MSU Athletics - Women's Basketball

Minot State women's basketball team ended their National Tournament run by dropping an ultimate heartbreaker to the #1 seed from Morningside, Iowa. The Lady Beavers ended their "Cinderella" tournament run with an awesome performance that came up one-tenth of one second short of upsetting the top seed. The Beavers finish end their season with an overall record of 21-11. This is the first time in MSU history that the Beavers have had back to back 20 win seasons.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — There was enough drama in the final 1.8 seconds to last a week — probably the remainder of the offseason for Minot State University.

The Beavers' Brittni Walker hit an apparent game-winning shot at the buzzer only to have it waved off by court-side instant replay ending a wild final few moments of play. The replay saved an 87-86 win for Morningside College in a quarterfinal game at the 2008 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament Saturday at the Tyson Events Center.

“For a minute of my life, I thought we were going to move on,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. “We had a very good shot at the end. It was such an incredible high at the end only to have it taken away.”

The Beavers (21-11) in bounded the ball under their own basket to Lashay Bagsby, who had her initial shot blocked. Walker grabbed the rebound, scored and the signal was the basket was good. After nearly five minutes of deliberation, the basket was waved off.

“We thought originally that it wasn't good. Thanks to whoever invented the video camera,” Morningside head coach Jamie Sale said. “I guess if the replay said we weren't right, we would have to live with it.

“Give Minot State credit, they didn't get down and fought back. I feel bad for them, they probably deserved this game as well.”

The Mustangs (33-3) built a 16-point second-half lead behind solid 3-point shooting. Morningside hit 13 of 29 3-pointers for the game and used the 3 as the main weapon to fend off the Beavers in the second half.

“We knew they were good shooters,” Green Gerding said. “We probably didn't give our kids enough credit and didn't think that we could guard the drive. We should have come out of the zone a little earlier in the first half.”

But the Beavers did not go away, cutting into the lead throughout the final nine minutes. Morningside took a 73-64 lead on a falling, spinning shot by J.J. Hall with 9:55 to play. MSU then went on an 18-9 run tying the game on a 3-pointer by Whitney Loftesnes from the left wing.

“I thought we were in a pretty good position after Whitney's shot. I thought we had the momentum,” Green Gerding said. “I was confident that the kids would make plays.”

The Beavers took an 84-82 lead on a bucket by Kendra Meyer with 1:07 to play, but MC's Dani Gass gave the Mustangs an 85-84 lead with a three-point play with 50.2 seconds to play. Meyer again gave MSU the lead with a basket after a steal with 31.7 seconds, only to be trumped by Gass again with a pair of free throws with 15.6 seconds, setting up the final flurry.

“We choked a little bit in the second half, but Dani Gass made plays down the stretch,” Sale said. “That's what we expect her to do.”

Meyer, the Beavers all-time leading scorer, ended her stellar career with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, saving her best for late in the game.

“Kendra struggled shooting early, but had some huge baskets for us late,” Green Gerding said.

The Beavers put the final play in the hands of Bagsby due to the junior's stellar play throughout. Bagsby had a game-high 30 points and eight rebounds, scoring 17 in the second half.

“We kind of knew that they would try to get it to their post players because we didn't handle them very well,” Hall said of the final play. “They hurt us inside all game.”

Gass, Hall and Autumn Bartel did the most damage to the Beavers as the trio combined for 57 points. Gass scored a team-high 22 points, while Hall added 18 and Bartel 17 for the Mustangs. Hall finished with four 3-pointers, while Bartel added three.

“We came out so strong and were clicking early,” Hall said. “But we started to play not to lose instead of to win. We have been in some close games like this. I am thankful for the film or we'd be crying right now.”

With Bagsby, Walker and MacKenzie Mack, the Beavers held a 46-30 advantage in the paint. Walker finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and Mack added five points and eight rebounds.

“Lashay had such a great game,” Green Gerding said. “All of our posts played well. That is why we designed the final shot for Lashay. She played so well.”

Morningside moves on to face rival Northwestern in Monday's semifinal.

While MSU's season came to an end Saturday, Green Gerding was happy with her team's tournament.

“What a great effort to battle back like we did,” she said. “Especially with having to play two overtimes (in Friday's second round game) and how we thought our season was over and everything. We had our chances to win at the end. I couldn't be more proud.”

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Minot State University had just enough gas in the tank to hold off William Jewel College. But it took a last defensive stand to do it. MSU forced the Cardinals' last desperation attempt after the final buzzer sounded and the Beavers survived to make the Elite 8 with a 94-93 double overtime win over WJC at the 2008 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament Friday at the Tyson Events Center.

“This team is playing with a lot of heart because the legs are on empty,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said.

The Beavers led by one with 6.4 seconds to go in the second overtime when, off a missed free throw, WJC made its final push. WJC's Hillary Adams' attempt on the final play was well after the final buzzer and did not go in. Adams was forced to circle around the top of the key due to a heads up defensive play by Sam Medcalf, who jumped out to force Adams to change course.

“Sam and I communicated real well and she jumped out,” said Beavers senior guard Kendra Meyer. “We were switching everything and just trying to stay in front of them.”

The Beavers (21-10) seemed to be in control in two different times, once in each overtime, on big 3s by freshman Whitney Loftesnes.

“I was a little nervous and I guess that showed at the line late,” Loftesnes said. “But I felt good shooting especially after Wednesday's game (in the first round), where I got some shots to fall and got a little confidence.”

Loftesnes looked pretty confident when she hit the second of two huge 3s in the left corner late in the double overtime. Loftesnes took a feed from Sam Medcalf and knocked down the shot to put MSU up by five at 92-87.

“Whitney hit some big shots for us,” Green Gerding said. “She was very confident in her shot.”

The game was sent to overtime on another big 3-pointer, by the Cardinals' Erica Ferguson. Ferguson gave William Jewell new life as she nailed a 3 from the top of the key with an off balance shot, tying the game at 75. MSU's MacKenzie Mack's 3-pointer at the end of regulation was short.

“I have never been in a double overtime game before. It was pretty intense,” MSU junior Brittni Walker said. “But I was more nervous in regulation than in the overtimes. I guess we just went out and played at that point.”

Walker elevated her play in the overtimes, scoring on a three-point play on an offensive rebound to give MSU an 80-78 lead in the first overtime and a 3-pointer of her own to give MSU a 89-86 lead in the second extra session. “I really don't know. I wasn't even sure where I was exactly,” she said on the 3-pointer. “I was just playing. I wasn't thinking about too much at that point.”

She played the entire overtime minutes and the final 7:45 of the game after picking up a technical for an elbow and her fourth foul. “I don't usually stay in many games after getting my fourth foul,” Walker said with a laugh. “I just tried to keep some distance but not play too soft. I wasn't very happy (after the technical), but I tried to work hard.”

The game didn't look like it was going to have a dramatic ending after nine minutes of play in the first half. MSU raced out to a 38-14 lead on solid shooting. The Beavers hit 63 percent of their shots in the first half, even after cooling off from its hot start.

“We had great intensity in the early part of the game,” Loftesnes said.

“We had kids hitting shots and it seemed like we had a different kid step up at different times,” Green Gerding said.

