Jan. 4—BEMIDJI — The Beavers’ first NSIC win back on Dec. 19 was a nailbiter, decided by a few clutch buckets in the waning minutes of their matchup against St. Cloud State.
Saturday night at the BSU Gymnasium, the Bemidji State women’s basketball team secured its second conference victory in much less dramatic fashion. Rather than waiting until the final minutes to take control, the Beavers captured the momentum in the third quarter and ran with it.
After a relatively slow start from both teams in the first quarter, Bemidji State traded blows with Augustana throughout the second, heading to halftime with a slight 32-31 lead.
Then, the Beavers took over.
The defense swarmed in the third, allowing just one basket from the Vikings nearly nine minutes into the quarter. Offensively, BSU flexed its ball movement and depth, finding 15 points from four different players.
“I think they just really answered the challenges in the locker room,” head coach Chelsea Stoltenberg said. “I said to them, ‘(In the) post we’ve got to be tougher and finish.’ Then you saw (senior forward Ella Giorgi) dominate. And then our guards needed to focus (on) defensive transition, because that’s where they went on a little run on us. And we answered that call defensively as well. … It was an all-around good quarter of team basketball for us.”
Bemidji State entered the final frame up 47-33. Though Augustana managed to find some rhythm on offense, the Beavers seemed to match each opposing basket with one of their own, continuing to spread the ball across the court.
Sophomore forward Ashlynne Guenther was especially effective, scoring eight of BSU’s 16 fourth-quarter points.
“I think we just started finishing our shots better,” Giorgi said. “We’re always getting open looks and then we just can’t finish them. I think they just finally started to fall.”
The Vikings (2-13) never managed to cut their deficit back down to single digits, and BSU (4-8) left the court with a 63-50 victory over the visitors.
“We’re good enough when we do the little things and the toughness and discipline things,” Stoltenberg said. “We’ve beat ourselves against teams I don’t think we’ve needed to lose to that night because we’ve been lackadaisical on the discipline, meaningful little things. When we do it, we put it all together, we’re going to either compete, go into double overtime or we’re going to win.”
Sophomore guard Tieryn Plasch led the way for the Beavers in both points and rebounds, tallying 16 and nine, respectively.
However, Saturday night’s win over Augustana was not a one-player show on offense.
Guenther and Giorgi each finished with 10 points apiece behind Plasch, while senior guard Erin Barrette, fifth-year senior Janette Hanni, freshman guard Aubrey Heyer and junior forward Rachel Koenig each scored at least six points.
“We’re not going to win the game with just one of us,” Plasch said. “All us contributing, that was really great. I think we really needed that.”
“Tieryn gets us into everything,” Stoltenberg said. “It’s impressive how she’s continuing to lead this team and grow and mature. But I think each of them are kind of getting into a groove a little bit.”
Bemidji State is now 2-2 in its last four, with one of those losses coming at the hands of
Wayne State in double overtime
Friday evening.
“Last night, that was a nailbiter, double overtime,” Plasch said. “We were exhausted before this game, but I think it just showed we are right there with every team, and now we’ve just got to make that next step, so I think this win was a step in the right direction.”
A season ago, the Beavers didn’t earn a conference win until February. This year, they already have two under their belt just a few days into January.
“I feel like last year, we took a while to get going and it’s really nice to have it happening now instead of way later,” Giorgi said. “We have a lot of really good players and I think we’re just kind of figuring out how to all get together and make it work, and I think it’s starting to work.”
Bemidji State 63, Augustana 50
AU 9 22 2 17 — 50
BSU 16 16 15 16 — 63
Augustana — Burg 11, Adamson 9, Sanneh 8, Hardy 6, McRae 6, Hayenga 5, Munson 3, Pardo Campillo 2. Totals: 17-59 FGs, 3-16 3-pt. FGs, 13-17 FTs.
Bemidji State — Plasch 16, Guenther 10, Giorgi 10, Barrette 8, Hanni 7, Koenig 6, Heyer 6. Totals: 21-57 FGs, 7-28 3-pt. FGs, 14-16 FTs.
