MANKATO, Minn. – Minot State University fell behind early and couldn't recover as Minnesota State used a 21-13 first quarter to earn a 71-59 win in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball Friday at the Taylor Center.
 
The Beavers (3-14 overall, 1-10 NSIC) trailed 44-26 at halftime as MSU finished with just nine field goals in the first half.
 
"We had a rough start due to too many turnovers and poor transition defense," said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "However, we kept competing and battled until the end of the game. Gabby Wilkinson and Reina Strand both gave us good minutes off the bench and Kari Clements was solid again for us tonight."
 
Clements finished with 14 points including two 3-pointers to lead the Beavers. She added three rebounds, three steals and two assists to her points. Wilkinson came off the bench to score nine points, hitting both 3s she attempted, and pulled down nine rebounds, while Strand had seven boards and four points. Strand, Wilkinson and Haley Hildenbrand combined for 19 points and 14 rebounds off the bench for Minot.
 
Minot State outscored the Mavericks (8-7, 4-7) by six, 33-27, in the second half including a 19-9 run in the fourth quarter, but couldn't complete the comeback. Turnovers hurt Minot all night as the Beavers committed 18 overall.
 
Britney Scherber scored 20 points and Monica Muth pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with eight points to lead Minnesota State.
 
Diondra Denton joined Clements in double figures with 11 points and added four rebounds for Minot. Minot State had 12 assists on 21 made baskets as Strand led the team with three helpers.
 
The Beavers finish off the road trip Saturday at Concordia-St. Paul
 
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.