Box Score MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University has struggled of late to take a lead in the second half.

The Beavers have been close, but couldn't get that key basket.

So, when Savana Kingsbury (Fr., F, Omaha, Neb.) scored to give the Beavers a 59-57 lead with 11:18 to play in the second half, things looked pretty good.

But St. Cloud State fought back, outscoring Minot State 20-12 over the final 11 minutes to win going away 77-71 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball Friday at the Minot State Dome.

“We made too many mistakes on the defensive end of the floor,” said MISU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. “We need to learn from those mistakes and improve. We make a few mental errors-not boxing out or not communicating and a one point game turns into a ten point spread.”

The Beavers (8-9 overall, 4-9 NSIC) dropped its fourth straight Northern Sun game and second straight at home. SCSU improved to 13-4 overall and 9-4 with the win.

There wasn't much that separated the two teams as SCSU outshot Minot Sate 50 percent to 45 percent from the floor, MISU was a little better from the line at 81 percent compared to 66.7 for SCSU and both teams shot in the 30s on 3s.

The most glaring difference however was balance. St. Cloud State's bench outscored Minot State's bench 31-2. The Huskies had 10 players score compared to just six for Minot State.

“I think overall our offense was good, but our defense, the communication was just not there,” said MISU senior Sacarra Molina (G, Hinsdale, Mont.). “Coach hardly has a voice left because she was trying to call out what to do because we weren't communicating well.”

Jessica Benson paced the Huskies with a double-double, scoring 24 points and adding 10 rebounds. She also finished with two blocks and two steals in the win. Sam Price and Rachael Moen both scored 12 for SCSU, while Morgan Lof added six rebounds, five points and three assists.

Molina led the Beavers with 20 points, while Carly Boag (Jr., F, Tamworth, Australia) netted another double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Boag also finished with four assists and four steals for Minot State. Francesca DeAngelis (Sr., G, Laguna Niguel, Calif.) added 16 points and our steals in the loss.

“We needed to get Frannie going in the second half so we tried to get the ball inside,” Green Gerding said. “She did a nice job posting up and finishing, and she went on a mini-run there that really helped us out.”

Minot State will look to end the losing streak with a Saturday afternoon tilt against Minnesota Duluth beginning at 4 p.m. at the Minot State Dome.