GREELEY, Colo.-- North Dakota moved into a first-place tie in the Big Sky Conference, snapping host Northern Colorado's 11-game winning streak and handing the Bears their first league loss in a 57-51 victory Saturday afternoon at Bank of Colorado Arena. UND has now won 11 consecutive league road games, dating back to January of last season.
"I'm proud of this team because they are playing for each other and they just work hard," UND head coach Travis Brewster said. "We played some great defense today and it was a good team win. I thought Grace Sawatzke gave us a great lift offensively and defensively off the bench. There is a reason that Northern Colorado is receiving votes in the Top 25 poll, because they are a very good team and this game could've gone either way."
Fallyn Freije etched her third career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while fellow sophomore Lexi Klabo had eight points and 15 boards. The UND bench was key in the win as the Fighting Hawks' reserves outscored the Bears bench, 26-10 with Grace Sawatzke and Samantha Roscoe each scoring nine and Jill Morton adding eight.
Savannah Smith ended the game with a game-high 22 points for Northern Colorado, who shot just 25 percent as a team in the loss.
UND (15-7, 10-1) sprinted out of the gate, scoring nine of the first 10 points, holding the host Bears to just one field goal in the entire first quarter. It was a 14-4 advantage through the first period with the North Dakota defense allowing UNC to shoot just 8.3 percent in that frame. But, Northern Colorado (18-4, 10-1) came back in the second quarter and closed within one before the break. Jill Morton's three broke a long scoring drought for UND midway through that period and she'd later hit a pair of free throws in the closing minute to make it a slim 26-25 North Dakota edge at halftime. With three minutes left in the first half, UNC's leading scorer, Savannah Smith, had just one point. She benefitted from a loose ball technical foul on UND, making a pair of free throws then hitting a three on the next trip to give her six at the break.
Coming out the locker room, UND exploded for the first 14 points. Consecutive triples by Morton and Grace Sawatzke ended the run, making it 40-26 with 4:52 left in the period. UNC's first points in the second half didn't come until 4:30 left and it was a 45-34 cushion with a quarter remaining. Samantha Roscoe hit a three from the right wing to make it 50-40 North Dakota and just over four minutes left. Savannah Smith would hit two straight threes, one from closer to 30 feet, to close the gap to just four and get the crowd re-energized.
Makailah Dyer scored on the next UND possession then North Dakota's defense took over. UNC was forced to foul to try ot stop the clock after missing several opportunities. In desparation time, Lexi Klabo came up with two blocked shots, keeping the score intact at 56-51 in the closing seconds before a final free throw made it a 57-51 final.
North Dakota will put its six-game winning streak on the line Thursday as its road trip continues at Eastern Washington.
Notes: UNC's 51 points marked the lowest point total for a UND Division I opponent this season ... The Bears' 25.0 percent field-goal shooting was also the lowest of any UND opponent this year ... Klabo's 15 rebounds were the second-most of her career and marked the seventh time she's recorded 10 or more in a game this season ... Dyer broke a string of 12 straight games with double figures in scoring, but did move into 15th place on the all-time UND scoring list (1,322) .. North Dakota improved to 8-0 in Saturday games this season .. UND is 13-2 since a 2-5 start this year.
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