(UND Athletics/Kerry Ring)
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics)– The North Dakota women’s basketball team battled in front of nearly 3,000 fans at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center but fell short in a 101-85 loss to North Dakota State Saturday.
The second and fourth quarters proved to be the difference in Saturday’s matchup, with NDSU outscoring the Hawks by a combined 15 points in those two quarters. The two teams each scored 24 points in the third frame, while the Bison held a slim 17-16 lead after the first 10 minutes of action.
Coming out of the halftime intermission trailing 47-38, Kiyah Hurst started the scoring with a paint bucket which rolled into seven straight UND points pulling them within two, 47-45. The Bison would extend their lead back to 11 later in the period, but NoDak continued to fight with a 10-1 led by seven points from Kacie Borowicz. NDSU scored the final four points of the quarter and took a 71-62 lead into the final 10 minutes. Borowicz scored nine points in the quarter, while Pemberton was active on the glass with three offensive rebounds.
Borowicz tallied seven points in each of the first two quarters and led all players at the halftime intermission with 14. North Dakota scored the final six points of the first quarter, with a bucket from Borowicz, free throw from Pemberton and a triple from Sammiyah Hoskin. The Hawks shot 6-of-16 from the field and 2-of-3 from deep, while the Bison were 7-of-17 and 2-7 from beyond the arc.
The Fighting Hawks cut the NDSU lead to eight twice early in the fourth quarter, but the Bison would push into the double-digits after a Heaven Hamling three-pointer. North Dakota State would hold their advantage at 13 points or more over the final minutes on its way to the win. Kiera Pemberton scored 14 of her 20 points in the fourth and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
North Dakota State 11 unanswered in the middle of the second, a run that was ended by a Borowicz and-one. The Hawks answered with a 10-0 run of their own to bring the deficit back to single digits. Hurst added six points in the period on 2-of-2 shooting, while Rakiyah Beal added five points off the bench.
The Fighting Hawks will hit the road next week starting with a matchup against Omaha on Thursday at Baxter Arena.
Postgame Notes
- With 27 points today, Kacie Borowicz moved to fifth on the North Dakota all-time scoring list
- Borowicz also dished out her 400th career assist in a green and white jersey
- Kiera Pemberton poured in 20 points for the second this season, lasting hit that mark on Jan. 16 against Kansas City
- Pemberton just missed a double-double with eight rebounds
- The Hawks and Bison were nearly even in paint points with the edge going to NDSU, 40-36
- Kiyah Hurst knocked down three three-pointers for the third time this season
- UND scored 80+ points for the fourth time this season
How It Happened
Q1: NDSU 17, UND 16
Q2: NDSU 47, UND 38
Q3: NDSU 71, UND 62
Q4: NDSU 101, UND 85
Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | 2/3/2024 4:51:00 PM | Ethan Erdman, FightingHawks.com
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