WJC didn't go away, chipping the lead down to seven on a short jumper by Adams with 4:04 to play. The Beavers were held scoreless for nearly six minutes after scoring 38 in the first 11.

“It was almost like we came out too strong,” Meyer said. “We got the big lead and were hitting shots, but you knew they would start hitting some of their's and it would eventually even out.”

Mack gave the Beavers a boost right before half, hitting a 3-pointer with 9.6 seconds remaining. Mack had a great first half, scoring all of her 16 points in the first stanza.

“MacKenzie gave us great minutes,” Green Gerding said. “She shot the ball really well in the first.”

The Cardinals (23-10) kept chipping away, however. After MSU made a second run to start the second half, pushing the lead to 59-42 on another three-point play by Walker, WJC worked its way back into the game. They pulled to within eight after Faith Pontius hit two free throws on the technical, to three on a 3-pointer by Jessica Stewart with 5:45, one on a drive by Ferguson with 4:12 to play.

“We were surprised about how well they shot the ball. We knew that they like to drive, but they really hit their shots,” Green Gerding said. “That made it tough to defend. Do we come out and have them drive by or give up a 3?”

The Cardinals were led in scoring by Adams, who finished with 20 points in 44-plus minutes. Ferguson scored 19 points, Pontius 14 and Amber Parker 13. Stewart added eight points and six assists to the WJC cause.

Walker finished with game-highs in points with 22 and rebounds with 15, including six offensive. Meyer added 19 points, six assists and six rebounds, while Loftesnes and Lashay Bagsby scored 14 and 12 respectively.

“Give Lashay credit, she had a good overtime after struggling at times in regulation,” Green Gerding said. “She rebounded from a tough start and was very good on both ends late.”

The Beavers advance to the Elite 8 for the second time in four years — both times as a No. 7 seed — and will take on Morningside today at 6 p.m. The winner advances to Monday's final four.

For Minot State and William Jewell, just getting here was somewhat of a surprise.

Then, you toss in the fact that both made it matter with eye-opening first-round wins on Wednesday. To say the least, the women's basketball teams from Minot State and William Jewell had plenty of reason to just cut loose and have fun in their second-round clash at the NAIA Division II tournament. They did just that, too, as Minot State, after blowing a 24-point lead, held on to reach the quarterfinals in a heart-stopping 94-93 double-overtime marathon.

Brittni Walker, a 6-foot junior who scored a game-high 22 points and 15 rebounds, hit a tie-breaking three-pointer with 2:32 to play in the second overtime and Minot State, 21-10, led the rest of the way. Kendra Meyer, the Beavers' only senior starter, added 19 points and six assists for the winners. Coach Sheila Green Gerding's team had five double-figure scorers, including 16 from 5-11 sophomore MacKenzie Mack off the bench.

Hillary Adams and Erica Ferguson, a pair of sophomores, had 20 and 19 points, respectively, for William Jewell, which had knocked off defending champion Indiana Wesleyan in the first round, 49-38.

Minot State, coming off a 94-82 win over Shawnee State (Ohio), a No. 2 seed, looked even better while roaring in front 38-14 Friday, hitting 16 of its first 20 shots, including five three-pointers.

"I didn't think we were safe,'' said Gerding. "They (William Jewell) play so hard and they get you to play that crazy up-tempo.''

Sure enough, back came the Cardinals, Liberty, Mo., countering with a 19-2 run that slashed the big deficit down to 40-33 with four minutes left in the half. Minot State got it back to 49-38 by the break, but Jewell finally burned up the rest of the deficit in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Ferguson got the Cardinals into overtime on a game-tying three-pointer with 13 seconds left in the second half. That 75-75 deadlock became an 82-82 stalemate at the end of five extra minutes. Minot State's Lashay Bagsby had the last points of the first overtime with 52 seconds left.

Bagsby also hit two free throws with 13 seconds remaining in the second overtime, giving the Beavers a 94-90 cushion.

Jewell nearly overcame that, though. First, Adams sank three free throws with 6.4 seconds to play. Then, the Cardinals got a foul before the inbounds pass, freezing the time, and they also got the ball back when Whitney Loftesnes, who scored 14 for the winners, missed the front end of a one-and-one. Jewell's Faith Pontius forwarded the rebound to Jessica Stewart, who dribbled to within 15 feet of the basket, only to find no room to launch a shot before the final horn sounded.

It was another big step for the last team to claim a spot in the 32-team field, which adds nine at-large picks to the 23 teams that win automatic berths through either regular season or conference tournament play.

The nine at-large tickets go to the non-automatics on the basis of their finish in the season's final poll. And, Minot State, first on the list of "others receiving votes,'' got the final spot after the others went to teams ranked Nos. 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19 and 22. So, No. 19 William Jewell, which lost its last three regular season games, was definitely on the bubble, too.

"Obviously, to come out on the short end is just a heartbreaker,'' said William Jewell Coach Jill (Rector) Cress, a former Northwestern College athlete. "But we're glad we got the chance to get here and I couldn't be more proud of my girls, the way they fought back.''

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Whew.

There was an eruption of joy from the Minot State University women's basketball bench after this one. The Beavers held on to defeat William Jewell College with a dramatic 94-93 double overtime win to advance to the Elite 8 of the NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament.
A little more than a week ago, the Beavers were done — out of the tournament, at least figuratively. Now, they are apart of the elite of the NAIA for the 2007-08 season.

What a run so far.

There is plenty of work to be done, of course. The Beavers aren't going to role over and die, but they will hopefully take one small, deep breath before the national quarterfinal today and remember that they were the sixth-best team in the eyes of the Dakota Athletic Conference, the ninth an final at-large bid by the NAIA and the seventh selection in their bracket (out of eight).
Coach Sheila Green Gerding said the team relished that underdog role the entire season.

“Some of the players were really motivated by that,” she said of the sixth pick in the conference. “Kendra (Meyer), Lashay (Bagsby), Sam (Medcalf) really took that to heart.”

Heart was a word used a lot Friday night and with good reason. The Beavers could have folded after WJC all but whittled down their lead and forced the overtime, but they kept counter punching all night. While the media mumbles about being impartial, I can't help it but smile a little with this run. I have had the good fortune of getting to know this group a little more over the past week and I have nothing but good things to say. This has been a memorable trip for a lot of reasons, but one big one is the way the women's team has treated me.

I have teased the assistant coaches a bit over the past couple of columns, but Green Gerding and I talked a little Friday about the assistants and she made sure to stress the job they are doing.
There are a lot of little things that happen and this group has been great about getting the team prepared and knowing what to do in those situations,” she said. “Things like having our best rebounders in the lane on free throws and having our best defensive players on the court for that last defensive stand. Those little things most people don't notice.”

I am sure the team has taken a little bit from each of them. Coach Bill Triplett is the situation guy. We talked about substituting Lashay Bagsby and Brittni Walker late in Friday's win as important to keeping Walker in the game despite picking up her fourth foul with more than seven minutes remaining in regulation. Coach Gary Walhaug is the teacher. You can see him discussing the little things with each coach like footwork and positioning. Coach Mandy Schelling is the fire. After Whitney Loftesnes put the Beavers up 92-87 with 1:28 to go in the second overtime, Schelling smacked the floor with both hands during her celebration. Plus, after watching her play cards, I can only imagine what they learn about trash talking (sorry, Mandy, I couldn't resist).

