MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State University women's basketball team picked up right where they left off over two weeks ago winning its third consecutive game by going back to the basics and trusting the system that has been put in place.
 
In their first game in 2016 the Beavers earned an 80-49 win over Bemidji State by shooting 52 of their 58 shots inside the three-point line. As a team MSU hit 55.8 percent of those 52 shots and landed a season-high 53.4 percent of all field goal attempts.
 
"I thought that we were really patient offensively," said head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "We didn't rush our shots. We tried to get to the rack a little bit."
 
The Beavers were successful getting to the rack as well as using their opportunities from the free throw line. For the eighth time this season Minot State made 15 or more free throws, making 16 of 19 in the most recent victory. Before this weekend MSU led the NSIC with 187 free throw makes, an average of 14.4.
 
Not only did they keep up their production from the charity stripe, but the aggressive defense from 2015 carried over into the New Year. Averaging 9.3 steals per game before the break, a mark good enough for third best in the conference, the Beavers improved with 11 against Bemidji State.
 
"I felt like there was good flow tonight," Green Gerding said. "I also felt like the tempo was good and our players had a lot of energy. We were active defensively and ran the court offensively which created a lot of breaks for ourselves. Playing with that intensity was nice to see."
 
Steals were just the beginning of the success the Beavers had on defense as they held one of the better shooters in the Northern Sun, in Bemidji State's Tatum Sheley, to just one made three-pointer on five attempts. Sheley along with Sierra Senske have both seen success for BSU from beyond the arch making over 40% of their attempts. Senske did not attempt a single three-point shot during the game.
 
Improving Minot State's overall record against BSU to 9-4 was partly due to the preparation and rest the winter break provided as well.
 
"Right before break we were exhausted," Green Gerding said. "Part of that was finals week and coming right off of a road trip. We were fresh and ready to go tonight."
 
Being worn down before break didn't mean the MSU coaches were going to take it easy on the team when they returned, however.
 
"We killed them early in the week," Green Gerding said. "Told them they have to believe we're doing the right things. They did the things we asked them for recovery. They took good care of themselves."
 
Energy and flow were a big part of the MSU victory, but another reason for Green Gerding to be happy about the first game of 2016 was the unselfish play on offense, saying her team had an answer for everything that was thrown at them.

That unselfish play resulted in 16 assists, the most in conference play this season and the most since November 17 when the Beavers tallied 18 against Presentation College. Kanesha Woods (G, Jr., Little Rock, Ark.) and Amanda Sansaver (G, Sr., Wolf Point, Mont.) accounted for 11 of the 16 assists with six and five, respectively.
 
Kori Eurich (G, Jr., Pueblo, Colo.) led the team with 13 points while Savana Kingsbury (F, Sr., Omaha, Neb.) recorded her ninth straight game in double-digits with 11 points and redshirt-freshman Whitney Molina (G, Hinsdale, Mont.) reached double-digits for the first time in her career with 10. Kingsbury also added a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Minot State will play at the MSU Dome again tomorrow, January 3, against Minnesota Crookston. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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.