DES MOINES, Iowa - Monique Jones and Rachael Hackbarth led a four-pack of Drake players in double-figures as the Bulldogs defeated the University of North Dakota 70-58 in front of a crowd of 1,803 at the Knapp Center.
Jones and Hackbarth finished with 14 points and a combined nine rebounds. Kristin Turk came away with 13 points and Amber Wollschlager netted 11 for the Bulldogs. Turk and Wollschlager had a team-high two three-pointers apiece.
With the win over the Sioux (2-8) the Bulldogs are now 6-2 and extended their win-streak to four games.
Senior Kayla Bagaason (G, Clearbrook, Minn.) registered her ninth double-figure game of the season as she led the Sioux with 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the field and 4-for-7 shooting from beyond the three-point line. Fellow senior Jossy Bergan (G, Valley City, N.D.) scored nine points, all from three-point range, and junior Mallory Youngblut (G, Davenport, Iowa) chipped in her own nine points.
UND was held under 50 percent from the field for the ninth time this season and were faced with turnover issues once again. The Bulldogs managed to score 22 points on UND turnovers and scored 18 points from the bench. The Sioux converted DU turnovers into 10 points and gathered six points on fast breaks.
It took the Bulldogs two minutes to score the first basket of the game, and Bergan countered quickly with a three-pointer to give the Sioux their first lead of the game. After trading baskets, UND took its first three-point lead of the half as Youngblut grabbed a defensive rebound, charged it down the court and then fed Bagaason on the left side for the pull-up jumper.
Trailing 11-8, Amber Wollschlager sank a three from the right side for DU to knot the game at 11-11 and spark an 11-0 Bulldog run that would take them to a 19-11 lead with under 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
Kuehl snapped the run with a jumper at the block and Bagaason drained a three to pull the Sioux within five points, but Drake continued to fire from the field. At 2:48 Kayla Person nabbed the ball at the UND three-point line and passed off to Jones who took the ball in for the layup and gave Drake its largest lead of the game, a 32-19 advantage.
Trailing by 13 points, UND fought through the remaining minutes of the half and with another trey from Bergan and a baseline drive by Katie Houdek they cut the DU lead down to eight points.
With a 32-24 lead moving into the second stanza, Drake scored the first basket, but as they did in the first half the Sioux countered quickly as Youngblut drained her first field goal of the game beyond the arc. UND then pulled back within five points as Bergan found Seay cutting along the baseline at 16:09.
The Sioux spark was quickly put out as Wollschlager netted a quick five points to pull the Bulldogs back out to a 10-point lead. After a brief 6-0 run, Drake again held onto a 13-point advantage over North Dakota with 12:40 remaining on the clock.
Turk hit a pair of baskets from beyond the arc to help DU to an 18-point lead and with 6:48 on the clock the Bulldogs led the Sioux 59-41.
A three-point play by Lof, a pull-up jumper from Bagaason, and yet another three from Bergan pulled the Sioux back within 10 points, but Bulldogs continued their strong shooting to hold off the Sioux through the end of the game.
The Fighting Sioux will return for their final home game of the 2009 portion of the season as they host Northern Arizona. The Sioux and the Lumberjacks will tip-off at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 18.
GAME NOTES: Spotted in the Fighting Sioux fan section was 2009 graduate and 27th member of the UND women's basketball 1,000 point club, Danye Guinn (2004-09) and Kelsey Maffin (2003-07) ... At the 1:00 mark in the first half, Jordann Plummer's jumpshot rattled around the rim and then came to a complete stop on the back-brace causing a stoppage in the game ... North Dakota is now 0-1 against opponents from the Missouri Valley Conference.
- Go Sioux -
