Beavers can’t complete weekend sweep

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – No. 12 ranked Minot State University couldn’t capitalize on momentum from knocking off No. 6 Jamestown College Friday as the Beavers fell 65-56 at Valley City State in Dakota Athletic Conference women’s basketball Saturday at the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse.

The Beavers shot just 36.4 percent from the floor and were outscored 15-3 on second-chance points in the loss.

“That was a big part of it,” said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding said of the rebounding. “We came out with good energy, I thought it was good for the first half, but being on the road and playing two games wore on us.”

MSU (5-4 DAC, 16-6 overall) lived by the 3-pointer all night, hitting 10 3s, but could only muster 10 2-point  field goals and went to the free throw line just seven times.

“We didn’t get the ball inside and I don’t know why we were so hesitant to do that,” Green Gerding said. “They did a good job of packing it in and not letting us in there.”

The teams traded baskets much of the night before VCSU (5-4, 14-9) pushed the lead to 10 late in the second. The Beavers countered with back-to-back 3s by Kallie Erickson (G, Jr., Fordville, N.D.) and MacKenzie Mack (F, Sr., Scranton, N.D.) to pull to 2:32 to play.

But MSU couldn’t pull closer as VCSU’s Heidi Larson scored on a low post feed to push it back to six. The play was kept alive by an offensive rebound, which hurt the Beavers all night. VCSU out rebounded MSU 10-4 on the offensive glass and 29-16 overall.

The game started at a torrid pace as both teams scorched the nets over the first eight minutes. MSU led 15-9 on a 3-pointer by Erickson, but trailed 28-22 on a basket by VCSU’s Amanda Brown. The Beavers never regained the offensive flow they had early in the contest.

“They exploited the two areas that we are week in the zone,” Green Gerding said. “I thought when we went to man to man they posted up our guards and we just stood there. We didn’t compete or battle.”

Amanda Brown led VCSU with 17 points and dished out three assists. Abby Rittenhouse had a big game for the Vikings, scoring 14 points, pulling down 13 rebounds and earning three steals.

Erickson led the Beavers with 17 points and added three steals. Ari Hendrix (G, Sr., Ventura, Calif.) scored 12 points and dished out three assists. Mack and Caroline Folven (C, Jr., Byron, Ill.) finished with 11 each while Folven pulled down six rebounds.