BEMIDJI, Minn. (BSU Gymnasium) [box score] - The Bemidji State University women’s basketball team used a 30-11 run during the first 13:09 of the first half to power to a 83-64 win over Minnesota Duluth Sunday afternoon at the BSU Gymnasium. The win marks the 29th victory over the Bulldogs for the Beavers.

The Beavers turned up the defensive effort tonight forcing the Bulldogs into 22 turnovers. An efficient offensive attack finishing the night 29-of-65 (.446) converted the UMD miscues into 24 points swinging the game in BSU’s favor.

Four BSU players finished the game in double figures led by senior captain Amy Lawson (Spencer, Iowa) who netted 18 points on 7-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Stephanie Peterson (Sr., C, Bismarck, N.D.) added 15 points while Colleen McKay (Fr., F, Barnum, Minn.) and Karlee Simonson (Sr., F, Rockford, Minn.) each netted 12 points in the win. Lawson tied a season-high dishing out nine assists while Peterson led the Beavers on the glass with eight rebounds.

The trio of Kelsey Hewitt, Katy Freeman, and Kim Wagers led the Bulldogs. Hewitt led the charge as she netted 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. Freeman added 12 points while Wagers rounded out the double-figure scoring for the Bulldogs with 10. Jordanne Even led all players in the game on the glass with 12 rebounds while Venessa Ostergaard and Katy Freeman dished out four assists.

The teams started out the game trading baskets for the first 2:50 of the contest. With the score tied at 4-4 the Beavers went on a 26-to-7 run to push its lead to 30-11 over the next eleven minutes of the half. During that time the Beavers shot 9-of-10 (.900) from the field. Over the final 10:57 seconds the Beavers would go cold as they only managed just 12 points the remainder of the first half.

The Bulldogs went on their own run going on a 14-to-7 run reeling the Beavers in to as close as 12 points 37-25 with 2:05 remaining in the half. BSU pushed its lead back to 16 points as they went on a 5-to-1 run to close out the first half. Lawson netted 14 of her 18 points in the first frame to lead the Beavers to the 16-point halftime lead.

The second half the Beavers continued to dominate as they came out and pushed its lead up to 21 points in the first :44 seconds of the half as McKay netted a layup and Melissa Roberts (Jr., F, Staples, Minn.) knocked down a three. BSU continued to hold a double-figure lead the remainder of the contest and was able to push its lead to as large as 25 points on a layup by Peterson with 6:12 left in the game.

The Bulldogs never gave up as they outscored BSU 15-to-9 to close out the game and bring the deficit to below the 20 point mark. BSU was too much to handle for the Bulldogs as they snapped a season long three game losing streak with the 83-64 win.

The win brings Bemidji State to an even 5-5 on the year while UMD falls to 2-9. The Beavers move to 29-51 all-time versus the Bulldogs in the series and are currently on a two game win streak over Minnesota Duluth. The 19-point win is the largest for the Beavers over the Bulldogs since Feb. 11, 1987 when the Beavers upended the Bulldogs 88-69.

Peterson continues to inch closer to the 1,000 point mark in her career as she currently sits with 989 points in her career. She also moved into the fourth spot on BSU career rebounding list passing Peggy Hammel-Moran for the fourth spot with her eight rebound night. Peterson currently has 738 rebounds in her career.

With nine assists Lawson moved one slot higher on BSU’s all-time assists list as she now sits in the second spot with 497 passing Nichie Bendt for second.

Bemidji State (5-5; 2-2 NSIC) will be in action again on Thursday, Dec. 20, when the Beavers will travel to Grand Forks, N.D. to battle the No. 1 ranked team in the nation the North Dakota Fighting Sioux from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center at 6:00 p.m.

Bemidji State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).