There is certainly something special going on here in Iowa. Like Green Gerding said referring to something Meyer mentioned earlier in the week, this team had its season taken away once. They are not going to led anyone take it away again.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Unbelievable.

The events that surrounded the final 30 or so seconds of play were simply too crazy to fully describe. There is not a worse way for a game to end than to have a referee run over to a monitor, stare at it for five minutes while one team's heart has been ripped out and another wants to explode with joy so bad that hurts. Then for the tables to turn in a violent waving of the arms.

The call was probably the correct one in the end. I was on the baseline when the play happened and as far as I could tell, Minot State University's Brittni Walker potential game-winning shot at the Elite 8 of the NAIA women's basketball tournament was a bit too late. But come on, get it right on the court so both sides don't have to go through that.

It was a strange way to end what was a very good basketball game. If there were still doubters that MSU belonged in the final eight, they should be converted. If you still aren't swayed, then you're an idiot or you can't see through your home-team colored glasses. The Beavers battled one of the top teams in the country and basically lost the game by a fraction of a second.

A lot of the talk after the game had to do with the timing of the play, but I think that that is pretty cut and dry. Look at the replay and figure it out. What is debatable and what makes the replay so annoying, is they can't take a second look at the foul that occurred on Lashay Bagsby's attempt just prior to Walkers rebound putback.

I know, sour grapes. But it sure looked like she was fouled on the elbow. Of course the whistles were away at that point. Let the kids decide the game is old adage, but really, is not blowing the whistle letting the players decide the game any more than blowing it? If a foul is a foul then it should be a foul at any time during the game — in the first minute of a preseason game and the final seconds of a triple overtime game. A non call affects the game just as much. By the way, the whistles weren't away when the Beavers fouled Morningside's Dani Gass with 15.6 seconds to go. OK, enough belly arching.

The 2008 tournament will do down as one of the best, at least from the MSU standpoint. Two upset wins, a double overtime thriller, a potential game-winner against a No. 1 seed, who could ask for anything more? I was subtly reminded about a couple of things and they were both reinforced in Saturday's play. First, the MSU cheer squad did a fantastic job at the MSU men's game in Branson, Mo., Thursday, and equalled that Friday and Saturday at the women's tournament. The team brought a little something extra to the very vocal group of MSU supporters.

Which brings me to the second point. Those supporters constantly included players and fans from opposing DAC teams that were at the respective tournaments. The Jamestown College men's team looked pretty good in MSU green and red during the men's game. Each of the JC players sported the Beavers' home jerseys during MSU's first-round game. It was a great show of support for the conference. On Saturday, as the game wore on, more and more Black Hills State fans moved into the section the Minot fans occupied. Then, during the BHSU quarterfinal game that followed, the Beavers cheer team sat with the Yellow Jackets fans and cheered. Classy, all around DAC. A little brotherhood (or sisterhood) goes along ways.

By the way, thanks to my reminder. She knows who she is.
Well, it is back on the bus for the trip home. This has been a wild run through the heart of the midwest. Maybe we can make another trip like this in about 360 or so days.

The Minot State University Women placed three players on the All-Conference team for this year. Kendra Meyer, a 5'7" Senior from Prior Lake, MN, was voted to the First Team, Brittni Walker, a 6'0" Junior from McLaughlin, SD, to the Second Team and Lashay Bagsby, a 6'1" Junior from Bakersfield, CA to the Third Team. Kendra Meyer was voted the DAC's Most Valuable Player. Meyer averaged 19 points (second best average in the DAC), 4.11 assists per game, Walker averaged 13.4ppg, 8 rebounds (second best averaged in the DAC), and Bagsby averaed 12.3ppg, 6 rebounds.

MAYVILLE — The Minot State University women's basketball team locked up a first-round home game for the Dakota Athletic Conference by virtue of an 81-76 win over Mayville State here Friday.

The No. 22 ranked Beavers also stayed in the hunt for a DAC championship as they kept pace with Dakota State and Black Hills State, all who have 9-3 conference records. MSU travels to Dakota State today for another key conference matchup, with game time set for 4 p.m. in Madison, S.D.

The Beavers controlled much of the very physical game, keeping the Comets at bay in the second half. Many of the time is was senior Kendra Meyer who had the answer for the Beavers. Meyer hit for a game-high 26 points, knocking down her biggest in the second half.

“Kendra hit some huge shots in the second half for us,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. “She played like an All-American should.”

The physical nature of the game induced three technicals, one on Green Gerding and two on Mayville State head coach Dennis Hutter.

The Beavers did a solid job defending Mayville's Cassie Leraas. Leraas scored 17 point, but had to work for most of her baskets. Nikki Muenke had a good night scoring 20 for the Comets and pulled down 10 rebounds. The Comets were effective on the offensive glass, pulling down 24 asa team and outrebounding MSU 24-5 on the offensive end and 48-27 overall.

“We did a good job of defending all night. We held them to 35 percent shooting, but got killed on the offensive boards,” Green Gerding said. “We used a combo of Medcalf, Whitney (Loftesnes) and (Kayla) Rettig on her again and limited her looks at the basket. She only took eight shots.”

MSU (18-8 overall) had good overall balance as Brittni Walker (13 points) and Lashay Bagsby (10) joined Meyer in double figures. Whitney Loftesnes added nine points, Kayla Rettig and Medcalf added eight each and MacKenzie Mack scored seven for the Beavers. MSU hit 12 of 21 3-pointers as six different players nailed at least one 3.

“I thought we got really good contributions from everybody,” Green Gerding said. “Everybody who played did things to help us win. It was a big one for us. We have two to go.”

Minot State University has had recent trouble with the Saturday half of Dakota Athletic Conference double headers. MSU had lost two straight on the second day, and last week's was attributed mainly to energy. There was not problem with that this time around.

The Beavers used a swarming zone defense to hold Jamestown College to just seven first-half field goals as No. 22 MSU took a 72-56 win in DAC women's basketball at the MSU Dome on a night that the parents of the players and coaches were honored for all that they do.

"We started the game in zone for the first time in my 13 years," MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. "I don't know if I like that, but you have to play to your strengths. It makes you move around and play hard."

The Beavers used the solid defense and the post play of Lashay Bagsby, Brittni Walker and MacKenzie Mack to build a double-digit lead in the first half. Mack stepped back to nail a 3-pointer to cap a 10-2 run and give MSU a 16-6 lead with 13 minutes to play in the first.

"It was nice to see a couple of those go down," Green Gerding said. "The posts did a good job of getting to the open spots and he guards did a good job of getting them the ball. I think the post did a good job of being active and running the floor."

Walker scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in the first half, while Bagsby had eight of her 14 and Mack five of her 10

"I don't think that we necessarily tried to get the ball to the posts, we just made sure we found our spots," Bagsby said. "We were just trying to have fun, that's the key. Work hard and have fun."

MSU built an 18 point half-time lead and extended it to 41-20 on a Kendra Meyer 3-pointer, but the Jimmies battled back. JC scored the game's next 11 points to cut the lead to 10.

"We talked about finishing things off," Bagsby said about the team's conversation in a timeout during the run. "We got into a comfort zone. We were able to get it kicked back into another gear."

