MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University got defensive in the second half.

The Beavers shut down Northern State, allowing just 29 second-half points to grind out a 69-61 win over the Wolves to earn their first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball win Saturday at the MSU Dome.

"I don't know defensively if there was anything (different), I just think our persistence paid off," said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "I thought we were scrappy all game and we got some breaks that went our way and I think you create those breaks yourself. This team really has a lot of heart. They just hustled and got after it and never gave up. The difference I feel was that we executed a little bit better."

The win was Green Gerding's 350 career victory in her illustrious 21-year career.

"Realistically it just means I'm old and I've been around for a long time, but it also is a compliment to the players that have been in the program," she said. "You win with players and these kids have a chance to be pretty good. We've had a lot of great teams in the past. It's been fun."

The only thing MSU (4-4 overall, 1-1 NSIC) didn't do well in the second half was rebound and it kept the Wolves (5-2, 1-1) in the game. Northern State finished with 48 total rebounds, 21 on the offensive end, and out rebounded the Beavers 48-28 and 21-7.

Minot State trailed by as many nine point in the second quarter, but a series of turnovers in MSU's full court press and subsequent transition points got the Beavers back in the game. MSU trailed by just 32-28 at half.

That lead was down to just two points by the end of the third quarter before the Beavers outscored NSU 25-15 in the fourth quarter. While MSU only caused 14 total turnovers, the pressure defense kept Northern State off balance much of the second half.
The Beavers had great balance on the offensive end with four players in double figures and all 10 MSU players who got in the game scored. MSU also had 15 assists on 25 field goals.

"Part of that is something we talked about before the game," Green Gerding said of the assists. "We tried to run a little bit of a different offense, which was a lot of penetration into the defense. We felt like we needed to look for our kick throughs on the weak side and our post to the open window and just share the ball more because the defense would collapse and I felt like our kids really executed that well."

Devon Brecke led Northern State with 17 points, while Jill Conrad and Lauren Deadrick scored 11 each. Deadrick added 12 rebounds – nine on the offensive end – and Conrad finished with 10 boards for the Wolves.

Savana Kingsbury (Sr., F, Omaha, Neb.) led the Beavers with 15 points and added seven assists and three rebounds. She was 6 for 9 from the field and added a block and a steal. Sarah Lester (Sr., G, Frenchtown, Mont.) and Alex Haley (Jr., G, Libertyville, Ill.) finished with 11 points apiece and Amanda Sansaver (Sr., G, Wolf Point, Mont.) picked in with 10 points. Haley added four assists and two rebounds, while Lester and Sansaver pulled down four rebounds each in the win.

Minot State takes to the road for two NSIC games next weekend, traveling to the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State.

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.