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Gracee Bieber’s career-high 27 points paced Bemidji’s offense, and the Jacks forced 28 turnovers to dominate Hibbing 74-40 on Saturday afternoon at the Bemidji High School Fieldhouse.
Facing the Bluejackets for a second time this season after winning 67-45 away on Dec. 20, Bemidji quickly established a lead with outside shooting from Bieber and the quick dribble drive ability of Mya Vincent.
Hibbing pulled within 16-13 during a high-scoring middle stretch of the first half, keeping the Jacks’ offense at bay while finding opportunities around the rim.
Bemidji turned to its defense to reignite the offense, pushing the ball in transition off of steals to quickly compile a 14-2 run.
The lead remained healthy going into halftime with some outside shooting from Allie Lish that sent the Jacks on their way to a 41-26 score at the break.
Bieber had totalled 14 points by halftime, and she kept the buckets coming with a sweeping skyhook in the post.
Beyond the arc, the Jacks continued to supplement their transition scoring with three-point makes and Katelyn Milbrandt added one to increase the lead to 58-35.
The scoring spree continued for Bieber with an and-one finish around the rim and another strong take in the post that took her to 27 points for the afternoon.
More long-range shooting was supplied by Beth Bolte and Mya Huseby in the late stages to push the Lumberjacks’ lead past 30.
Bolte joined Bieber in double-digits scoring with a 14-point effort.
Bemidji (7-10) will next visit Detroit Lakes for a second meeting with the Lakers this season on Tuesday evening.
Postgame interview with Bemidji head coach Darin Schultz:
