MINOT, ND – (with files from Michael Linnell) Sports – Minot State University built a 21-9 lead early in the first half and then held off repeated runs by Lakehead University to take a 69-57 win in non-conference women’s basketball Friday at the MSU Dome. Lakehead got a game-high 23 from Lindsey Druery on 9 of 16 shooting from the floor. Druery added eight rebounds to lead the Thunderwolves. Kelsey Bardsley added 15 points and Ayse Kalkan chipped in with 10 for LU.
MSU was paced by the Boag sisters as Christina Boag scored a team-high 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Carly Boag added 15 and 5. Katie Hardy added 11 points and eight rebounds. The Beavers finished with a 40-32 rebounding advantage. Turnover also hurt Lakehead as they turned the ball over 23 times, 15 of those happening in the 2nd half.
Lakehead coach Jon Kreiner gave kudos to his team’s resilience, but knows they need to address their match up problems with tall teams. “Tonight we got down early but fought hard to get the game within reach and we were down 1 with 2 seconds in the 1st half. But we broke down defensively and they hit a 3 at the buzzer. We came out strong early in the 2nd getting the game back to 1 but the size of Minot hurt us as they scored 24 of their 30 points on 2nd chance opportunities or from the free throw line. Lindsay and Kelsey were great tonight, especially in the first half but we really struggled against their huge zone in the 2nd half”.
The two teams tip off for a second game at 4 p.m.(Central) Saturday at the MSU Dome.
Saturday Game Coverage: Webcast link