The Beavers quickly built the lead back as Meyer hit a pair of free throws, Walker drained a corner 3 and Mack hit a post move.

"It was good to finally get one to drop," Walker said of the 3. "It's been a couple of weeks. I don't normally shot from the corner, but we have one play that I am out there."

Walker and Bagsby hit the offensive glass hard as both finished with five. Bagsby's offensive rebound, putback pushed the lead to 17 and the Jimmied never cut it below 14.

"We had a little bit of a letdown right away out of the gate in the second half," Green Gerding said. "You can't have that in the ‘red' defense."

Amanda Rantapaa led the way for the Jimmies (4-7 DAC, 11-13 overall) with 13 points, while Ali Edwards and Giuli Varriano each scored 10. The Beavers held Varriano, the DAC's leading scorer, 10.5 points below her average.

"We really didn't do anything special with her," Green Gerding said of Varriano. "You can't do much different in the zone. We just played hard and got out on everybody."

Kendra Meyer joined the three posts in double figures with 13 for MSU (8-3, 17-8). Bagsby finished with a game-high 10 rebounds while Walker added nine. Sam Medcalf finished with a solid overall night, scoring five points, swiping five steals and dishing out five assists.

"It feels real good to come back on the second night a play hard and get the win," Walker said. "We finally finished a weekend off."

On a night where leading scorer Kendra Meyer was held without a basket in the first half, Minot State University needed someone to score. That soemone was Kayla Rettig.

Rettig, a junior from Lewistown, Mont., was on fire in the first half, hitting all five of her 3-pointers and scoring 15 points, to help No. 22 MSU to a 81-65 win over Valley City State in Dakota Athletic Conference women's basketball Friday at the MSU Dome.

”It felt real good,” Rettig said of her shooting. “It's all my teammates, though. They got me the ball in a good place to shoot. ”I was kind of feeling it in warm ups.”

Rettig's scoring was especially important for the Beavers as Meyer was limited by a thumb injury.

”It was nice to see Kayla catch fire,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. “I thought she was looking to shoot the ball. The guards are going to have to do that because teams are packing it in our posts.”

The Beavers (7-3 DAC, 16-8 overall) took a 36-24 lead on a Rettig 3 with 1:17 to play in the first half. From there, the lead fluctuated from double digits to four points until midway through the second half.

”Valley City plays hard,” Green Gerding said. “They made it difficult for us to operate at times. But I thought we also played hard. We may have been beat on a play, but we competed.”

Meyer didn't score in the first half, but she rebounded to finish with a game-high 18 points. She hit a big 3-pointer from the left wing with 8:16 to play. The shot ballooned the lead back to 10 points and was apart of a 19-2 run for MSU that put the game away.

”Her hand is all right,” Green Gerding said. “It is the best it has been all week. We didn't go to her that much in the first half because we didn't know how it would feel. She told us that it was fine at halftime, so we started to go to her.”

”We weren't sure what would be up with Kendra and she is obviously such a great scorer. I felt I had to step up and be a leader,” Rettig said. “We had a lot of different people make plays.”

The Beavers were pressed into going deep to their bench as second-half fouls started to rack up. MSU had three players finish with four fouls each and one foul out. The bench responded by scoring 30 points, grabbing 20 rebounds and dishing out nine assists. MacKenzie Mack continued to have a solid season coming off the bench as she finished with eight points and five rebounds despite only 11 minutes of time due to foul trouble. Danielle Levasseur didn't commit a turnover in 10-plus minutes at the point.

”We know we have good depth at every position,” Green Gerding said. “It is good to see Danielle getting more comfortable. When you are a transfer, it takes about half of the year to figure?? you out.”

All 12 Vikings (0-10 DAC, 5-18 overall) who played scored and Amanda Brown led VCSU with 13 points. No other Vikings' player reached double figures, however. Terra Billiet and Brittany Olson each scored eight, while Jessica Tykwinski and Brown led the team in rebounds with six apiece.

Lashay Bagsby (13 points) and Sam Medcalf (10) joined Meyer and Rettig in double figures for the Beavers. Brittni Walker finished with seven points and joined Rettig with eight rebounds to lead MSU.

”It was real important to get this one because we weren't very happy after last Saturday,” Rettig said referring to a home loss to South Dakota Mines. “We came out on Monday and were hungry to get this win.”

Note: MSU honored former standout Jenn Sundahl at halftime of the men's game with a shadow box. Sundahl, from Mohall, was a NAIA Division II Honorable Mention All-American in the 2005-06 season. She helped the Beavers reach the NAIA Division II national tournament twice in her four-year career.

For South Dakota Mines, it was a a high point in a tough week.

For Minot State University, it was a game of missed opportunities.

The No. 25-ranked Hardrockers held MSU to just 37.5 percent shooting and got a combined 40 points from Bethany Holyoak and Loryn Schuetzle to upset the No. 21-ranked Beavers 72-70 in Dakota Athletic Conference women's basketball Saturday at the MSU Dome.

The Hardrockers snapped a three-game losing streak that started with a loss to MSU at home Jan. 25 — a game they lost two-time All-American Melanie Vedvei to a knee injury.

“It's been a tough week,” Mines head coach Barb Felderman said. “Melanie meant so much to the team. She was the leader. It's not like these girls can't play well together. We have done it in practice.”

The Beavers' poor shooting was a combination of solid defense by Mines and missed close-range shots by MSU.

“We did everything we possibly could to lose that game,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. “We were flat in the shoot-around before the game. You could see it coming.”

Part of Green Gerding's frustration stemmed from the fact the Beavers played one of their best game a night before in upending No. 14 Black Hills State. Now the Beavers find themselves in second place, tied with the Yellow Jackets and Mayville State and a game behind DAC-leading Dakota State. MSU fell to 6-3 in the DAC, while Mines improved to 5-4 in the conference.

“We had a big win on Friday and couldn't continue it,” Green Gerding said.

Neither team enjoyed much of a lead throughout the game, but the Beavers opened a 10-point margin midway through the second half on three straight steals — the final resulting in a pair of free throws by Brittni Walker.

But Mines made an immediate run, outscoring the Beavers 14-3 to take a 61-60 lead on free throws by Holyoak with 7:12 to go. Holyoak was a thorn in the Beavers' side all night, scoring 20 points and pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds.

“Bethany does a great job inside even though she is so slight,” Felderman said. “She absorbs contact so well.”

Neither team had a larger lead that the 3-point lead (72-69) the Hardrockers enjoyed on a Holyoak par of free throws on an offensive rebound with 1:25 to play. MSU got to with in 72-70 on a free throw by Kendra Meyer and had a chance to tie or take the lead on the final play of the game, but Whitney Loftesnes' shot with three seconds to play didn't fall.

“We figured Meyer would talk the final shot, but we didn't really do anything different against it,” Feldeman said.

“You take what the defense give you,” Green Gerding said. “I thought Whitney took a good shot, it just didn't fall. We missed too many free throws and good looks at the basket before that to win the game.”

The Beavers only missed six free throws in the game, but missed three of those in the final three minutes.

While it was Holyoak down low that proved tough for MSU, Hardrockers guard Loryn Schuetzle was tough to handle both inside and out. Schuetzle scored 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting, hitting 4-of-6 3-pointers.

“She is a combo kid,” Felderman said. “She played very well for us. We have relied on all of our freshman all season.”

