Box Score MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University turned the ball over 20 times and allowed 53 first half points as St. Cloud State earned a season sweep of the Beavers with an 86-73 win in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball Saturday at the Minot State Dome.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for MISU (12-4 overall, 8-4 NSIC) and dropped the Beavers to two-games back of Northern State in the NSIC North. SCSU improved to 6-6 in the NSIC and 10-6 overall.

Minot State ran out to a 6-0 run in the first two minutes and led 12-6 on a layup by Christina Boag (Jr., F, Tamworth, Australia) with 16:19 to play in the first half.

But it was all Huskies over the final 16 minutes as they outscored Minot State 47-23 to take a 53-35 halftime lead. SCSU hit 20 of 38 shot attempts and outrebounded the Beavers 23-13, including 9-3 on the offensive side, in the half.

"To me, we just didn't even compete," said MISU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "I don't think we competed defensively and I don't think we competed on the boards. We just go into those phases and that's where we were up until the last eight minutes of the game. Then we stepped it up and made it look like it was an actual game."

The Huskies looked like they were going to hammer Minot State as they took a 33-point lead on a layup by Karissa LeCaptain with 13:13 to play in the game.

But the Beavers battled back over the last 10 minutes behind a group of reserves and Katie Hardy (Jr., F, Fairview, N.D.). Hardy had 12 of her 18 points and seven of her eight rebounds in the second half.

 "We just came out flat and it just kind of kept going. I thought the group that was in there for the last bit played their hearts out and gave us a little boost," she said. "We just need to put this behind us and move on."

While the final numbers were nearly even – MISU shot 55.4 percent compared to 49.3 for SCSU, it was key stretches where the Beavers made mental errors that stretched the lead and then kept a comeback from materializing earlier.

 "It comes down to making poor decisions and not moving the ball well," Green Gerding said. "That is what caused the majority of this tonight. Their zone worked in their favor tonight and they got us to crank up 3s and settle for shots like that the majority of the night."

The Huskies had solid balance as eight players scored at least six and five finished in double figures. Sam Price led the way with 15 points, while Rachel Moen and Jessica Benson scored 14 points each. Benson finished with eight rebounds, four steals and three assists for SCSU.

MISU's Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) was efficient with 26 points on 13 of 15 shooting and finished with eight rebounds to tie Hardy for team lead.

The Beavers continue a four-game home stand with a pair of NSIC North Division games at the Dome Friday and Saturday, playing host to Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State.