UND senior Emily Evers shoots the ball last Sunday at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Photo by Chester Beltowski/The Dakota Student.

It may have only been an exhibition game, but the 1,500 fans who attended the UND women’s basketball game last Sunday were excited to see the team playing at a high level.

UND scored quick and often in its first action of competition against Bemidji State, defeating the Beavers 79-43.

For the squad, it was a simple formula at the Betty — shoot the ball. This strategy worked well for UND as it ended the game shooting more than 50 percent from the field, while Bemidji shot 21 percent.

UND’s offense was on display, as it quickly jumped out to an early lead. It ended the first half leading 31-15 before thoroughly pulling away in the second half, scoring 40 points.

Leading the offensive charge were several UND players, including Emily Evers, who led the game with 21 points. Makailah Dyer also had a strong outing, coming away with a double-double, consisting of 18 points and 14 rebounds.

“I thought the intensity level was there for us,” UND coach Travis Brewster said. “I thought our scoring was balanced tonight, Makailiah has that ability, and Emily Evers has that ability, too.”

Defensively, UND showed signs of strong play, especially coming off a year where its defense was so-so at best, yielding an average of 63 points per game to opponents.

Sunday’s game saw UND dominate in all defensive categories, including a staggering 51 defensive rebounds.

This defensive responsibility will likely to the three captains, Siri Burck, Emily Evers and Mia Loyd. All three captains this season had their fair share of defensive moments last season, especially Loyd, who lead the league in rebounds.

UND will need to be able to rely on the play of its younger players like freshman Bailey Strand. Strand played 27 minutes, accumulating four rebounds, three points and two assists.

Before the season gets underway, UND has one last tune up game against Minnesota-Crookston at 2 p.m. this Sunday at the Betty.

Brewster is still conscious of the efforts that his team has to take in regards to the defense,

“We are going to have to play a little bit better defense,” Brewster said. “I just really think that we have to do that. We need to be a little bit more quick to the ball and a little bit more quick to rebounds, too.”

Kyle Beauchamp is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].