Nicole Martin added 11 points for the Hardrockers (17-6 overall), while Jerika Ihnen added seven rebounds to the Mines' cause.

The Beavers (15-8 overall) were led by Meyer's 23, while Lashay Bagsby finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Walker chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds. MSU was plagued by 21 turnovers.

“We didn't defend for three-quarters of the game, especially in the paint,” Green Gerding said. “We had no energy. It was very frustrating.”

Minot State University’s Brittni Walker hasn’t been herself over the past five games. Part of what has been bothering her is back and neck pain that hasn’t gone away since a fall during the Dakota State game and part of it was mental.

Walker looks to have overcome both.

The junior scored 19 points and pulled down 17 rebounds and hit a near-record 17 of 18 free throws to propel No. 21 Minot State to a 75-63 win over No. 14 Black Hills State in Dakota Athletic Conference Friday at the MSU Dome. One explanation for her game, however, had nothing to do with either.

“I blew out my regular shoes in practice and don’t have a back up pair,” she said. “So I had to use the shoes I wore my senior season in high school. I might just have to wear them the rest of the season.”

Whatever the reason, Walker’s return to stellar play couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for MSU. The Beavers struggled to find any rhythm on offense in the second half, only hitting six field goals. But Walker’s free throws and solid post defense help the Beavers win their second game against a top 15 team in as many Fridays.

“We were much better in post defense (Friday) then last week,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. “We did give the posts some help. Brittni was very active right from the start on defense and that made a big difference.”

MSU won despite taking just 17 shots in the second half, being outshot 65-42 on field goals and turning the ball over 25 times.

“I wasn’t sure,” Green Gerding said when asked if she thought her team could overcome an offensive night like Friday’s. “It shows the importance of defense. It’s a great feeling to know we can.”

The Beavers (6-2 DAC, 15-7 overall) were very good early, going on a 12-0 run to start the game, capped by a Kendra Meyer 3-poiner with 16:14 to play in the first half. But things ground down from there.

“We came out with great energy and were hitting shots,” Meyer said. “After a while, they picked it up and it kind of evened out. The defense was the key. We did a much better job of things this week.”

MSU was never able to fully shake BHSU but the Yellow Jackets couldn’t get the lead under three points. An Alexis Krull free throw got it to 40-37 with 15:42 to play, but Meyer answered with a midrange jumper to start a 7-0 MSU run.

“We never found any flow on offense. Never, ever, not even in the second half,” BHSU head coach Mark Nore said. “You have to credit Minot for that and we didn’t hit many shots. I think it is so tough to go on the road, No. 1, and it is hard to play a team back-to-back. They schemed us well.”

Meyer was again solid, scoring 26 points, pulling down six rebounds and adding four assists. Until a basket by Lashay Bagsby at 3:48, Meyer had the only field goals for MSU in the second half. Her biggest was a 3-pointer at 7:08 to go, answering a 3 by BHSU and pushing the lead back to 53-44.

“This one feels pretty good because we still remember losing to them last week,” Meyer said. “It takes some of the pressure off on the weekend.” MSU did a solid job on BHSU post tandem Lacey Haughian and Snjezana Dojcinovic. Haugian scored 12 points and had four rebounds, while Dojcinovic was held to just eight points and five rebounds.

“We did a lot to prepare for them this week,” Walker said of the Yellow Jackets’ post players. “Playing them back-to-back probably helps us out in that respect. They did some things we weren’t expecting last week, but we were ready for it this time.”

Lindsey Buthe (12 points) and Bayley Chevron (10) joined Haughian in double figures for the Yellow Jackets (5-3 DAC, 17-5 overall.) BHSU shot just 33.8 from the floor in the game and hit only 7 of 25 3-pointers. Only Meyer and Walker hit for in double figures, but multiple MSU players contributed. Sam Medcalf, Bagsby and Caroline Folven each finished with seven points and Whitney Loftesnes hit two 3-pointers for six. But MSU also had solid minutes from reserves, as Danielle Lavasseur, Kayla Rettig, Heather Lizotte, Ashley King and MacKenzie Mack had valuable minutes.

“I thought Caroline Folven had another solid night,” Green Gerding said. “We had some kids play some big minutes — even if it was just for a couple minutes. It was a real team win.”

SPEARFISH, S.D. — The Minot State University women's basketball team got the start it wanted.

The Beavers took an early 28-24 lead at No. 13 Black Hills State.

But MSU didn't get the finished it was looking for.

The Yellow Jackets outscored MSU 22-6 to finish the first half and held off multiple second-half charges to win 72-65 in Dakota Athletic Conference women's basketball Saturday at the Donald E. Young Center.

”Minot's a good team and we had to be ready for them to come out,” BHSU head coach Mark Nore said. “It was a team effort, really. Our defense was what keyed the rally.”

The Beavers (5-2 DAC, 14-7) were looking to capitalize on momentum from knocking off No. 10 South Dakota Mines a night before and had a solid start.

”We were disorganized with what we were doing on defense,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. “We looked a little lost at times. I don't know what to say about it exactly because there were times that (a BHSU player) was all alone.”

While the defense spurred on the Yellow Jackets run, it was the play of their posts that sustained it. BHSU (5-2, 17-4) post combination of Snjezana Dojcinovic and Lacey Haugian hurt MSU all night. The duo combined to score 40 points as Dojcinovic netted 22 and Haugian added 18 and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds. The BHSU combination of Dojcinovic, Haugian and Courtney Johnson — who hit two big 3-pointers — outscored MSU's posts 46-27.

”We didn't do anything special against their posts,” Green Gerding said. “That was the plan was to try to play them straight up and hold everyone else down.”

Haugian and Johnson keyed the early part of the first-half run as Haugian scored on a post move and Johnson hit the first of her 3s from the top of the key. An Brittany Fuhrman 3-pointer just moments after the Johnson basket gave the game its 13th and final lead change.

”Our post players have been solid for us all season,” Nore said. “Z's (Dojcinovic) confidence is way up and she has been very good for us.”

The Beavers never went away, cutting the BHSU lead to five multiple times in the second half but couldn't get closer. MSU cut it to five a final time on two free throws by Brittni Walker with 5:36 to play, but Haugian converted a three-point play 29 seconds later to push the lead back to eight.

”We were never really in sync on offense. No, not at any time, really,” Green Gerding said. “Every time we were able to get something going on offense, they would answer on defense. When you are trying to make a comeback, you have to have a couple of stops.”

The Beavers were also hampered by turnovers much of the night, committing 21 on the night.

No other Yellow Jackets player reached double figures after Dojcinovic and Haugian, but had solid offensive balance. Alexis Krull scored nine points and added five assists. Johnson, Fuhrman and Bayley Chevron all finished with six points for BHSU.

MSU was paced by Kendra Meyer's 18 points. Lashay Bagsby scored 15 points and had four blocks. Whitney Loftesnes hit three 3-pointers to score nine and Walker added five points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

The two teams will have little time to figure each other out as they play again Friday, this time at the MSU Dome starting at 5:30 p.m. Minot State, Dakota State and Black Hills are tied for first at 5-2.

VALLEY CITY — With five minutes remaining in the second half, Minot State University's MacKenzie Mack was whistled for a foul on a rebound attempt. Mack immediately turned to the MSU bench and flashed a big smile, knowing she had gone a little too hard for the rebound.

