MINOT, N.D. – Minot State chiseled away throughout the second half, but Minnesota Duluth's early lead proved to be too much.

The Bulldogs led by as many as 19 points in the first half and forced 23 MSU turnovers to top the Beavers 72-60 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball Friday at the Minot State Dome.

MSU (8-11 overall, 3-10 NSIC) couldn't match Minnesota Duluth's effort early as the Bulldogs hit five first-half 3-pointers and benefited from Beaver errors. Minot State had 15 turnovers in the first half as UMD built a 39-27 lead.

"I thought we didn't come out ready to play," said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "We threw the ball all over the court. We were playing hard but we were playing too fast not making good decisions. A lot of those turnovers led to transition for them. They scored 20 points in the first half off turnovers. That's the difference in the game."

The Beavers didn't go away, however.

MSU scored five quick points behind a 3-pointer by Morgan Klose (Sr., G, Fairview, N.D.) and a jumper by Katie Hardy (Sr., F, Fairview, N.D.) and cut the lead to as low as four points in the game.

"I think we showed some grit," Green Gerding said. "We made our own little run but then when they made the run back we didn't smack it back down--we didn't stop their run against us. Somehow we've got to shorten their run and keep the game closer."

But UMD (9-8, 7-6) had an answer for each Minot State run.

The final dagger came after MSU's Diondra Denton (So., G, Great Falls, Mont.) hit a 3-pointer only to have UMD's Jessica Newman answer with a 3 of her own. UMD stretched it back to double figures from there.

Minnesota Duluth's Danielle Flood led all scorers with 20 points and added six assists in the win. Taylor Meyer added 18 points and Newman scored 12 points and added six rebounds for UMD.

Alex Haley (So., G, Libertyville, Ill.) paced Minot State with 19 points, five assists and four rebounds. Christina Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) scored 13 and pulled down six rebounds. Denton added seven points and six rebounds for the Beavers.

Minot State returns to the Dome Saturday for the second of four straight at home, taking on St. Cloud State at 4 p.m.