March 1, 2008

BISMARCK, N.D. (Activity Center) [box score] - The Bemidji State University women’s basketball team saw its 2007-08 season come to an end Saturday in Bismarck, N.D. as the No. 3-seeded University of Mary Marauders upended the No. 6 Beavers 80-78 in a heartbreaking loss at the Activity Center.

The Beavers shot 46.9 percent from the field (28-of-60) to the Marauders 54.4 percent (31-of-57) for the game. The difference in the game came in the second half as the Marauders shot a sizzling 62.1 percent (18-29) from the field as the Beavers shot 16-percentage points lower at 46.9 (15-32) in the second half.

Senior point guard Amy Lawson (Spencer, Iowa) led the Beavers as she netted 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, 2-of-5 from the three-point line and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Heidi Matzke (Jr., G, Red Lake Falls, Minn.) added 17 points while Kristina Salscheider (Jr., G, Cass Lake, Minn.) chipped in a career-high 11 points. Matzke led the Beavers on the boards with seven rebounds.

The Marauders were led by the trio of Nicci Landdeck, Kayla Rogers, and Kristin Bear who each had double-digit scoring efforts. Landdeck netted a game-high 26 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the floor while grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. Rogers added 19 points and dished out a game-high 10 assists while Bear added 15 in the win.

In a evenly contested first half both teams shot 46.4 percent from the field (13-28) and were 9-of-13 from the free-throw line (69.2).

The game got off to a shaky start for both teams as it took both squads the first couple minutes to get on the board. U-Mary struck first as Kayla Rogers hit one of her two three-point field goals in the first half with 18:00 left in the half to give the Marauders a early 3-0 lead. BSU’s Amy Lawson (Sr., PG, Spencer, Iowa) answered on the Beavers next possession with two of her 14-points in the first frame to make the score 2-3 early. BSU eventually took its first lead of the half at the 15-minute mark off a three-pointer by Colleen McKay (Fr., F, Barnum, Minn.) to give the Beavers a 10-7 lead.

McKay’s three-point basket sparked an 11-4 run for the Beavers that helped BSU push its lead to its largest of the game at 18-11 with 12:06 left that was capped off by a Stephanie Peterson (Sr., C, Bismarck, N.D.) layup. U-Mary answered the Beavers run with a 13-8 run over its own over a 4:50 span to tie the game for the second time at 26-26 with 7:00 left in the half.

The final seven-minutes was back-and-fourth with BSU earning a one-point lead going into the intermission, 39-38. Lawson led the Beavers with 14 points in the half with Matzke chipping in nine, respectively. U-Mary was led by Nicci Landdeck who netted 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field.

U-Mary came out in the second half and went on a 10-4 run to push its lead to five points at 48-43 with 17:44 remaining in the contest. The Beavers answered back during the next 3:17 as they went on a 11-6 run to tie the game for the fifth time at 54-54 with 14:27 left.

The Beavers regained the lead at 11:30 of the half on a three-pointer by Lawson to put BSU up by two 65-63. BSU pushed its lead to as large as eight points (73-65) with 7:12 left in the half but seven minutes would prove to be to much time for the Marauders. U-Mary went on a 15-5 run to close out the final seven-minutes of the game to earn a hard fought 80-78 win and advance into the semifinals of the NSIC Tournament.

In addition to out shooting the Beavers the Marauders out rebounded BSU 38-27 on the glass and scored five more second chance points than did BSU (11-6).

The loss ends the season for Bemidji State with a 13-15 overall record, 9-9 in the NSIC. In the tournament, the Beavers now have an all-time record of 1-8, with eight losses coming on the road. The lone playoff win came against Winona State on March 3, 2004.

With the win the Marauders, join Concordia-St. Paul, Wayne State (Neb.) and Minnesota State Moorhead, who also won their first round contest, in the semifinal round to be played Friday beginning at 6 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.

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

--beavers--