POCATELLO, Idaho-- Behind sophomore Lexi Klabo's second-half effort, visiting North Dakota picked up its 10th straight Big Sky Conference road win with a 65-62 overtime victory at Idaho State Saturday afternoon. After not scoring in the first half, Klabo hit a couple big threes and registered 17 points and added eight reounds and four blocks in the win.
"Today's win was a good one against a very-well coached Idaho State team led by Seton Sobolewski," UND head coach Travis Brewster said. "Makailah Dyer needs to continue on the path she is on, leading the way for us. She showed how tough she is today. Fallyn Freije and Samantha Roscoe have been very steady for us. I challenged Lexi Klabo individually at halftime and she stepped up. It was nice to have Leah Szabla on the floor today as well."
Neither team was content with a lead as there were 13 tie scores and the lead changed hands 16 times. Klabo attempted just one shot and did not have a rebound in the first twenty minutes as ISU (9-9, 3-4) attempted to take Klabo out of UND's game plan. It failed as the sophomore responded with a three to end a long scoring drought for UND in the third quarter then was dominant down the stretch to give UND its best eight-game start in the Big Sky Conference (7-1).
The game was a constant back-and-forth battle and the visitors led 22-20 two minutes into the second quarter thanks to the hot start from Freije. Her jumper at the 8:00 mark of the frame gave her nine of UND's 22 points as she contunued her strong play following Thursday's career-high 21 points at Weber State.
That, however, would be the only UND field goal in that entire frame as Idaho State would build a four-point lead at the break, 30-26. After missing the Fighting Hawks missed their first two shots in the second half, Freije broke the team's 0-for-13 drought with another big jumper to keep the deficit close. That basket ended a stretch that saw UND go without a field goal for nearly 12 minutes to kick-start the offense.
Late in that period, Chastity Franklin's pull-up jumper in traffic tied the score at 37-37, then Klabo hit a three with under a minute left for her first points of the night and a UND lead of 40-39 heading into the final quarter.
UND scored the first five points of the fourth to take its largest lead at 45-39 with 8:36 remaining. ISU (9-9, 3-4) roared back with seven consecutive points to wrestle the lead back. The advantage never settled and jockeyed between the teams for the remainder of that stanza. Lindsey Brown's bucket with 4:37 left put ISu ahead, 48-47. Klabo then made a free throw then later buried another triple with just over two-and-a-half minutes on the clock for a 51-48 edge. Saylair Grandon, who led ISU with 21 points for the game, immediately answered with a three from the left wing to tie the score and we headed to overtime.
In the extra frame, Dyer gave North Dakota the lead with a conventional three-point play, then Klabo would score eight of her 17 in the overtime session alone to keep UND in front. The sophomore drew the defense to her on the perimeter, then raced to the rim for a score and then connected on all six of her free throw attempts in the final period.
Four UND players finished in double figures scoring, paced by Klabo's 17. Dyer added 15, Freije chipped in 12 points and seven boards while Samantha Roscoe had 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
North Dakota, who remains one game back of league-leading Northern Colorado, hosts Southern Utah Thursday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
Notes: UND head coach Travis Brewster recorded his seventh win over Idaho State, tied for the most over any opponent (Weber State) ... Through the first 29:22 of the game, Klabo was 0-for-1 with 0 points ... Over the final 15:38, she was 3-for-4 for 17 points, including a pair of threes and a 9-for-10 clip from the free-throw line ... She also added a career-best four blocks in the win as North Dakota piled up a season-high 11 as a team (Roscoe- 4, Dyer, Jill Morton, Grace Sawatzke each 1) ... UND improved to 3-2 all-time at Reed Gym ... North Dakota is now 6-2 this season in games decided by five points or less.
