MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragon women's basketball team returned home after a long road trip to take on Bemidji State University in the third annual Go Pink with the Dragons game. The game and corresponding events benefited breast cancer research and awareness along with the Roger Maris Cancer Research Fund. The Dragons, wearing their special pink home jerseys, took the court with a strong first half and defeated the Beavers 68-58.

The Dragons got out to a quick 14-4 start, aided strongly by senior Meghan Rettke's six field goals and senior Krista Opheim's five assists. Opheim, already the Dragons record holder for assists (446 prior to game), continued to lead her teammates as the senior directed traffic and sparked the Dragons early.

After a quick comeback by the Beavers, freshman Marisa Yernatich hit a three-point jumper to stop the rally and the Dragons picked up momentum as the Dragons began to get points from all over the floor.

Sophomore Brittany Mayclin and senior Alison Nash-Gerlach both hit their jumpers and were followed in suit by teammates Yernatich and junior Betsy Dickson as both guards hit three-point jumpers and stretched the Dragons lead to 16 with 8:42 left to play, the largest lead to that point.

After a brief Beavers comeback, Opheim again went to work with the ball dishing out four more rebounds. The Dragons closed the first half with a flurry of jumpers and free throws and pushed the lead up to 19 as the first half ended. The largest lead of the night would belong to the Dragons as they shot 50 percent in the first half and led the Beavers 43-24 at halftime.

The Dragons turned to their senior forwards in the second half as Rettke hit her opening jumper to start the second half. Rettke used strong post play to grab a pair of offensive rebounds on the same possession and force the Beavers to foul. The Beavers tried for a late comeback with their bench scoring 22 of the Beavers 34 points in the second half.

The Dragons came together on defense and stopped the Beavers rally as the team forced missed shots and turnovers and held on to a 68-58 lead to keep pace with the top teams in the NSIC. Krista Opheim, already breaking numerous assists records, tied a 22-year old record for single-game assists with 13. Opheim now shares this record with Lisa Clark who set the record in 1987.

The Dragons get back on the winning track and push their record to 17-6 (11-5 NSIC) and drop the Beavers to 12-11 on the season (6-10 NSIC). The Dragons will honor the seniors Alison Nash-Gerlach, Meghan Rettke and Krista Opheim during Senior Night at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse tomorrow at 6 p.m. as they take on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.