GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Back on its home court for the first time since Dec. 4, the University of North Dakota gave Sioux fans a show as it defeated Western Kentucky 90-72 to celebrate the 100th women's basketball game played at the Betty Sioux Engelstad Sioux Center. Twin sisters Charnise Mothershed (Jr., G, Phoenix, Ariz.) and Charnay Mothershed (Jr., G, Phoenix, Ariz.) combined for 35 points and senior forward Mallory Youngblut (Davenport, Iowa) notched a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double to help lead the Sioux to victory.
With the win, the Fighting Sioux moved to 3-11 on the season as they hit the midway point of the season. The Lady Toppers dropped to 6-10 as they set upon their Sun Belt Conference schedule.
"We came to play tonight, everybody did," said UND head coach Gene Roebuck. "We are only as good as our weakest link and tonight we didn't have a weak link. Everybody stepped up and played as hard as they could."
"I felt like everyone was very team oriented today and we all stepped up and did our part," said Charnise.
WKU's Teranie Thomas scored the first points of the game with a pair of free throws at 19:01. The teams traded baskets and reached six ties until three-straight Mothershed three-pointers - two from Charnise and one from Charnay - shot the Sioux into a 23-12 lead with 9:09 remaining in the half. Charnise would hit another inside the three-minute mark to finish the half with a career-best 13 points.
"Charnise shot the ball very well against Colorado and she did the same for us tonight," said Roebuck. "When you get that kind of play coming off of the bench, that's a big lift."
With tough defense and strong shooting, UND carried a 42-28 lead into the halftime break. During the first 20 minutes, the Sioux held the Lady Toppers to just 32 percent (9-for-28) shooting from the field while shooting .583 (14-for-24) themselves.
Back out of the break, freshman guard Megan Lauck (Arden Hills, Minn.) scored six of UND's first 10 points to give the Sioux a 17-point lead - the biggest of the game thus far. She finished with nine points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Big plays and hot shooting helped continue to ward off the Topper attack and at 12:22, the Sioux held a 64-45 lead.
Western Kentucky knocked the margin back down to 12 points with a 7-0 run, but UND answered with 16-9 clip to swell the lead to 80-58 with 5:09 remaining. Inside the run, Youngblut nailed a pair of three-pointers and both Charnay and freshman center Allyssa Wall (North Sioux City, S.D.) added four points of their own.
"I was impressed the second half," said Roebuck. "We cut down our turnovers and we shot the ball well.
Wall finished the game with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field before fouling out late in the second half.
With a 12-3 run began and capped by three-pointers off of the bench by Janae Howard, WKU shaved UND's lead down to 12, but the surge was short-lived as the Sioux out-scored the Toppers 8-2 in the final 1:44 to nab their first win of the New Year.
"If you're going to give up baskets, you're going to have to answer and we answered those baskets," said Roebuck. "We answered and managed to keep that cushion."
The Fighting Sioux shot over 50 percent (.549; 28-for-51) for the first time this season and were .813 (26-for-32) at the free throw line. Western Kentucky finished .368 (25-for-68) from the field, .200 (5-for-25) beyond the arc, and .773 (17-for-22) at the line.
UND won the rebounding battle 41-31 and notched 23 points off of WKU turnovers.
Arnika Brown led Western Kentucky with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double on 7-for-11 shooting from the field. Vanessa Obafemi finished with 10 points and Amy McNear notched nine points and 10 assis
The win came just in time for North Dakota as they set upon a six-game homestand. UND will host Minot State on Thursday before opening the Great West Conference schedule against South Dakota on Saturday.
GAME NOTES: Mallory Youngblut is now ranked 26th all-time at UND with 1,055 points ... Charnay Mothershed set new career highs in points scored (18) and field goals made (5) ... Charnise Mothershed set new career highs in points scored (17), field goals made (6), field goals attempted (10), three-pointers made (4), three-pointers attempted (6) ... Katie Houdek set a new career high in blocked shots (3) ... Tonight's game marks the second meeting between North Dakota and Western Kentucky. The teams are now tied at 1-1 ... Since the beginning the transition to NCAA Division I status in 2007, the Fighting Sioux have gone 1-1 when facing opponents from the Sun Belt Conference ... Since the inaugural season of the Great West Conference (2008-09), UND has gone 11-1 against league foes and 27-36 against non-conference opponents ... The University of North Dakota women's basketball program holds a 771-292 record all-time since the first game was played in 1974. Under head coach Gene Roebuck, UND is 595-128 ... All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 420-83 (.835) when it comes to defending their own court and are 324-39 (.893) under the tutelage of Gene Roebuck ... UND is 85-14 (.859) all-time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, which opened prior to the 2004-05 season.
- Go Sioux -
