I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
Nov. 14, 1998
By Devlyn Brooks
Poor officiating not only irked BSU women's basketball coach Doreen Zierer, it kept the Beavers from posting a blowout in their home opener Friday night.
The Beavers spotted Lake Superior State 24 points from the free throw line in a 74-62 victory. But the outcome could have been drastically different considering the Lakers had 50 opportunities from the line.
"The officiating was interesting. I don't know how much trouble I can get into for saying that. But their calls were inconsistent," Zierer said after the game. "If (Lake Superior) doesn't go to the line that many times, we blow them out."
Junior guard Erin Walker led the Beavers with 23 points, shooting 7-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-9 from beyond the three-point line.
But it was point guard Jennifer Ohme's consistent ball handling that was important from the offensive stand point, Zierer said.
The Beavers never once trailed in the contest, jumping ahead early with a 10-4 lead about five minutes into the first half.
But the Lakers hung with the Beavers in the first half, mostly on the play of forward Jill VanderEnde and forward-center Kendra Harris.
VanderEnde and Harris combined for 12 points midway through the first half to bring the Lakers within 22-18, but the Beavers shut down their rally with a seven-point run of their own with about five minutes left.
Walker hit her first three-pointer of the night during that rally, and Ohme added a layup. The run gave BSU its largest lead of the half at 29-18.
VanderEnde led another Lakers attack with five points to close the gap to 19-26 late in the half, but BSU's second rally of the evening gave them a 35-26 halftime lead.
Sophomore guard Andrea Fischer, who led BSU with nine points in the first half, sank a trey and a free throw to lead the run.
The Beavers took control of the game early in the second half, outscoring the Lakers 7-2 in the first four minutes, and BSU never led by less than nine points the rest of the half.
Walker scored 15 of her points in the second half, including three of her three-pointers. And BSU volleyball standout Peggy Hammel also played a good second half, posting six of her nine points -- several from key free throw line jumpers -- in it.
"(BSU) came out and played very aggressive and put our girls on their heels right away," Lakers coach Kris Bullock said. "They have a lot of big bodies and they take advantage of it."
The Lakers' many missed free throws was not something lost on Bullock either.
"If we make the free throws, we win," she said.
Continuing their home opener weekend, the Beaver women will host South Dakota State tonight at BSU Gymnasium at 7 p.m.
The Beavers (1-0 overall, 0-0 NSIC) are the Jackrabbits' first opponent of the year.
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