She had reason to smile, however, as just about every rebound Mack had gone for in the second half, she got.

”The coaches talked to us (Friday) morning and one of the things they said was that we needed to get on the offensive boards,” Mack said. “I just tried to go hard whenever the ball went up. It was physical and that kind of got me fired up.” Mack finished with nine points and 10 rebounds and Lashay Bagsby added a game-high 23 points to lead the Beavers to a 71-54 Dakota Athletic Conference win over Valley City State Saturday at the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse.

”She brought us toughness,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said of Mack. “MacKenzie went up and took it out of traffic. She gave us a big boost.”

Mack was a monster on both ends during a convincing 28-8 run that turned the game from a 41-41 tie into a rout. She scored seven of her points during the run and controlled the glass.

”Mack also did a little bit of everything for us,” Green Gerding said. “She made a couple of big passes and hit some shots.

”I really think that our defense sparked this win. We have been waiting for a while to be able to say that. The defense got the offense going.”

Bagsby was key for the Beavers in the first 26 minutes. The junior scored 19 first-half points and was one of the only effective offensive threats for MSU.

”I just tried to come out with as much energy as possible early and the team would follow,” Bagsby said. “We did a better job of communicating in the second half, talking about where the screens were coming from and help-side defense.”

The Vikings played inspired basketball until the big second-half run for MSU. VCSU answered everything MSU threw at it early on, talking a 38-36 lead on a basket by Gosia Debicka.

”They played hard, you have to give them credit,” Green Gerding said. “We didn't handle their pressure defense very well in the first half. I thought we did a better job of it in the second.”

The Beavers had 12 first-half turnovers, but shored things up in the second, finishing with only 16 for the game.

The first 26 minutes were close as neither team enjoyed a lead larger than six and featured six ties and 10 lead changes.

”We probably came out a little slow, I don't know what it was,” Mack said. “I think we finally realized that it wasn't going to be as easy as we thought. Valley City did a good job with their defense in the first half, we had to match that.”

With Mack's stellar play leading the way, the Beavers' bench finished with another solid game. The Beavers got a big 3-pointer from Kayla Rettig in the second half and had solid minutes from Ashley King and Caroline Folven. King, who hasn't seen the floor much in conference play, had two points, two rebounds a steal, an assist and was solid on defense in 15 minutes of play.

”Ashley played very well — she made the most of the time she was in,” Green Gerding said. “We got a big offensive rebound and played good defense.”

The Beavers also had a solid second half from senior Kendra Meyer. Meyer, who was held to five in the first half, scored 12 in the second to finish with 17. She had eight of those points during a 19-5 run, dished to Rettig for her 3 that gave MSU a 39-38 lead and drive fora bucket that broke the final tie of the game at 43-31.

Abby Dralle and Terra Billiet each finished with 11 points to pace VCSU (0-4 DAC, 5-12 overall) Dralle added seven rebounds for the VIkings.

The Beavers (4-1, 13-6 overall) will be back on the road next weekend as they travel to South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State Friday and Saturday.

Post players Walker, Bagsby, Mack and Folven combined for 38 points on 16 of 22 from the floor.

JAMESTOWN — A lot was made about Jamestown College's defensive pressure heading into Friday's game. And for the most part, the Jimmies were solid, holding Minot State University to 57 points, 15 under its average.

But the Beavers proved they can play some defense as well. MSU held Jamestown College to just 17.4 percent shooting and four field goals in the first half and just 25.5 percent for the game, grinding out a 57-46 Dakota Athletic Conference women's basketball win at the Jamestown Civic Center.

”We switched from man to our red defense and hustled and played hard,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. “We didn't handle the ball very well and didn't shoot the ball real well at times, but the defense was solid.”

The Beavers' defense spurred on a huge run over the final 15 minutes of the first half. After trailing 12-4 on a Giuli Varriano basket with 14:53 to play in the half, the Beavers held JC to just one basket and only six points the rest of the half. During that time, MSU had seven different players score.

”It was a struggle at times to score,” MSU freshman Whitney Loftesnes said. “We didn't move the ball real well and didn't do a good job of getting it inside in the first half. It started to come along a little better in the second half.”

Loftesnes was key in an early second-half run that gave the Beavers their first double digit lead. Loftesnes, from Velva, scored her team's only points during an eight-minute stretch — on two 3-pointers — to give the Beavers a 34-23 lead.

”I saw the guard sagging down and was just ready to shoot when I got the ball,” Loftesnes said. “I am getting more minutes and am trying to make the most of them.”

After Loftesnes' second 3, JC could not get closer than six. While MSU couldn't shake the Jimmies, the Beavers kept the game in hand, mainly behind an offensive burst by Brittni Walker. Walker scored 14 of her game-high 18 in a six-minute stretch midway through the second half, coming just after she had to leave the game after loosing both contacts lenses on a rebound attempt.

”I don't know if the play had anything to do with the increased offense of not, but I knew that I did not want to lose that game,” Walker said. “I got a little break (while getting a spare set of contacts) and the guards did a great job of getting me the ball when I cam back.”

The Beavers move into a four-way tie for first place along with Dakota State, Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines all at 3-1.

”It was big win, especially on the road and at a tough place to play,” Loftesnes said.

”It's huge for us,” Green Gerding said. “It was a good team win for us. We got great minutes from (MacKenzie (Mack) and Caroline (Folven). That's what you need on the road.”

The Beavers were in foul trouble much of the first half, but Mack and Folven spelled Walker and Lashay Bagsby very well. Mack finished with eight points and seven rebounds, while Folven had four points and three rebounds. The Beavers post players Bagsby, Walker, Mack and Folven combined for 38 points on 16 of 22 from the floor.

The Jimmies (1-3 DAC, 8-9 overall) were led in scoring by Varriano with 13 points. Heidi Fiechtner scored 11 off the bench and Cori Doubek finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, scoring all eight from the free-throw line.

Bagsby scored eight points for MSU, who improved to 12-6 overall. Loftesnes and Sam Medcalf each finished with six, while Loftesnes and Kendra Meyer each pulled down eight rebounds. Meyer added eight assists and five points for the Beavers.

For the first 10 minutes Saturday, the game resembled the track meet expected of two teams who can score points. From there on out, the game ground down into a physical battle.

Minot State proved it can play both.

The Beavers got 20 points — 16 in the first half — from senior Kendra Meyer and the Beavers defense forced 24 turnovers and 33.9 percent shooting from Mayville State in a 74-62 Dakota Athletic Conference women's basketball win at the MSU Dome.

"I thought it was a real grind," MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. "I think that comes from two teams that were a little tired and to teams that can play good defense."

The Beavers trailed 21-20 at the 10:31 mark of the first half during the track meet, but went on a 17-7 run started by a great post move by reserve Caroline Folven and finished by a bucket with 43.3 seconds to play in the first half by MacKenzie Mack.

"This was a huge win for us," Meyer said. "Especially after (losing Friday to Dakota State), we needed to take care of things at home and show the DAC what we can do."

Meyer was superb in the first half, hitting 5 of 10 shots and all five free throws to score 16. Not only did Meyer score, but she continued to control the MSU offense.

