BEMIDJI, Minn. (BSU Gymnasium) - The Bemidji State University women’s basketball team kept the game close early but a 14-2 run in the first half by No. 6 Minnesota State University put the Beavers in a hole they couldn’t climb out of. The Mavericks went on to take a 81-64 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) victory over BSU.

The Mavericks took the lead on the opening tip with a three-pointer by Andrea Walsh and held it the remainder of the game. BSU went on to score six of the next eight points to tie the game at 6-6 off a lay up by Megan Bates (Fr., F, Brainerd, Minn.) but the Mavericks answered with their 14-2 run to push its lead to 20-8 before the 12-minute mark.

BSU got within seven (26-19) with 6:11 left in the half off a three-pointer by Samantha Baldwin (Fr., G, St. Thomas, N.D.), but the Mavericks would close out the half outscoring the Beavers 11-7 to push their lead back to 11 (37-26) as the halftime horn sounded.

Minnesota State came out of the intermission to extend its lead to 20 points, 46-26, just 2:12 into the half scoring the first nine points of the half.

Sydney Epema (Fr., G, Crookston, Minn.) helped the Beavers cut the lead to 14, twice, as she would net a three-pointer at 14:39 to cut the lead to 50-36 and then connected on her second triple of the night at the 12-minute mark bringing BSU to within 54-40, but that was as close as the Beavers would get on the night. The Mavericks offense continued to find the bottom of the net, adding to their lead until the final horn sounded to capture their league leading eleventh NSIC victory.

Taylor Davis (Fr., F, Crookston, Minn.) netted her career-best on 6-of-12 from the floor including 2-for-3 from three-point land in 29 minutes of play. Epema and Kiki Phillips (Fr., G, Spencer, Wis.) each added 10 points as Bates paced the Beavers on the glass with eight rebounds.

Nine different Maverick players earned a place in the score book with Liz Trauger leading the way with 19 points. Joanne Noreen added 17 while Alex Andrews chipped in 13 points to round out the double-digit scoring for MSU. Andrews also added a team-high six rebounds and a game-high five steals.

The Beavers outshot the Mavericks .431 (22-51) to .409 (27-66) but committed 11 more turnovers than MSU and were outrebounded 37-to-33 for the game.

The Mavericks improve their record to 18-1 overall and 11-1 in the NSIC and now own a commanding lead in the all-time series (20-10) with the win. MSU also extended its winning streak to three games over BSU with the win.

Bemidji State (2-17; 0-12 NSIC) will be back in action tomorrow when the Beavers welcome Southwest Minnestoa State (10-12; 2-10 NSIC) to the BSU Gymnasium for a 6 p.m. contest.

Notes: Taylor Davis scored a career-high 18 points...Megan Bates grabbed a game-high eight rebounds...BSU falls to 0-12 in conference play for the first time since the 2004-05 season and just the third time in the programs history...BSU’s losing streak is at 15 games, longest in the history of the BSU women’s basketball program.

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

--beavers--