WASHBURN, Kan. – Minot State University started strong, but didn't have enough firepower to keep up with Washburn University as the Ichabods pulled away for a 77-61 win in nonconference NCAA Division II women's basketball Friday afternoon at Schendel Court at Lee Arena.
The Beavers (0-1 overall) jumped out to a 24-19 lead after the first quarter behind five 3-pointers from four different players. Washburn, a team receiving votes nationally and picked to finish third in the MIAA, slowed MSU down from there to take a 35-32 lead at halftime.
"We had a great start and then started not moving the ball around. That make it tougher to score," MSU head coach
Sheila Green Gerding said. "Our transition defense needs improvement, but we're confident we will improve on that in the next 24 hours."
Minot State shot 61.5 percent in the first quarter, but ended up shooting just 34.5 percent from the floor. The Ichabods (1-0) stayed much steadier throughout the game, hitting 52.6 percent overall including a stellar 8 for 11 in the final quarter.
The game played much closer than the final score indicated as WU's three-point halftime lead hovered between three and seven points for much of the third quarter before a late run pushed it to 10 after three quarters.
MSU got it back to just six on a driving layup by
Kari Clements with seven minutes to play in the game, but the Ichabods make one final push, outscoring Minot State 15-4 over the next five minutes to build the lead back to double figures.
"This was a good starting point for us against a senior-loaded and very good MIAA team," Green Gerding said. "We did a good job on the offensive boards, but need to convert. I feel this is a great place for us to start."
Erika Lane paced all scorers with 20 points and added seven rebounds in the win for WU. Reagan Phelan added 15 and Tatiana Grant scored 10 for the Ichabods.
Minot State got a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds from freshman
Haley Hildenbrand in her first collegiate game. She hit two 3-pointers, both in the first quarter, and went 5 for 7 from the floor. Krystal Flowers scored 12 points and added eight rebounds, while
Madison Wald finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists.
"
Haley Hildenbrand and
Kristal Flowers showed grit inside and really battled," added Green Gerding.
MSU travels to Warrensburg, Mo., for its second nonconference road game against the MIAA Saturday playing Central Missouri at 7:30 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.
– GO BEAVERS –
