WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Minot State University erased a big first-quarter deficit to take a 48-44 halftime lead, but Central Missouri outscored the Beavers 54-27 after the break to take a 98-75 win in nonconference NCAA Division II women's basketball Saturday.
 
The Beavers (0-2 overall) trailed 19-4 in the first quarter but kept chipping away. By late in the second quarter, it was MSU on the offensive, taking a 44-43 lead on a layup by Kristal Flowers with just 1:31 to play in the half.
 
But the second half belonged to the Jennies (1-1).
 
After MSU outscored UCM 33-18 in the second quarter, the Jennies turned the tables with a 32-14 advantage in the third quarter and Minot State never fully recovered.
 
"We had a slow start and had to dig deep and battle to take the lead at half," said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "Their run at the end of the third quarter really hurt us and we tried to make another run and answer it but ran out of gas."
 
MSU outshot UCM, hitting 50.9 percent from the field compared to 47.8 for the Jennies, but Central Missouri took 14 more shots partly due to a 14-8 advantage on the offensive glass and a 20-8 turnover margin.
 
"We didn't defend very well and gave them too many open looks," Green Gerding said. "Our transition defense improved over last night and now we need to see improvement in the half court."
 
UCM had six players in double figures led by Sydney Crockett with 21. Paige Redmond added 18 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals.
 
MSU had four in double figures with 20 coming from Kari Clements. Clements finished with three 3-pointers and went 9 for 10 from the free throw line. She added five assists, two rebounds and two steals for the Beavers. Mariah Payne scored 12 points on four 3-pointers, while Flowers and Kori Eurich added 10 each. Eurich paced MSU with six rebounds.
 
"Kari had an excellent game," said Green Gerding "And, we had 10 of 11 players contribute in the scoring column."
 
Minot State starts its home schedule Wednesday with a nonconference game against Dickinson State starting at 6 p.m. at the 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.