"She did a great job. It seemed like when we needed something, Kendra gave it to us," Green Gerding said.

While Meyer provided the early offense, Sam Medcalf and Whitney Loftesnes were stingy on defense the entire way. The defensive duo drew a tough assignment of guarding Comets' star Cassie Leraas and guard Jamie Wheeler. The Mayville guards combined for 23 points, but it took 17 shots.

"Sam and Whitney were in lock-down mode," Green Gerding said. "That is tough to do for an entire game."

"We planned to face guard Leraas and just try to work hard and stay with her," Medcalf said. "We did a pretty good job on her. It helped that we were able to be physical and take some of those open looks away."

The Beavers pushed the lead to 10 a couple of times in the second half, the final time at 54-44 on a 3-pointer by Kayla Rettig with 12:25 to play in the game. The Beavers didn't look comfortable on offense at times in the second half and the Comets were able to get to within 64-59 on free throws by Leraas. But Meyer came up with another huge shot on a backdoor feed from Brittni Walker to take a 69-61 lad with 1:13.

"It was a great pass and not one you usually throw in a situation like that," Green Gerding said.

"It was a read play," Meyer said. "Brittni made a great pass. They were overplaying a little, but it wasn't any kind of set play or anything."

While the Minot offense wasn't overly effective in the second half, the Beavers made up for it with offensive rebounds. The Beavers had 10 in the second half and Walker, Mack and Folvin turned those into points four times in the half.

"We talked about that at half," Green Gerding said of the offensive boards. "We had five (Friday) night and had three in the first half. The kids just did a better job of going to the glass in the second."

Leraas fnished with 21 points to pace the Comets. Erika Anderson (12 points) and Laura BigCrow (10) also reached double figures for Mayville (2-1 DAC, 8-6 overall). BigCrow had a game-high 14 rebounds.

Walker and Lashay Bagsby hit for 12 apiece for the Beavers, who moved to 2-1 in the DAC and 1-6 overall. Walker added 10 rebounds — three on the offensive end. Folven added nine off the bench and Medcalf pitched in with eight.

"Things were flowing so much, so I stepped up and took the open look," Medcalf said. "It felt good to get a couple to fall."

The Dakota State lead turned out to be too much to overcome.

The Trojans shot a blistering 66.7 percent from the floor in the first half and hit their first five shots of the second half to build a 21-point lead they did not relinquish — barely.

”Playing with a lead is crucial,” DSU head coach Jeff Dittman said. “You could see that tonight. Minot State definitely outplayed us in the second half, but we had built a big enough lead.”

The Beavers cut the lead to three twice in the waning minutes of the second half, but could get no closer as the No. 18-ranked Trojans hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:18 to take a 90-84 Dakota Athletic Conference women's basketball win Friday at the MSU Dome.

”You kind of feel like you won the game with the way we played down the stretch,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. “Obviously, we want to win the game, but I don't think we have anything to hang our heads about.

”Hopefully our kids learned a lesson. You have to come out ready to play.”

MSU did not Friday and DSU took full advantage. The Trojans hit 4 of 5 3-pointers and 22 of 33 in the half to take a 50-38 lead at the break.

”Any win on the road is a good win in this conference,” Dittman said. “We were very happy with how we handled their pressure in the first half. The things we did well offensively against their pressure, we didn't do in the second.”

The Beavers cut the lead to three on a three-point play by Kendra Meyer with 2:19 to play. Meyer was great in the second half, scoring 15 of her game-high 28 in the second, while running the offense much of the half.

”Kendra did a great job of keeping us steady,” Green Gerding said. “She had a great overall game, running the team.”

But the Trojans had enough in the tank to fend off the Beavers. DSU's Nicole Geraets hit a big bucket on the Trojans' ensuing possession to extend the lead back to to five. MSU's Lashay Bagsby scored at 1:18 to cut the lead back to three for final time at 1:39 as Jill Hansen drilled two free throws at 1:18.

Part of the MSU surge in the second half came from renewed energy on the defensive end and part came as the Beavers were able to get DSU's star post Laura Tewes into foul trouble.

”The thing is that Laura along with Maria (Gengler) are shot blockers and it allows our perimeter players to be more aggressive,” Dittman said. “Without her in the game, we can't do that.”

Tewes fouled out with 2:19 to play, scoring 13 points on just 17 minutes, but the Beavers lost forward Brittni Walker two minutes earlier. Walker's loss was big for MSU as she scored 11 of her 15 points in a 10 minute span while the Beavers were on a 25-8 run.

”It was a big loss for us because she was really starting to assert herself,” Green Gerding said.

DSU's Jessica VanLoy was steady all night with a team-high 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. Garaets was 6-for-8 from the floor on her way to 16 points, while Gengler added 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocks for the Trojans (1-1 DAC, 9-7 overall).

Meyer, Walker and Bagsby combined for 60 of the Beavers (1-1, 10-6) 84 points as Bagsby added 17 points and six rebounds to Meyer and Walker's points. Caroline Folvin and MacKenzie Mack score eight and seven points off the bench respectively for MSU.

The Beavers are back at the Dome tonight at 4 p.m. against Mayville State.

A near empty gas tank wasn't enough to stop Minot State University from completing it's sweep of University of Winnipeg.

The Beavers (10-5) slowed the tempo of the game down with 29 trips to the free-throw line and held the Wesmen to just 16 second-half points in a 74-45 nonconference women's basketball win Saturday at the MSU Dome.

“We weren't very sharp (Saturday) and I think part of that had to do with fatigue from (Friday night),” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. “We played very hard and we did as well as we could after a long break. I think we did a good job defensively tonight and they got a little tired down the stretch.

“We struggled a little bit in the scoring column, but when you struggle your leaders have to step up and get the job done for you. I think Brittni Walker and Kendra Meyer both did that by getting to the free-throw line and doing a lot things for us.”

After being held below her scoring average in Friday's game, Meyer got off to a hot start in the first half of Saturday's game. The MSU junior scored 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting in the first 12 minutes of the game, including 2 of 5 shooting from beyond the 3-point line. Meyer, who is still adjusting the point guard position, finished with a game-high 27 points.

“She creates a lot for other people, she makes good passes and tonight she found a way to get the rack,” said Green Gerding of Meyer at the point.

Walker was held to just seven points in the first half, but she took over the paint in the second. Walker scored 13 of her 20 points due in part to 10-for-11 shooting at the free-throw line.

“We go into the locker room and tell ourselves that the score is 0-0,” Walker said. “We do that so we can come out aggressive. Our aggression and playing good defense played a big part in the win.”

MSU's defense held Winnipeg to 16 percent shooting in the second half and the Beavers shot a steady 43 percent in both halves. Coming into the two-game series with Winnipeg, the Beavers had a long layoff. The Beavers were able to tire the Wesmen Saturday, but Green Gerding feels her team has yet to recover from the break fully.

“They went man and we tried to get penetration to get to the foul line, which helped a lot (with slowing the game),” Green Gerding said. “I think they got tired, but I think we got a little tired too and that's what happens when you take 10 days off.”

Walker said that coming out of a long break is almost like starting over at day one of the season.

“The hardest part is really getting used to running up and down the court again,” she said. “Sprinting up and down the court can be tough when you are off for 10 days. But I think we will be ready for our next games.”

