The Bemidji State University women's basketball team made a late charge for the second night in a row, but fell short again, losing 90-83 to the University of Mary at the BSU Gymnasium Saturday night on Senior Night.
The Marauders rode a 16-point halftime lead to take a half-game lead on BSU in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings.
"I told the team before the game that we're going to play two second halves tonight we not going to have a first half," BSU head coach Mike Curfman said. "I don't know what it is; we've tried changing our routine and some other different things but for some reason, until we get down by 16 points it doesn't kick in gear."
The first half started much the same as it had one night earlier against Northern State. The Marauders jumped out to a 27-12 lead after the first eight minutes and BSU didn't recover until early in the second half. Mary took a 54-38 edge into the intermission.
Bemidji State's valiant comeback got them within two with 8:45 remaining, but Kayla Rogers answered with five of her 20 points on the night to put the Marauders back up by seven. The Beavers got back within five on a jump shot by Heidi Matzke with 2:53 to play, but that would be the last field goal made by BSU.
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"I know they're trying and I know they're not tight," Curfman said. "But these last two games our first halves have been horrendous and we've dug such a deep hole that's so hard to climb out of."
A 13-3 run by the Beavers to open the second frame pulled them back into the game, but Mary seemed to answer with Rogers, and Lisa Guss, who also posted 20 points in the game off the bench. Mary also got a double-double from forward Corrie Villegas with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Four Beavers posted double figures with senior Kate Bremmer posting 16 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. Bremmer's performance from the line was matched by her teammates as BSU combined to go 22-for-25 (.880) from the line.
Matzke notched 15 points and senior forward Nancy McConkey had 14, while Melissa Roberts chipped 11 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Mary made the difference in the game from the field, shooting 49 percent, while BSU respectively shot 42 percent from the floor, but only 26 percent (5-19) from the three-point line. The Maruaders shot just 6-17 (.353) from downtown but outscored BSU 42-26 in the paint.
The loss moves BSU to 8-8 in the NSIC and 13-11 overall, while Mary leapfrogs BSU in the conference standings with a 9-8 NSIC record and a 13-13 overall record.
BSU will be back on the road for their next two games, with conference games at Upper Iowa and Winona State to end the regular season.
The Beavers beat Upper Iowa at home 79-66, but lost a heartbreaker to Winona State 67-66 on a last-second lay-in by the Warriors.
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Mary 90, Bemidji State 83
Mary (13-13, 9-8 NSIC): Kristin Bear 3-7 2-2 9, Kayla Rogers 7-11 1-2 20, Ashley Fridley 6-14 1-2 13, Corrie Villegas 4-11 2-3 10, Nicci Landdeck 6-12 6-6 18, Maria Weigelt 0-1 0-1 0, Lisa Guss 7-10 6-8 20, Katie Theisen 0-1 0-0 0, Alyssa Root 0-0 0-0 0, Liz Sipma 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-67 18-24 90.
Bemidji State (13-12, 8-8 NSIC): Heidi Matzke 6-10 2-2 15, Nancy McConkey 5-14 4-4 14, Kate Bremmer 4-10 7-7 16, Amy Lawson 2-11 3-4 7, Stephanie Peterson 3-5 2-2 8, Miranda Nelson 0-0 0-0 0, Bridget Smith 1-5 2-2 4, Kelly Landsverk 0-0 0-0 0, Colleen Boell 2-5 0-0 6, Melissa Roberts 4-7 2-2 11, Katherin Jamnick 0-0 0-0 0, Jenny Wenlund 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 28-68 22-25 83.
Halftime - Mary 54-38. 3-point goals - Bemidji State 5-19 (Matzke 1-2, McConeky 0-1, Bremmer 1-3, Lawson 0-3, Smith 0-4, Boell 2-5, Roberts 1-1), Mary 6-17 (Bear 1-3, Rogers 5-8, Fridley 0-1, Villegas 0-4, Theisen 0-1). Fouled out - Bear, Matzke. Technicals - none. Rebounds - Bemidji State 38 (Peterson 7), Mary 44 (Villegas 13). Assists - Bemidji State 17 (Lawson 7), Mary 15 (Fridley 4). Turnovers - Bemidji State 13 Lawson 4), Mary 13 (Villegas, Guss 3). Total fouls - Bemidji State 21, Mary 23. A - NA. Officials - Rock Messerschmidt, Chris Heise, Mike Kolness.
