歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI -- Saturday鈥檚 game between the Bemidji State women鈥檚 basketball team and St. Cloud State was all one-sided. And then, overwhelmingly, it was all one-sided the other way.

The visiting Huskies overcame a 15-point deficit inside the BSU Gymnasium, claiming a 57-53 comeback and issuing the Beavers a cutting loss on their resume.

鈥淚t hurt. And it should hurt,鈥� Bemidji State head coach Chelsea DeVille said. 鈥淣ot taking away from St. Cloud, but we gave one away. That loss is definitely on us. It鈥檚 supposed to hurt, and we need to learn from it.鈥�

The Beavers scored zero points during a 10-minute spell in the second half, which flipped an 11-point lead into a decisive eight-point deficit with three minutes remaining. SCSU paraded up and down the court on a 19-0 run as BSU missed eight straight shots and fumbled away nine turnovers in the same demoralizing span.

鈥淚t definitely humbled us a little bit,鈥� said junior guard Trinity Myer. 鈥淲e were on such a high of continuing to win, but it kind of brought us back to reality. Wins just don鈥檛 come easy. We definitely have to work for it.鈥�

The final score was a stark contrast to the start of the game. After a 23-point loss yesterday, a determined Bemidji State bunch set the tone in a hurry. The Beavers (7-3, 6-2 NSIC North) made six defensive stops to open the game and led 10-2 on a Brooklyn Bachmann 3-pointer.

BSU carried a 16-9 lead into the second quarter, which stretched up to a 15-point difference at 35-20 on a Bachmann mid-range jumper late in the frame.

鈥淭he biggest thing was being tougher than them,鈥� Myer said. 鈥淲e know that we鈥檙e a good team. We know that, offensively, we鈥檒l get the shots we want. And, defensively, we know that we can guard.鈥�

Even in the third quarter, things were going fine. St. Cloud State (7-3, 4-2 NSIC) made its run -- an 8-2 push to get within single-digits at 42-33 -- but Bemidji State kept scoring to keep the advantage at 11 with 3 minutes, 8 seconds left in the frame.

And then the drought hit hard.

The Huskies took their first lead on a Tori Wortz 3-pointer with seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter. She banked in a three the next time down, and SCSU never trailed again. The unanswered run reached 19 when Brehna Evans was left alone inside on a curl to the hoop, making for a nearly unrecognizable 54-46 game.

Rachael Heittola finally scored BSU鈥檚 first points of the fourth quarter on an and-one layup with 2:44 to go, stopping the drought at 10:22. But the offense fell flat to the end and couldn鈥檛 overcome a six-point hill that felt more like Mount Everest.

鈥淲e missed baskets, turned the ball over and got a little frantic,鈥� DeVille said. 鈥淲hen we didn鈥檛 turn it over, we were seeing good looks from good players. But we didn鈥檛 make them. It鈥檚 a toughness thing, and we didn鈥檛 make good decisions here or there.鈥�

鈥淧art of it was realizing we had a 10-point lead and feeling content with where we were at,鈥� Myer added. 鈥淒efensively, we stopped our momentum from the first half. I feel like I was definitely guilty of it. 鈥� It came down to, defensively, getting the stops we needed and hoping a few would fall offensively.鈥�

Bachmann finished with 16 points as the only double-digit scorer for Bemidji State. Heittola reached eight points on 2-for-13 shooting, while Myer tallied seven points, six rebounds and five assists.

For SCSU, Wortz finished with a game-high 19 points, nine of which came during the 19-0 run, while Evans chipped in 17.

The Beavers will next focus on Minnesota Duluth for a road series that pits the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams in the division against each other on Feb. 12-13. Friday鈥檚 tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and Saturday鈥檚 for 4 p.m.

鈥淲e definitely have a big confidence in our whole team. We鈥檝e got to keep rolling with that,鈥� Myer said. 鈥淎nd now, we realize that we just have to work a little bit harder each weekend.鈥�

St. Cloud State 57, Bemidji State 53

SCSU 9 13 16 19 -- 57

BSU 16 19 11 7 -- 53

ST. CLOUD STATE (7-3, 4-2 NSIC) -- T. Wortz 19, Evans 17, Kilboten 10, Theis 6, Navratil 3, Peterson 2, K. Peschel 0, T. Peschel 0. Totals: 20-56 FGs, 12-16 FTs, 57.

BEMIDJI STATE (7-3, 6-2 NSIC) -- Bachmann 16, Heittola 8, Myer 7, Rezabek 7, Zerr 6, Bray 4, Wolhowe 3, DuBois 2, Vold 0. Totals: 18-49 FGs, 12-15 FTs, 53.

1/4: Bemidji State senior Teagan Pompa cheers from the bench in the first half of Saturday鈥檚 game against St. Cloud at the BSU Gymnasium. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

2/4: Bemidji State sophomore Rachael Heittola (32) shoots a 3-pointer in the first half of Saturday鈥檚 game against St. Cloud at the BSU Gymnasium. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

3/4: Bemidji State senior Brooklyn Bachmann (12) shoots in the second half against St Cloud at the BSU Gymnasium. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

4/4: Bemidji State junior Trinity Myer (14) passes the ball in the first half of Saturday鈥檚 game against St. Cloud at the BSU Gymnasium. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)