 of the next 22 points, capped by a pair of threes, to finish the half down 35-29 at the break.

Just 2:32 into the second half, BSU would knot the game at 37-37 as Colleen Boell (Fr., G, Burnsville, Minn.) recorded two points on a layup. With 16:11 to play, Simonson gave the Beavers their first lead of the night, 40-39, with her only triple of the game.

The lead would teeter between the teams until Lawson found Heidi Matzke (Fr., G, Red Lake Falls, Minn.) streaking down the court for two of BSU's 11 fastbreak points to give BSU a 55-54 lead. The Beavers never looked back constantly pushing the tempo and simply running the Wolves out of the gym.

NSU cut the BSU advantage to one point (71-70) with 4:24 to go, but the the Beavers quickly responded with a Simonson layup followed by a Gernbacher three.

Down by five with just over three minutes to go, NSU began to manage the clock by putting BSU on the line and attempting to net quick baskets. The strategy worked for NSU as the Wolves cut the deficit to 78-76 with 54 second to go.

The Beavers were just 1-of-6 from the line during the final minute of play, but none we bigger than Lawson's freebie with five second on the clock, and she hit it when it mattered earning the 79-76 win over the No. 4 team in the latest North Central Regional Rankings.

The Wolves hoisted a school-record 39 three-pointers in the game connecting on just 11 as they were out shot but the Beavers 46.3 (31-67) to 42.3 (30-71). The Beavers also out scored NSU in the paint on the night 36-28 while piling up an 11-0 advantage on the fastbreak.

The victory helps BSU to climb out of a tie with Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota-Crookston and into sole possession of fifth place in the NSIC standings. With three games remaining on the Beavers' 2005-06 regular-season slate, they trail fourth place Concordia-St. Paul by just two games.

BSU improves to 11-13 overall and 4-7 in NSIC play with the win while NSU drops to 19-5 on the season and 8-3 within the league.

The Beavers will be back in action tomorrow when they continue their current four-game homestand by hosting Minnesota State-Moorhead (14-10; 7-4 NSIC). The NSIC showdown is slated for a 6 p.m. start.