It was the old tale of two halves for the Jimmies in their home debut Thursday night.
The second half was shaky, but the first 20 minutes were so good it didn't matter.
Jamestown College improved to 3-0 on the back of a dominant 44-point first half en route to an 81-68 win over Bemidji State of the NSIC.
The Jimmies led by as many as 28 points in the first half (42-14), it got a little close for comfort late, but it was still an impressive win over the NCAA Division II Beavers, who were playing for the first time this season.
"Killer instinct, that's what we lacked tonight," said JC coach Greg Ulland. "We did a lot of good things. We're still a young team and there's things we still have to learn. But as whole, I'm proud of the effort."
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It was a precursor of what will likely be a reoccurring theme for the Jimmies: A lot of girls played (14), a whole bunch scored (11) and they looked good doing it, albeit a lot smoother in the first half.
"That first half was really good, particularly on defense. I thought we really got up and defended them hard," Ulland said. "And we shot the ball well, too. We'll certainly take 44 points in the first half any day."
It was a ragged start for both teams with just one basket in the first four minutes. But showing their explosiveness, just six minutes of game action later the game was basically over.
Despite the slow start, the Jimmies scored the first 10 points of the game. They heated up big time later.
Already up 25-10 the Jimmies connected on seven straight shots -- five of them threes -- to put the game out of reach.
Freshman Kaeli Kraska had the first two three-pointers. Bridget Schuneman, playing for the first time after missing the first two games with a back issue, made it 33-10. From there it was three more triples: one each by Morgan Mathison, Amber Ramlo and Casey Geffre to blow it wide open (42-14).
The Beavers turned up the pressure full court in the second half and slowly chipped away at the lead. They never got within single digits, but they did make it a little more interesting than it appeared it would be at halftime. A 3-pointer by Ellie Wessling got the Beavers within 15 (71-56) with 4:10 left to play, but that was as close as they got.
"We try to simulate (pressure) in practice, but we haven't seen anything like that yet," Ulland said. "We just weren't crisp with our cuts or our passes. We were a little passive, but we'll go back to practice and get better."
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After shooting a blistering 65 percent in the first half, the Jimmies cooled in the second 20 minutes and finished at 60 percent (32-53). Eight Jimmies scored 7 points or more led by Geffre's 12 points. Hannah Steele had 10 points and 5 assists. Freshman Megan Pold had 10 points off the bench on 5 of 6 shooting.
The Jimmies are back at home Saturday afternoon against Winnipeg. The women's game starts at 2 p.m. with the men to follow.
Jamestown College 81, Bemidji State 68
Bemidji State 19 49 -- 68
Jamestown College 44 37 -- 81
Bemidji State -- Kate Warmack 14, Ellie Wessling 7, Jessi Corrick 11, Samantha Baldwin 6, Morgan Lee 8, Tatum Lee 3, Shannon Thompson 7, Taylor Davis 8, Paige Tompkins 2, Emily Kaus 2. Totals: 23-40 FG, Three-pointers: 7-11 (Corrick 2, Baldwin 2, M.Lee, T.Lee, Wessling), 15-21 FT, 26 Rebounds (Thompson 5), 19 Fouls, 15 Assists (Thompson 4), 24 Turnovers, 8 Steals (Thompson 3).
Jamestown College -- Amber Ramlo 7, Kayla Roemmich 7, Hannah Steele 10, Casey Geffre 12, Kaeli Kraska 8, Carly Jensen 9, Jordan Bridges 4, Hannah Elshaug 1, Morgan Mathison 9, Bridget Schuneman 4, Megan Pold 10. Totals: 30-51 FG, Three-pointers: 10-20 (Jensen 3, Geffre 2, Kraska 2, Bridges, Mathison, Ramlo), 11-23 FT, 24 Rebounds (Roemmich 4), 20 Assists (Steele 5), 24 Turnovers. 10 Steals (Steele 3, Jensen 3).
Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at daves@jamestownsun.com
