GRAND FORKS, N.D. - In its final game before opening the 2010-11 Great West Conference season, the University of North Dakota women's basketball team spread the wealth as it defeated Minot State 76-60 in front of a Betty Engelstad Sioux Center crowd of 1,702.
The win snapped a three-game run for the Beavers, who dropped to 12-5. UND will head into league play with a 3-11 record.
"I give them [Minot State] credit," said UND head coach Gene Roebuck. "This was their opportunity to play up a level, in fact two levels, so there are going to give it everything they've got."
Minot State opened with a three-pointer by Kallie Erickson at 19:47, but UND countered with a basket by junior guard Charnay Mothershed (Phoenix, Ariz.) and then three straight points by freshman center Allyssa Wall (North Sioux City, S.D.) to take a minor 5-3 lead. The Fighting Sioux soon built a 14-7 lead, thanks to three-pointers by freshman Megan Lauck (Arden Hills, Minn.) and sophomore Nicole Smart (Ada, Minn.). Smart, playing in her first game since injuring herself at Colorado (Jan. 4), sank her three just seconds after checking into the game.
"What we had over them was speed, intensity, and strength," said Charnay. "Our intensity is what kept us going and our fast breaks when they tried to press us really got us some quick points."
Following four straight points by MSU's Katie Hardy, the Beavers trailed 18-14. But that is where the tides turned and North Dakota grabbed whole control of the game. Started by a three-pointer by Charnay at 11:07, the Sioux set out on an 18-4 run to move into an 18-point lead with 5:20 remaining on the clock. The only hindrance during the run was Hardy, who nailed all six of Minot State's points. She finished with 15 points to lead the Beavers.
In the final five minutes of the half, MSU seemed to take over the reigns as the out-scored UND 11-2 to go into the locker-room trailing 40-33.
"We got that nice lead in the first half and then we just lost our focus," said Roebuck. "We looked mentally tired and let them come within seven points at halftime and then the second half was a battle. But give Minot State credit. They didn't lie down. They made us give it everything we got."
Back out of the break, MSU's Carolina Folven dropped in a pair of three's to pull the Beavers to within three points. UND manage to push the margin back to eight points and then with a pair of free throws by freshman Madi Buck (Bismarck, N.D.), the Sioux found themselves back out on the run. The Sioux used three steals and a pair of transition baskets to quickly take a 57-43 lead with 9:41 left on the clock.
MSU pulled the margin back down to 10 points, but UND fired back with three quick baskets to move the margin back to 16. In the final five and a half minutes of the game, all 10 of UND's points were scored by freshmen - six of which were scored by Wall.
With 15 points, Wall led the Fighting Sioux in scoring for the sixth time this season. She finished 6-for-8 from the field, 3-for-4 at the line, and tallied five rebounds. Not far behind was Buck, who ended with 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the free throw line.
Three other players finished just shy of the double digit mark. Senior forward Mallory Youngblut (Davenport, Iowa) and junior guards Charnay and Charnise Mothershed (Phoenix, Ariz.) each came away with nine points. Youngblut led all players with seven rebounds.
The Sioux finished .468 (29-for-62) from the field, .286 (6-for-21) beyond the arc, and .857 (12-for-14) at the free throw line. UND held the advantage in nearly every category: rebounds (36-29), assists (24-17), turnovers (14-23), and steals (17-8). North Dakota's 17 steals tied its season best notched on Dec. 1 on the road against Drake.
UND tallied 29 points off of turnovers and 16 on fast break.
Along with Hardy's 15 points, Sacarra Molina finished with 10 points for the Beavers.
MSU finished .451 (23-for-51) from the field, .364 (8-for-22) at three-point range, and .857 (6-for-7) at the free throw line.
North Dakota will open the Great West Conference schedule on Saturday, Jan. 15 as it hosts South Dakota. Tipoff is at 1 p.m at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Saturday's game is also a part of UND's PACK THE HOUSE challenge. Check out FightingSioux.com for more details.
GAME NOTES: Mallory Youngblut is now ranked 24th all-time at UND with 1,064 points ... Tonight's game marks the 17th meeting between North Dakota and Minot State since the series opened in 1975. UND leads the all-time series 12-6 (9-2 home) and is currently on a nine-game winning streak against the Beavers ... Since the beginning the transition to NCAA Division I status in 2007, the Fighting Sioux have gone 5-0 when facing opponents from the Dakota Athletics Conference ... Since the inaugural season of the Great West Conference (2008-09), UND has gone 11-1 against league foes and 28-36 against non-conference opponents ... The University of North Dakota women's basketball program holds a 772-292 record all-time since the first game was played in 1974. Under head coach Gene Roebuck, UND is 596-128 ... All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 421-83 (.835) when it comes to defending their own court and are 325-39 (.893) under the tutelage of Gene Roebuck ... UND is 86-14 (.861) all-time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, which opened prior to the 2004-05 season ... Head coach Gene Roebuck is just FOUR wins away from his 600th win at the helm of Fighting Sioux women's basketball.
- Go Sioux -
