OGDEN, Utah-- Visiting North Dakota ran its overall winning streak to six with a 85-78 overtime win at Weber State Saturday afternoon in Big Sky Conference play. The win pulls UND within a half-game of the Wildcats for the coveted fourth spot in the league standings.

"Our ugly is beautiful-- we figure it out one way or another," UND head coach Travis Brewster said of his team's performance. "It was a gutty performance out of my upperclassmen. Mia Loyd and Leah Szabla led the way this time. That's the nice thing about my upperclassmen, I can count on any of them on any given night.

"My freshmen aren't freshmen anymore. Lexi Klabo stepped up. This younger group is starting to mirror the older group in accountability. Again, each night one of them will be there for the team."

North Dakota (11-11, 7-4) has seen different players stand up in the face of adversity since UND's 0-3 start in league. Tonight, Preseason Big Sky Conference Player of the Year Loyd registered her 32nd double-double of her stellar career with a game-high 22 points and 14 rebounds. That point total was thanks in part to a 10-for-10 effort from the free throw line to help UND close it out in the extra frame. Loyd had six points and six rebounds in the overtime session alone.

Szabla had a key basket late in regulation and added two more tough drives and finishes as the pair combined for 11 of UND's 13 points in the overtime session. Szabla's bucket to force overtime came with her taking the ball from the top of the key and slicing through traffic to get to the rim on the left side to tie the score at 70-70 with 1:02 remaining.

In the overtime period, Szabla scored on UND's first possession, book-ending baskets around a Loyd jumper for a quick six-point lead that the Fighting Hawks would not relinquish in the overtime frame.

Freshman Lexi Klabo enjoyed a career day with 13 points and eight rebounds, both new personal bests as North Dakota dominated the glass to the tune of a +25 rebounding margin (54-29). Junior Makailah Dyer added 15 points to her career-high-tying nine rebounds to go along with four assists for North Dakota.

UND took advantage in the opening period, out-scoring Weber State, 19-13, in the opening stanza. WSU (15-6, 7-3) would rally to close within three at halftime but would trail by nine late in the third. In the final minute of that third quarter, Weber State made a push and eventually closed within a basket early in the fourth.

After a Jill Morton jumper to make it a seven-point game, Weber again rallied to go on a 7-0 run to tie the score at 64-64 with just over three minutes to play. WIth the UND lead at four, 68-64, on a Samantha Roscoe layup, the Wildcats got three free throws and a Dionne Coe three-pointer on back-to-back trips to claim their first lead in the second half with 1:38 to go. Szabla then executed her heroics, tying the score on the next possession and setting up the overtime dramatics.

North Dakota will host league-leading Eastern Washington Thursday evening at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Notes: UND head coach Travis Brewster is 6-2 all-time on the Weber State/Idaho State road swing, including a 4-0 mark at WSU ... UND is at .500 for the first time all season ... North Dakota has out-rebounded its opponent by 82 during this six-game stretch, better than a +13 margin per game on average.