Wolves women drop close one in Bemidji

The Bemidji State Beavers were a little too much for the Lakehead Thunderwolves to handle Friday night – but just barely.

The Wolves women put up a valiant fight south of the border, falling 79-75 in their penultimate pre-season contest, making it close against a tough NCAA opponent.

Kelsey Bardsley led the Wolves charges with 17 points, while Ayse Kalkan and Carolyn Fragale each chipped in 11 points apiece.

It was a slow start that cost the Thunder Bay squad, the Beavers roaring out to a 12-0 lead and were up 18-6 at another point in the opening half.

Lanae Rash led all scorers with 24 points.

“Tonight our team made a big jump against a very good team. In the end, we were up three with two minutes left, but committed too many turnovers. We grew as a group and played the best game of our young season,” LU coach Jon Kreiner said in a release.

“Lindsay Inkila played 29 minutes, and no one else played more than 22. We need to rely on our bench and tonight they stepped up and scored 37 points. We need to build on this, do a better job in the paint but our rebounding and execution was outstanding tonight."