GRAND FORKS, N.D. ? The North Dakota women's basketball team got just what it was looking for when it took a 75-59 victory over South Dakota in front of a packed house on Saturday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
A pair of junior guards led the Sioux to victory with 15 points apiece. Junior Jossy Bergan (Valley City, N.D.) tallied 15 points on a career-high five three-pointers and junior Kayla Bagaason (Clearbrook, Minn.) shot 5-for-12 from the field with nine points from behind the arc.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak against the Coyotes and pushed the Sioux over .500 as they continue through the final half of the 2008-09 season.
North Dakota improved to a 10-9 record while South Dakota dropped to 12-5. Against “Great West” opponents, the Sioux are 2-0 and are now an unmarked 7-0 at home.
Bergan and Bagaason were two of five players to finish in double-digits.
After gaining entrance into the UND 1,000 point club, senior guard Danye Guinn (St. Francis, Minn.) recorded the first double-double of her career with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
Senior forwards Kierah Kimbrough (Greenbush, Minn.) and junior Whitney Ledger (Bismarck, N.D.) finished with 11 points apiece. It was the 15th consecutive double-figure game for Kimbrough this season and the 17th career for Ledger.
South Dakota was led by Ashley Wiemann who tallied 16 points and was the only Coyotes to tally double-figures. She was 5-for-9 from behind the three-point line.
USD's leading scorer, Bridget Yoerger, was held to just seven points.
The Fighting Sioux finished 25-for-56 (.446) shooting from the field and were 10-for-22 (.455) from behind the three-point line. The Coyotes finished similarly shooting 19-for-43 (.442) from the field and 11-for-23 (.478) from the arc.
UND held a .682 (15-for-22) to .588 (10-for-17) advantage from the charity stripe and out-rebounded the Coyotes, 39-26.
UND's Kimbrough scored the first basket of the game at 19:40 on the clock with an acrobatic block-to-block, turnaround jumper compliments of a short pass from Bagaason on the left side.
USD quickly answered and then went on a 10-2 run to lead 7-4 with five minutes gone in the first half. The charge was capped off by a three-point basket by Kendra Schomer.
At 11:47, the Sioux recaptured the lead with a short 8-0 run highlighted by a pair of three-point baskets by Bergan. In the middle of her six points was a transition layup from Guinn to Ledger.
After tying the game at 12-12, the Coyotes took off on another run to take a 20-12 advantage ? their biggest and last lead of the game.
The USD lead quickly dwindled and disappeared as the Fighting Sioux surged ahead with a 13-0 run kick started by another three-point bucket from Bergan. Along with Bergan, four other players helped the Sioux to a 25-20 lead.
In the final 10 minutes of the first half, South Dakota was held to just one free throw.
The Sioux scored six more points in the final two and a half minutes to carry a 30-21 lead into the locker-room.
Back from the half, the Sioux scored first, but USD used a bit of momentum to cut the lead down to three points. Ashley Wiemann and Youngberg both scored from behind the arc to move the score to 37-34.
Both teams continued to battle from the field, but with two more three-point baskets from Bergan, North Dakota took a 48-40 lead with less than 12 minutes remaining in the game.
The back-and-forth battle was back on through the ensuing five minutes until Bagaason connected up top for three points to give the Sioux the 63-49 lead.
The 13-point margin was the largest for UND until seconds later when Bagaason hit again from the baseline for two points.
With just over two minutes left, Schomer hit from behind the three-point line to put the score at 69-59, but with baskets by Bagaason, Kimbrough, and Guinn, North Dakota came away with the 75-59 victory.
The win capped a three-game home stand for the Sioux. Next on the agenda is Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. That game will be played out at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 27 at John E. Worthen Arena.
? Go Sioux ?
Game Notes: Bergan set new career-highs in points (15), field goals (five), field goal attempts (10), three-pointers (five), three-point attempts (10), and minutes played (39). She also surpassed the century mark in field goals made ... Andrea LaFrance nabbed a career-high nine rebounds ... Kimbrough is now No. 6 in all-time field goal attempts surpassing Pam Solseth (1976-80) ... Guinn is now tied with Tiffany Pudenz (1994-98) for tenth place in career games played (124).
