MINOT, N.D. – A month ago, Minot State University's women's basketball team was terrible on offense in a 53-45 loss at Dickinson State.

The second time around was just the opposite.

MSU was efficient on offense and continued to be stingy on defense as they cruised to a 71-54 win over the Blue Hawks in Dakota Athletic Conference basketball Wednesday.

 Christina Boag (Fr., F, Tamworth, Australia) scored a game-high 24 points and pulled down seven rebounds to pace the Beavers, scoring over half of what the team mustered in Dickinson. Boag, along with sister Carly Boag (Fr., F, Tamworth, Australia) combined for 30 points, 12 rebounds, six steals and four assists – spending much of the night on the floor together.

“We haven't played them together much this season,” said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. “We subbed them both in and they were pretty good together so we kept them in together.”

The Beavers built a 20-plus lead in the second half behind that efficient offense that got the basket by multiple players. Sophomore Sacarra Molina (G, Hinsdale, Mont.) scored many of her 13 points on drives to the hoop.

“I thought we attacked pretty well and executed our game plan for the most part,” Green Gerding said. “We didn't throw up a lot of shots. Kelly (Kelly Pankratz, Sr., G, Malta, Mont.) did a good job of running the point and Sacarra got to the basket.”

The Beavers (7-5 DAC, 16-7 overall) broke a tie with the Blue Hawks for fourth place in the conference. DiSU (6-6, 13-10) fell a game back. MSU led 33-22 at halftime and edges DSU 38-32 in the second half. MSU remained perfect at home on the season, running its record to 9-0 at home.

“I don't know what it is,” Green Gerding said of the perfect record at home, but a 5-6 mark away from the Dome. “I think some of it is youth. We are playing three freshmen a lot, we have a sophomore point guard and start a sophomore off guard. But some of it is this league. Nobody really wins on the road. There are some brutal conference road trips.”

MSU moves into a tie for third with Jamestown College, who fell at Valley City State Wednesday. The Beavers are a game behind VCSU with two conference matchups remaining.

The Hawks were paced by Amanda Jensen's 11 points. Amber Adams added 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Beavers had solid depth in scoring as only Christina Boag and Molina hit for double figures. Caroline Folven (Sr., C, Byron, Ill.) added eight points and Katie Hardy (Fr., F, Fairview, Mont.), Lauren Safranski (So., G, Burnsville, Minn.) and Pankratz all finished with five points. MSU finished with 15 steals, turning DSU over 20 times.

The Beavers play three straight this weekend (and Monday) out of conference as they play host to Dakota Wesleyan Saturday (4 p.m.) and Trinity Bible College Sunday (6 p.m.) and Monday (5:30 p.m.).