WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State University women's basketball team turned in a dominant performance against Bemidji State on Saturday, Jan. 7, defeating the Beavers 76-63 in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court.
Leading by seven at the break, head coach
Ana Wurtz saw her team pull away from BSU with a big second half in which the Warriors led by as many as 22.
Winona State used dynamic guard play and a solid post presence to power their way in the victory, led by
Lauren Fech who scored a career-high 25 points, one of four Warriors to reach double-digits in scoring on the night.
Alex Dornfeld scored 15 points and hauled in 10 rebounds while Warrior teammate
Ava Sergio notched 13 points and had 12 boards. The pair of double-double performances from Sergio and Dornfeld was buoyed by
Caitlin Riley who scored 13 points as well.
WSU led 36-29 at the break and used a big second half – and third period in particular- to pull away from BSU.
The Warriors outscored the Beavers 21-13 in the third quarter, with Fech finding her form to the tune of six third-quarter points and some strong work down low by
Ava Sergio, who also scored eight points in the third frame.
Although Bemidji State closed the gap somewhat in the fourth quarter for the 76-63 final, WSU had a 22 point advantage early on in the last 10 minutes. Winona State had a distinct superiority on the boards, outrebounding BSU 32-24 and parlayed 12 Beaver turnovers into 10 points, mostly in the second half.
The fantastic night by Fech saw her go 10-of-17 from the floor and 2-of-4 from behind the arc. The Wausau, Wis. product was 3-of-4 from the free throw line and hauled in four rebounds as well. Fech's 25 points bested her previous high-water mark of 20 points against Quincy University on Nov. 20.
As a team, Winona State shot 31-of-61 (50.8%) from the floor and 5-of-14 (35.7%) from 3-point territory. The Warriors knocked down 9-of-12 (75.0%) free throws and collected seven steals.
BSU was led by Sam Pogatchnik with 18 points and six rebounds. Alyssa Hill added 12 to the Beaver effort. Bemidji State falls to 4-10 overall and 1-9 in NSIC play.
With the win, Winona State moves to 9-7 overall and 3-7 in the NSIC. Winona State will return to the road next weekend, traveling to St. Cloud State on Friday, Jan. 13 and the University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, Jan. 14.
