WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cougars handle Bemidji State with big 2nd half
Jan. 22—SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The drought continues for the Bemidji State women's basketball team.
Due to Friday's 66-59 road loss at Sioux Falls, BSU dropped its ninth straight game against the Cougars and will have to endure some unwanted history for a little while longer.
The Beavers remain the only NSIC team to be winless against Sioux Falls since the Cougars entered the league in 2012-13. USF is also the only conference team that Bemidji State head coach Chelsea DeVille hasn't beaten since taking the BSU job following six seasons as an assistant in Sioux Falls.
The Beavers (9-7, 7-5 NSIC) dropped off late in Friday's game. A slow offensive start still turned into a 14-11 advantage after a quarter, but then Sioux Falls (12-6, 7-4 NSIC) began to wear them down.
Despite Bemidji State playing with the lead for twice as long, the Cougars ended the first half on top at 31-28 behind a closing 7-0 run. Then they did even more damage in the third quarter.
USF surged ahead on a 17-4 run in the final six minutes of the frame. BSU had trouble stopping the bleeding, going just 1-for-7 from the floor in that span, and ultimately limped into the fourth down 53-40.
Things got worse before they got better in the final quarter. The score got as bad as 66-50 with four minutes to play, and the Beavers' 9-0 run to finish the game only made the final score look more respectable in the end.
Bemidji State ended the game shooting just 19-for-53 (35.8%), the team's second-worst percentage of the season. Sioux Falls also won the rebound battle 43-33.
Trinity Yoder (22 points) and Rachael Heittola (19) did the heavy lifting for BSU's offense as the only two players in double figures. All other Beavers combined for 18 points.
Yoder is also nearing her own milestone after a season-high output on Friday. She now sits at 970 career points and is 30 away from becoming the program's 22nd member of the 1,000 Point Club.
USF got 13 points and 12 rebounds out of Dallie Hoskinson and another 12 points from Megan Fannin in a balanced effort.
Bemidji State will try to rebound quickly, next facing Southwest Minnesota State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, in Marshall.
