FAYETTE, Iowa -- The comeback kids were at it again Friday night.
The Bemidji State University women's basketball team put together yet another second half rally to gain a 74-59 win over Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa. The victory also kept BSU hopes of hosting a 2007 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament first round game alive.
Down by as many as nine points in the first half, the Beavers outscored UIU 22-8 as the second frame got underway turning a five-point second-half deficit into a nine-point advantage by the 12-minute mark. BSU would go on to stretch its lead to as many as 17 on a lay up by Amy Lawson with 6:12 to go and coasted to the 15-point, league win.
The Beavers were led by junior center Stephanie Peterson who netted a game-high 17 points while grabbing five boards. Lawson added 15 points and helped BSU to a dominant 43-28 edge on the glass, leading all players with nine rebounds. The junior also posted a team-best five assists.
Amanda Faas paced the Peacock effort with 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Chelsea Peterson pitched in 12 points and hauled in five boards while Andrea Downs added eight points and a game-high seven assists before fouling out of the contest.
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The Peacocks strutted their stuff early. After recording the first basket of the game, the hosts quickly reclaimed their lead after a pair of Kate Bremmer free-throws and a Peterson lay-up with a triple for Faas. The three-pointer ignited a 13-2 run that gave UIU its largest lead of the of the game, 15-6.
The Beavers would use a four-point run of their own, capped by a Heidi Matzke jumper midway through the stanza to cut the Peacock lead to three, 21-18, but UIU would keep the Beavers at bay through the reminder of the half.
Scoring over 60 percent of their points during the final 20 minutes over its last five games and outscoring its opponents by an average of 10 points per game during that span, BSU has begun to gain a reputation as a second-half team. Friday was no different.
BSU returned to the floor after the break to net the first eight points, taking a 37-34 lead in the process.
The Beavers never looked back, using a 68 percent (21-31) shooting effort in the second half to out-score the Peacocks 45-25 in the final stanza.
Lawson, Peterson and Nancy McConky all came to life for BSU after the intermission, each netting more than 10 points -- led by 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists by Lawson.
The Beavers finished the game 29-of-55 (.527) from the field while failing to record a three-point basket for the first time this season (0-6). BSU also out shot UIU 16-5 from the free-throw line nailing 16-of-19 opportunities (.842). The Peacocks were 24-of-69 (.348) from the floor and 6-of-22 (.273) from beyond the arc.
BSU is now 5-1 all-time versus Upper Iowa and completed the season series sweep over the Peacocks with the win.
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The victory improved the BSU overall record to 14-12 while the team climbed into sixth place in the NSIC standings at 9-8.
If the season ended tonight the Beavers would travel to No. 3 Northern State University for the first round of the conference tournament. But with one game left on the regular season slate, the Beavers could still move to as high as fourth place in the standings with a win over No. 5 Winona State University at 7 p.m. tonight and a No. 4 Wayne State College loss to No. 2 Minnesota State University-Moorhead.
A fourth place finish would earn BSU the right to host its playoff game Wednesday and give BSU its first 10-win conference season since the team recorded 12 wins en route to the league championship in 1987.
BSU 74, Upper Iowa 59
Halftime: Upper Iowa 34, BSU 25
BSU: Heidi Matzke 4-7 3-6 3 11, nancy McConkey 6-11 2-2 2 14, Kate Bremmer 1-3 7-8 1 9, Amy Lawson 7-10 1-2 3 15, Steph Peterson 8-14 1-1 1 17, Miranda Nelson 0-0 0-0 0 0, Bridget Smith 0-1 0-0 2 0, Kelly Landsverk 0-0 0-0 1 0, Colleen Boell 1-5 0-0 1 2, Melissa Roberts 0-0 2-2 1 2, Katherin Jamnick 0-1 0-0 0 0, Jenny Wenlund 2-3 0-0 1 4
Upper Iowa: Amanda Faas 5-16 3-4 3 14, Paige DeVine 2-5 1-2 2 6, Andrea Downs 3-9 1-2 5 8, Chelsea Peterson 6-17 0-0 0 12, Katie Reihman 1-7 0-0 2 3, Ashley Martin 2-6 0-0 1 6, Sara Best 0-2 0-0 1 0, Amber Schuster 0-0 0-0 1 0, Jodi Best 0-0 0-0 2 0, Christa Hammel 5-7 0-2 3 10
Three points goals -- BSU 0-6, Upper Iowa 6-22 (Martin 2, Fass, DeVine, Downs, Reihman). Rebounds-- BSU 43 (Lawson 9), Upper Iowa 28 (Faas 7), Assists -- BSU 16 (Lawson 5), Upper Iowa 17 ( Downs 7)
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Fouls -- BSU 13, Upper Iowa 17. Fouled out -- Downs. technicalfouls -- none. A -- 250
