CROOKSTON, Minn. – The Bemidji State University Women's Basketball team used a 51-point second half to defeat Minnesota Crookston 87-70 Thursday in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. The 87 points is a season-high for the Beavers.
Bemidji State (6-16, 3-15 NSIC) tallied 24 points in the third quarter and then 27 more in the fourth quarter to pull away from Minnesota Crookston (9-14, 6-11 NSIC).
Alyssa Hill collected a double-double with 28 points and 13 rebounds. Amme Sheforgen went for 17 points and seven rebounds, while dishing out four assists. Rachel Koenig added 10 points, with Tieryn Plasch collecting eight points and seven from Sage Ganyo.
Erin Barrette opened the scoring 17 seconds in with a layup. After the Golden Eagles moved out to the 7-3 lead, a layup by Isabel Majewski ignited a 16-0 run. Sam Pogatchnik and Koenig followed with layups, before Plasch hit back-to-back three-pointers and a pair of baskets from Sheforgen and Koenig ended the run leaving the Beavers with the 19-7 lead.
UMC held the slight 5-2 edge over the final minutes of the opening quarter with BSU holding the 21-12 lead.
Following a good start to the second quarter for the Beavers with Hill hitting a free throw and a three-pointer by Ashlynne Guenther, Minnesota Crookston outscored BSU 24-11 from that point on the rest of the half leaving the game tied at 36 at halftime.
Hill began the second half with a pair of layups to push the Beavers back in front. It ended up being a huge third quarter for Hill as she scored 17 of the Beavers' 24 points to give BSU the 60-54 lead entering the final quarter.
A Koenig jumper and three-pointer by Guenther near the midway point of the quarter stretched the lead to 13 at 75-62. BSU kept the pressure coming with Guenther hitting a jumper and a Ganyo triple helped close out the 27-16 final quarter for Bemidji State to finish the 87-70 victory.
Bemidji State went 36-76 (47.4) from the field, 8-21 (38.1) from three and 7-11 (63.6) at the foul line. Minnesota Crookston went 23-55 (41.8) from the field, 10-23 (43.5) from three and 14-18 (77.8) at the foul line.
Bemidji State dominated in points off turnovers (23-7), second chance points (18-3), bench points (34-14), and points in the paint (48-22).
With the win, BSU is now just a game and a half back of Minot State for the final NSIC Tournament spot. Bemidji State will be off until next Friday, Feb. 16 when they host Sioux Falls starting at 5:30 p.m. inside the BSU Gym.
For more information on the Bemidji State Women's basketball program, follow the Beavers on X (@BSUBeaversWBB), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) and follow them on Instagram (@BSUBeaversWBB).
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and women's hockey membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
