GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A dominant second-half effort led North Dakota to an 83-76 victory over Milwaukee in its home opener Tuesday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Sophomore Leah Szabla and junior Mia Loyd led the frantic comeback that saw the home team erase what was an 18-point halftime deficit.

Loyd had 18 of her team-high 20 points after the break as UND outscored the Panthers 51-26 in the second half.

Szabla added 19 points and Emily Evers chipped in with 14, while true freshman Bailey Strand had 13 points off the bench for UND.

The Panthers jumped out to a 50-32 lead at halftime thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers in the opening minutes. The visitors connected on 13 of their 15 attempts from beyond the arc.

North Dakota wasted little time whittling away at the deficit, not allowing a Panther point in the second half through the opening 4:48. In that stretch, UND had sliced the lead all the way down to 10.

Ashley Green hit another three to answer and finally get UWM on the board after the break. But, UND's resolve was fierce on Tuesday as it chopped the edge down to single figures just over eight minutes into the half on a three from freshman sharp-shooter Bailey Strand.

Emily Evers had a lay-in for a seven-point margin but Jaleesa Armstrong had her fifth triple of the night as the Panthers tried to keep the comeback at bay. It failed.

After Armstrong's bucket with 8:02 to go made it an eight-point game again, UND's Loyd put the team on her back. The junior would score seven straight points to set up a three from Strand that gave UND its first lead since the opening minutes at 68-67. Szabla piled on with a pair of slicing drives to the rim and two more turnaround jumpers from Loyd would seal it in the waning minutes.

Milwaukee made just 3 of 15 from distance in the second half to cool off to 16 of 30 for the game. UND turned the ball over a dozen times in the first stanza, allowing 20 UWM points but had just five in the second frame to help complete the wacky comeback.

North Dakota will travel to Towson University Friday and Saturday to play a pair of games in the consolation round of the Preseason WNIT. UND faces St. Francis Brooklyn at 3 p.m. Friday and will get either host Towson or Rider on Saturday.

UWM's Ashley Green scored a game-high 30 points, going 5-for-8 from 3-point range. Jaleesa Armstrong added 23 points for the visitors.

-- UND --