BEMIDJI -- The Bemidji State women’s basketball team is set to return home tonight to kick off its regular season.
The Beavers will host Mayville State at 6 p.m. for their regular season opener at the BSU Gymnasium, where they hope to replicate the late-game success they had against North Dakota State in an exhibition game.
The Beavers outscored the Bison 37-33 in the second half of a Nov. 3 preseason matchup, but couldn’t overcome a first-half deficit and lost the game 79-59.
“First half, we had a decent start where I thought we were in control of what our game plan was, but we really got out of the focus and discipline,” said head coach Chelsea DeVille. “But we came back in the second half and just kinda controlled things, had a little bit more poise to our game, and that you have to be happy with.”
“I think coming off of NDSU, that was kinda a tough one for us coming off such a (bad) first half, but everyone’s excited to be in our home gym playing against another team,” said junior Sierra Senske. “Hopefully we’ll get that ‘W’ right off the start.”
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The Beavers are aware of the home opener’s importance.
“We’ve been talking about it a lot, especially in the locker room,” said Senske. “It’s pretty exciting because this is our home gym.”
The Beavers are 6-0 in their last six regular season home openers, which includes victories over the Comets in 2013, 2011 and 2010. It took double overtime for MSU Moorhead to beat BSU in 2009, but Bemidji State has been perfect ever since.
“Of course we’re excited to actually play a game that counts, and to be in front of our fans will be nice,” DeVille said.
Despite the recent success, however, the Beavers aren’t overlooking tonight’s opponent.
“We have to have a very good level of discipline. I want great shots,” said DeVille. “We will definitely have to be ready to play fast defensively and control the game, and not make it a race in Mayville’s favor.”
“We can’t overlook Mayville at all,” Senske said. “We just gotta come out and play strong and play how we played that second half against NDSU, and I think we’ll be just fine.”
