Both the Bemidji State men's and women's basketball teams have the opportunity to make a move up in the conference standings this weekend.
Tonight the Beavers are at Minnesota State-Moorhead and Saturday they travel to the Cities to face Concordia-St. Paul.
The two women's teams are tied for second place with 8-2 conference records. BSU's women are tied with Winona State for fourth place at 7-4. Northern State leads the pack at 9-2.
A sweep would keep BSU's women in the hunt for a home game in the first round of the NSIC tournament.
A sweep is not out of the question for the women.
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The Beavers split earlier this season beating CSP 82-74 and falling to MSUM 83-78 in Bemidji.
The Golden Bears overcame a hot start by the Beavers in the first half to lead by three at halftime and then built it to 11 points midway through the second half. But the Beavers battled back to take a two-point lead with 1:45 remaining before hitting their free throws down the stretch for the win.
BSU led by 12 at the midway point of the first half versus MSUM. But the Dragons rallied to trail by a single point at halftime. The second half was a see-saw affair with MSUM leading much of the way.
The Beavers pulled to within three with 45 seconds in the game. Despite MSUM converting on just 2 of 4 free throws the rest of the way it was enough as BSU missed a 3-pointer in the waning seconds.
BSU's Stephanie Peterson led the way that weekend averaging a double-double with a total of 39 points and 28 rebounds.
On the season, Amanda Behnke (16 ppg), Kelly Lund (12 ppg) and Katie LaViolette (11 ppg) average double figures. LaViolette also dishes out 8 assists per game and Behnke 8 rpg.
Lund led CSP the first time versus BSU with 17 points, Behke added 16 and Candace Olstad 15. Behke and Olstad also pulled down 12 rebounds each.
Jessica Fesenmaier averages 14 ppg and 7 rpg this season for MSUM. Allison Swenson also hits double figures averaging 11 ppg. It was Katie Walden, however, who torched BSU the first time around with 25 points behind five 3-pointers. Chris Falzon added 13 points as the Beavers held Fesenmaier and Swenson to seven and eight points respectively.
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BSU's men sit in eighth place at 3-8. CSP is 8-2 and in third place while MSUM is sixth at 4-6.
One win over the weekend for the men will likely secure them a top eight finish and a spot in the NSIC tournament. UM-Crookston is 0-11 in NSIC play and the University of Mary is ineligible for the tournament this year.
But a sweep is not out of the question for BSU's men, despite their 3-17 overall record
The Beavers lost 72-55 to CSP in Bemidji back in early December and followed with a 72-61 loss to MSUM.
At first glace, the 17-point loss to the Golden Bears looks like it wasn't a contest but the Beavers cut a 14-point CSP lead in the first half down to seven at halftime. BSU then came to within four points at the midway point of the second half before CSP went on a 12-2 run and pulled away down the stretch.
The Beavers nearly mirrored there performance the next night versus the Dragons. MSUM led by nine points at halftime and the Beavers then cut that led down to six with six minutes to play. But a late run from there helped the Dragons coast in for the win.
Three players lead the Dragons in scoring on the season. Blake Strouth averages 18 ppg and Lee Isaacson and Jamal O'Neal add just over 11 ppg. O'Neal finished with a double-double versus BSU the first time hitting 16 points and pulling down 13 rebounds.
Kyle Marxhausen and Craig Heiman lead CSP in scoring. Marxhausen puts up 14.6 ppg and Heiman 11 ppg. Marxhausen scored 16 versus the Beavers in the early meeting.
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For the Beavers, Arron Evans averages 11 ppg and Alex Smith 10 ppg. Smith also pulls down a team-leading 6 rebounds per game.
