MISSOULA, Mont.-- Senior Mia Loyd's running, buzzer-beating lay-in off a baseline in-bounds pass helped visiting North Dakota knock off host Montana, 61-59, Saturday afternoon in Big Sky Conference action. It marked the first-ever road win for North Dakota over either one of the Big Sky Montana schools (1-11).

With the score tied at 59-59 and 0.5 seconds left. UND had a baseline inbounds play to attempt the game-winner. Makailah Dyer fed a perfect pass to Loyd, who sliced towards the bucket off a screen from Leah Szabla and laid it in before the clock hit zero to send the UND bench into a frenzy. It was a finish that almost had a different ending after a technical foul with 1:00 left.

"The team stayed ingrained in the process, trusting each other and they played with tremendous defensive resolve," UND head coach Travis Brewster said. "I have to thank them for bailing me out with the huge mistake calling the timeout with none left there near the end. I thought that our upperclassmen delivered in the clutch. A big pass by Makailah Dyer, a big screen by Leah Szabla and the finish by Mia Loyd equals team work. It's a team win-- it took everybody."

Loyd powered in a score with a minute left to make it a 57-54 game but Brewster called for a timeout that it did not have. Consequently, Montana was gifted a pair of technical free throws and trimmed the game to 57-56 with the ball. As Kayleigh Valley drove the lane, Samantha Roscoe forced her into a bad shot and collected the rebound. On the other end, she scored to make it a three-point game with 21 seconds to go.

McCalle Feller, who was stifled to just six points at halftime, single-handedly kept Montana in the game with 25 points after the break. Her sixth triple of the night tied the score at 59-59 to set-up the final-possession dramatics. With the clock winding down, Szabla drove towards the rim, but had her shot deflected out of bounds. Just 0.5 seconds remained as UND drew up the final play. Montana took a timeout as 6-foot-6 Stephanie Smith checked into the game, likely expecting a lob play for a quick shot.

Brewster's play to have Loyd come off the screen worked to perfection as his team earned its biggest win of the season, injecting loads of confidence in a team that had lost six of its last seven.

Dyer's first-half efforts gave UND all the momentum from the jump. Dyer scored nine of UND's first 13 points as North Dakota built an 11-point advantage at 21-10. The Fighting Hawks would go into the locker room with a 25-19 edge to a stunned Dahlberg Arena crowd.

In the third, Feller would begin to get hot, scoring nine of UM's 15 points to trim the deficit to 38-34. The senior, despite being heavily-guarded on nearly every possession, continued to make big baskets, pouring-in 16 points in the final period alone.

She had to try to overcome a UND team effort that had three different players with at least six points in the fourth quarter alone. Dyer had seven while Loyd and Roscoe each chipped in six in a quarter that saw North Dakota shoot 61.5 percent from the floor without committing a single turnover. Dyer added four assists in that final stanza, none bigger than the baseline in-bounds for the game-winner.

Dyer finished the night with 19 points, five assists, four rebounds and just one turnover. Loyd added 14 points while Roscoe contributed 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks. Smith had six points, a game-high 11 rebounds and three blocks in the win while Fallyn Freije scored nine and grabbed five rebounds off the bench.

North Dakota (6-11, 2-4) returns home for three straight beginning with Northern Arizona Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

Notes: North Dakota earned its first win over Montana in the win (1-5) ... UND did not have a turnover in the fourth quarter and had just three in the second half ... Smith tied a career high with her 11 rebounds ... North Dakota out-rebounded the Lady Griz,  42-32 ... UND gave Montana just its third home loss to a Big Sky school since the start of the 2012-13 season ... North Dakota is 24-for-56 (.429) from three-point range in its last five games.