MOORHEAD, Minn. – Minot State University played a better offensive game, but allowed 14 Minnesota State University Moorhead 3-pointers in a 73-55 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball loss Saturday at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
 
The Beavers (7-9 overall, 4-6 NSIC) lost for the second straight time in conference play and their fourth in five NSIC road games this season.

"Moorhead really shot the ball well form the perimeter tonight," said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "They showed great balance for a team that is very post oriented. We took away the inside, but couldn't combat their hit shooting from the outside."
 
MSU trailed nearly the entire game after taking an early 7-3 lead on a free throw by Savana Kingsbury (Sr., F, Omaha, Neb.) and trailed by as many as  eight in the first quarter and 12 in the second.
 
But the Beavers battled back to trail by just nine at the break and whittled that lead down to as few as four with a quick 5-0 run on a 3-pointer by Amanda Sansaver (Sr., G, Wolf Point, Mont.) and a jumper by Alex Haley (Jr., G, Libertyville, Ill.) all in the first 34 seconds of the third quarter.
 
That run only seemed to wake MSU Moorhead (10-3, 7-3). The Dragons went on an 8-0 run to push the lead to 12 and then, after a Kori Eurich (Jr., G, Pueblo, Colo.) basket, hit four 3-pointers on its final five possessions of the third quarter to jump to a 56-43 lead after three.
 
The Dragons hit 14 3s overall, seven in each half and were 48.3 from beyond the arc. The Beavers continued to struggle shooting from distance, hitting just 3 of 15 3s and were outscored 52-15 on 3-pointers in the game.
 
Cassidy Thorson hit five of those MSUM 3s and led all scorers with 19 points. Morgan Banasik scored 18 in the win for the Dragons.
 
Kari Clements (RFr., G, Trevor, Wis.) came off the bench to scored 13 points and added three rebounds and a steal for Minot State. Kingsbury finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and adding 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals in the loss.
 
MSU returns home for a pair of NSIC games, taking on Upper Iowa and nationally ranked Winona State Friday and Saturday at the Minot State Dome.

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.