Dec. 20, 2007

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Betty Engelstad Sioux Center) [box score] - The Bemidji State University women’s basketball team played its third ranked team in four games tonight as the Beavers traveled to Grand Forks, N.D. to take on the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. UND proved why they have been ranked number one in the country all season as the Fighting Sioux handed BSU a 109-85 loss.

The University of North Dakota enforced the game plan of playing from the inside out Thursday night, dominating the paint 54-to-20 and out rebounding the Beavers 42-33. North Dakota out numbered the Beavers in points off turnovers 28-16 forcing BSU into 20 turnovers while UND committed just 15 for the game.

Four Bemidji State players netted double figures in the game. Heidi Matzke (Jr., G, Red Lake Falls, Minn.) recorded her third game of 20-plus points as she led the Beavers with 25 points on 8-of-15 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Karlee Simonson (Sr., F, Rockford, Minn.) chipped in a season high 17 points while senior Stephanie Peterson (Bismarck, N.D.) added 15 and freshman Colleen McKay (Barnum, Minn.) netted 12 to round out the double-figure scoring for the Beavers.

Peterson led the Beavers on the glass with 11 rebounds to go with her 15 points for her team leading fifth double-double of the season and 28th of her career. Amy Lawson (Sr., G, Spencer, Iowa) tied a personal best with 14 assists in the game.

The Fighting Sioux was led by the inside combo of Ashley Langen and Kierah Kimbrough. Langen led all scorers with 29 points and 15 rebounds with Kimbrough adding 20 points on the night for the Fighting Sioux.

North Dakota got on the board first :49 seconds in on a layup by Kimbrough, BSU tied the contest up :08 seconds laster on a layup by Melissa Roberts (Jr., F, Staples, Minn.). The teams continued to trade baskets and BSU took its first lead of the game on a three-pointer by Matzke at 18:11 of the half. Kimbrough gave the Fighting Sioux the lead again at 16:11 of the half which sparked a 7-0 run to give UND a 18-11 advantage.

BSU continued to give the number one team in the nation a run as the Beavers regained the lead at 35-34 with 4:35 left in the first half. That was the last lead the Beavers held as the Fighting Sioux closed out the first half on a 18-5 lead to hold a 52-40 advantage going into the halftime break.

The Beavers came out of the halftime break putting together a 13-3 run to bring BSU to within 56-53 with 17:10 remaining in the game. BSU kept in striking distance until the 8:13 mark of the second half when the Beavers were down by just nine points (82-73) with just over eight minutes left in the contest.

In the remainder of the contest the Beavers went into a scoring slump as they were only able to net 12 points in the final 8:13 as UND netted 27 points to coast to a 109-85 win over BSU and extend its win streak to 15 games versus the Beavers.

UND shot a sizzling 58.1 percent from the field (43-74) while the Beavers shot 46.0 percent (29-63) in the contest. With the loss the Beavers fall to 5-6 on the season and 13-27 all-time versus the Fighting Sioux. No. 1 UND improves to a perfect 12-0 on the season.

Peterson’s 15 points places her among the elite in Bemidji State’s all-time scoring category. Peterson became just the 12th player in BSU history to amass 1,000 points in her career as she sits with 1,004 points which places her 11th on BSU’s all-time scoring list.

Lawson became just the second BSU player to garner 500 assists in a career at BSU as she joined Kim Babula as the only other BSU player to reach 500 assists. Lawson currently has 511 assists in her career at BSU.

Bemidji State will be back in action on Jan. 2, 2008 when the Beavers will travel to Mayville, N.D. to take on the Mayville State University Comets. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.

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

--beavers--