BEMIDJI, Minn. (BSU Gymnasium) [box score] - Bemidji State’s Amy Lawson (Sr., G, Spencer, Iowa) scored 18 points and dished out 11 assists to record her second consecutive double-double while Karlee Simonson (Sr., F, Rockford, Minn.) added 14 points and five rebounds to lead BSU to a 77-65 win over conference rival Northern State.

Lawson was 5-of-6 from the field, including 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and a perfect 1-of-1 from behind the arc. She also posted eight rebounds and four assists. Simonson went 5-of-7 from the field and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line while dishing out two assists and recording one blocked shot.

Colleen McKay (Fr., F, Barnum, Minn.) joined Lawson and Simonson in double-digit scoring as she netted her conference average of 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 1-of-3 from the three point line.

Northern State was led by the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) leading scorer Noelle Hall who had nearly half of the Wolves points as she posted 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, including 1-of-4 from the three point line and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Jaclyn Arns was the only other NSU player to post double-digit points as she had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Ryanne Brockhaus led the Wolves with eight assists.

BSU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but saw the Wolves go on a 13-to-5 run to open their lead to 13-7 with 15:43 remaining in the half. Bemidji State put a 7-1 run together of its own to even the score for the third time of the game at 14-14. Lawson netted five of the Beavers seven points during the run. The Wolves pushed its lead back to four at 18-14 off jumpers by Jessica Peterson and Noelle Hall.

With 9:12 left of the first have the Beavers began to make their move as they went on a 12-4 run to close out the half and hold a 26-22 edge over visiting Northern State heading into the half. Bemidji State utilized its bench in the half as the Beavers bench out scored the Wolves 11-to-4 in the opening half to help push the Beavers to the four point halftime lead.

The second half was controlled by the Beavers as they built a 15-point lead on four second-half three pointers by four different players. With the score tied at 35-35 with 14:18 left in the half the Beavers started to pull away as they pushed its lead to 10 points over the next 7:08. McKay recorded seven of her 12 points during the 18-to-8 run by the Beavers.

Northern State tried to climb back into the game as the Wolves reeled the Beavers to within five points but the Beavers were able to hold onto the lead late with near perfect free-throw shooting. For the game the Beavers were 12-of-14 (.857) from the line including 9-of-10 in the second half. The Beavers netted 51 second half points, 21 of which came from their bench to help secure the 77-65 win over Northern State.

Lawson’s double-double marked the second of the season and the fifth of her career.

The win marked the third in a row for the Beavers and the fourth out of the last five games. BSU’s record no stands at 8-6 overall and 4-2 in the NSIC. Northern State dropped to 7-9 overall and 3-4 in the NSIC. The Beavers pick up just their eighth win over the Wolves moving the all-time record to 8-39 versus NSU along with stopping a three game losing skid to the Wolves.

The Beavers improve to 5-0 at the BSU Gymnasium this season with the win over Northern State. The 5-0 start for the Beavers is their best home start since 1994-95 when the Beavers opened up their home portion of the season 7-0.

BSU head coach Mike Curfman picked up his 100th win as a head coach with the win over Northern State.

Bemidji State will wrap up its three-game homestand on Saturday night against the University of Mary. The tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m. The Beavers will be looking for revenge as last season the Marauders upended the Beavers in both match-ups including a 90-83 loss at the BSU Gymnasium.

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