GRAND FORKS, N.D.-- Host North Dakota used a second-quarter surge to pull ahead en route to a 71-54 non-conference win over arch-rival North Dakota State Saturday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux center. NDSU held a slim 17-15 edge after ten minutes behind 13 points from leading scorer Taylor Thunstedt, but North Dakota rallied to outscore the Bison by 16 in the second stanza and never looked back.

Thunstedt kept the Bison in the ball game as she had 18 points at halftime. However, the rest of her team combined for just six points at the break and North Dakota ran out to a 38-24 lead. That second quarter saw senior Kelsey Knox have another solid outing against the Bison. Coming off a career-high 15 points in last season's win in Fargo, Knox buried a pair of threes and had eight points in the second frame alone to spark a 23-7 run for UND. Meanwhile, the UND defense stiffened up to allow just 3-of-14 from the floor for NDSU and forced five turnovers in that quarter.

The game was never really in doubt in the second half with UND holding a double-digit edge throughout. With just over two minutes to play in the third, NDSU trimmed the deficit down to a dozen but North Dakota answered with a running layup and a three by Leah Szabla before the end of the frame to take a 15-point lead into the fourth.

Once there, UND again tightened the screws defensively allowing only three field goal makes with Stephanie Smith rejecting three of her UND career-high six blocks in the final stanza.

UND (4-5) had four players in double figures led by senior Mia Loyd with 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Leah Szabla added 13 points while Makailah Dyer and Kelsey Knox each added a dozen for UND, who won its third straight contest.

NDSU's (2-7) Thunstedt finished with a game-high 26 but her teammates combined to go just 12-of-44 (.273) from the floor in the loss.

North Dakota will close out its four-game homestand with another rivalry as the Coyotes of South Dakota invade the Betty next Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

Notes: Smith's nine points, 11 rebounds and six blocks all were career highs in a UND uniform ... North Dakota is now 4-0 against North Dakota State in the Division I era and has won six straight overall dating back to 2004 ... Loyd's double-double was her fourth of the season and 29th of her career ... UND is 37-10 at home under head coach Travis Brewster ... UND out-scored NDSU, 23-7, in the second quarter ... UND recorded a 40-18 edge in points in the paint.