Catie Gooch was only player to score in double figures in scoring for the Wesmen with 15 points.

Lashay Bagsby, Sam Medcalf and Caroline Folven all contributed six points for MSU. Bagsby also had a game-high 11 rebounds for the Beavers, who are up next against Dakota Athletic Conference foe Dakota State on Jan. 11.

Bagsby Dumps in 22 in Beaver Win

In a game where Minot State University scored 90 points, its defense was the star.

The Beavers held the University of Winnipeg scoreless for 7:54 spanning the first and second halves and blew out the Wesmen 90-55 in nonconference women's basketball Friday at the MSU Dome.

“We were a little fatigued and had a let down on defense,” MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said. “We didn't handle their pressure for a couple of possessons right away. But credit the kids, they battled.”

MSU led by as many as 13 points in the early going, but Winnipeg cut the lead to just 38-35 on an offensive rebound putback by Alex MacIver with 1:48 to play in the first half.

The ensuing MSU possession loomed large in the final outcome. MSU forward Brittni Walker was fouled and went to the line for a one-and-one. During the Walker free throw, Winnipeg head coach Tanya McKay was whistled for a technical foul and Walker hit all four free throws giving MSU a 42-35 lead. The Beavers went on to outscore the Wesmen 26-0 over the next eight minutes to put the game away.

“We talked about getting some intensity on defense and getting into a flow on offense,” MSU senior Kendra Meyer said. “I think we were a little tired. We had that line change and got some fresh legs in and that made a difference. It is tough to come off of a break and know where you are at, but everybody stayed in pretty good shape.”

It was Meyer, Walker and junior post Lashay Bagsby that keyed the Beavers' run late in the first half and on into the second half. Meyer and Walker each finished with 12 points in the first half and Bagsby scored 12 of her game-high 22 points in the Beavers' 17-0 run to start the second half. Bagsby added five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in just 16 minutes.

“I felt pretty good,” Bagsby said. “We kept the intesity going during the run. It took a little while to get into the game. The defense got us going.”

The Wesmen (6-8 overall) never threatened after the MSU run, shooting just 5 of 34 from the 3-point line and only 29.6 percent for the contest.

“We talked about playing hard on every play before the Christmas break and for the most part I thought we did that,” Green Gerding said.

Walker added 17 points, four rebounds and two assists and Meyer finished with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists in a fine all-around game.

“Kendra did get as many shots as we need her to have later in the season, but distributed the ball very well,” Green Gerding said. “She fits well into the point-guard position easily because she sees the court so well.”

“It's fine,” Meyer said of the point position. “I like it. It is something different that we can use later in the year. I don't care about all the numbers, the only one is the final score.”

Green Gerding was not only happy with her starting post Bagsby, but backup Caroline Folven as well.

“Lashay has gotten better and better as the year has went on,” she said. “And I thought that we got great minutes out of Caroline off the bench.”

Folven and Kayla Rettig each finished with 10 points in reserve roles for the Beavers (9-5 overall).

The Wesmen were paced by Amy Ogidan's 10 points and six rebounds, but didn't have another player reach double figures.

The two teams tangle again tonight at 7 p.m. at the Dome as part of a double header. It is the final tune up for the MSU women's team before resuming conference play January 11 against rival Dakota State.

Minot State University's Kendra Meyer fights off Dickinson State's Ashley
Bakich-Emmons, right, and JaTonn Parham during a Dakota Athletic Conferenc
women's basketball game Thursday at Scott Gymnasium.
(Photo courtesy of Dustin Monke, Dickinson Press.)

DICKINSON — Dickinson State got antsy and Minot State University took full advantage.

After gaining a small lead late in the second half, the Blue Hawks got caught up in a foul free-for-all that blew up in their faces as the Beavers hit 13 of 16 free throws in the final 4 minutes to earn a 71-60 Dakota Athletic Conference women's basketball victory on Thursday night at Scott Gymnasium. It was the conference opener for both teams.

”I thought we played with composure in the last four minutes of the game and did what we needed to do,” Beavers coach Sheila Green Gerding said.

DSU held a 54-52 lead with 6:29 left and kept things close for the next three minutes before getting foul happy down the stretch.

”When we did get a little momentum, our energy was so high we got careless,” DSU coach Guy Fridley said.

The Blue Hawks took their first lead when Ashley Bakich-Emmons picked off a pass and took it uncontested for a fast-break layup to give the Blue Hawks a 54-52 lead. On the previous possession, DSU senior forward Elise Daughton tied the game with the exact same play. Daughton came off the bench to score 17 points, and nab four rebounds and two steals. However, the Beavers finally gained the upper hand when DSU got caught fouling on numerous possessions.

”The effort defensively was there,” Fridley said. “We've just got to get more intelligent in the last four minutes.”

Along with shooting 21 of 27 from the free-throw line, the Beavers held a distinct advantage down low.

Minot State used its significant size advantage down low — not to mention some good inside shooting — to build an early lead it used as a buffer as the game wore on. The Beavers dominated down low, scoring 20 of their 37 first-half points in the paint en route to a 37-29 halftime lead. Minot State junior center Lashay Bagsby had the best game of her season according to Green Gerding. The 6-foot-1 junior scored 22 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and had six steals.

”It kind of surprised me,” Bagsby said. “I didn't know how I was going to come out today. I was kind of nervous.”

Minot State senior Kendra Meyer definitely wasn't shaky in the clutch. Meyer hit all eight of her free throws in the final four minutes to help the Beavers gain the momentum in the final moments. The 5-foot-7 guard finished with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. Fridley said slapping at the ball on defense keyed Minot State's free-throw outburst.

”We had that run, but we used it (free throws) to hurt us,” he said.

MSU is in Billings, Mont. to face Rocky Mountain College in its final game before Christmas. MSU returns home Dec. 28 and 29 for a pair of games against the University of Winnipeg with both games scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Nov. 19 - The game was north of the border in Brandon, Manitoba and the Lady Beavers kept rolling with a 74-60 win over Brandon. Leading by just three at the half, MSU put together a nice 2nd half to go up by over 20 and cruised on to their 4th staright win led by Kendra Meyer's 29 points.

Nov. 17 - All the time Minot State University junior Brittni Walker spent practicing reverse layups as a youngster paid off.

Walker hit a reverse layup with 33 seconds remaining in Saturday's NAIA non-conference women's basketball game, propelling the Beavers to a 70-69 victory over Rocky Mountain College at the MSU Dome.

The shot came out of a timeout, but Walker said it wasn't called.

“That actually wasn't a play. We were just looking to get it into the post. We knew I was faster than their post. I felt her on my back and when my guard passed it into me I looked baseline and saw there was no one on the other side,” Walker said. “When I was younger Dad would always work on reverse layups with me so I knew I could make it.”

Walker finished with 18 points — 12 coming in the second half — and had a game-high seven rebounds as the Beavers (5-3) won their fifth straight at home. Senior Kendra Meyer lead the Beavers with 20 points, shooting 6 of 14 from the field and 2 of 5 from beyond the three-point line. The Beavers were 15 of 20 from the free throw line in the game (8 of 9 in the second half), while Rocky Mountain College was 8 of 15.

“We did shoot very well down the stretch from the free throw line,” Beavers head coach Sheila Green Ger