WINONA, Minn. – Minot State University couldn't hang onto a late lead as Winona State rallied to take a 52-47 win in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball Saturday at McCown Gymnasium.

The Beavers (8-10 overall, 3-9 NSIC) looked poised to earn their second road win in a row as Savana Kingsbury (Jr., F, Omaha, Neb.) hit a 3 and Morgan Klose (Sr., G, Fairview, N.D.) drove for a layup to give Minot State a 43-39 lead with just over five minutes to play in the game.
 
But the Beavers had three crucial turnovers in the final five minutes that kept them from knocking off the Warriors.
Instead, Winona State (13-3, 9-3) quickly tied the game at 43 and pulled away from there behind solid free throw shooting down the stretch for the win.
 
"We didn't execute down the stretch at times," said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "We played our butts off and that's all we can ask for. We had a good win last night and are happy with getting a road split. We're not happy with losing this game, but happy with how we played."
 
Free throws were a key factor in the contest as Minot State was outscored 16-4 from the line. Winona State, one of the top free throw shooting teams in the league, shot 16 for 19 from the stripe, including 11 for 12 in the second half, while Minot State struggled to just 4 of 10. MSU hit just 3 of 8 from the line after halftime.
 
The Beavers opened up an early lead  like they have done much of the season, taking a 12-3 lead on a jumper by Kingsbury and sprinted to a 15-6 lead on a basket by Alex Haley (So., G, Libertyville, Ill.) with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half.
 
But Winona State's defense put the clamps on MSU's offense down the stretch of the half, outscoring Minot State 17-6 over the final 10 minutes to take a 23-21 lead into the break.
 
"They (Winona State) played some really good defense," Green Gerding said. "I thought we were patient for the most part and did a decent job against them, but they were tough to score on. We were the same on our end. We did a great job on the boards, limiting them to just four offensive rebounds."
 
WSU outscored Minot State 9-4 over the first four minutes of the second half to grab a seven-point lead, but the Beavers did not go away. MSU had it tied again at the 10:26 mark on a short jumper by Diondra Denton (So., G, Great Falls, Mont.) and was back in the lead on the Klose fast break layup five minutes later.  
 
Neither team was very effective from the field as MSU was hit 40.4 percent (21-52) in the game and limited Winona State to 32.7 percent (16-49) overall.
 
Three Warriors finished in double figures as Alexis Foley led all scorers with 17. Connor Nagle and Kayla Timmerman added 11 each and Timmerman earned a double-double with 10 rebounds in the win.
 
Kingsbury paced Minot State with 12 points and just missed a double-double with eight rebounds. Denton added 10 points and four rebounds. Klose scored nine points, while Alex Haley and Chrstina Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) scored six each. Haley led MSU with six assists and Boag tied Katie Hardy (Sr., F, Fairview, N.D.) for rebounding honors as both finished with 10.
 
"I'm not sure what it was that got into Savana, but she had a great game. She really posted hard down low and made a 3, which she has been struggling some at," said Green Gerding. "Morgan probably had her best weekend of the year and Diondra did a great job playing through an injury."
 
The Beavers return home for four games in a row at the MSU Dome starting Friday with NSIC North rival Minnesota Duluth.