GRAND FORKS, N.D--  North Dakota outscored Northern Colorado, 25-8, in the third quarter to erase a 14-point halftime deficit on the way to a 78-70 win in Big Sky Conference play at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center Saturday afternoon.

"We can shoot," UND head coach Travis Brewster said boldly at the conclusion, after hearing rumblings that that was a team weakness. "We got sped up a little bit there and I had to try to get them calmed back down. But, bottom line, we needed our players to make shots."

His team backed it up with a 52-percent effort from the floor, knocking down eight threes as well, getting its backcourt involved in the scoring as Jill Morton tied a career high with 22 points while Melissa Dailey connected on five triples en route to 17 points. Lexi Klabo recorded 16 points and 17 rebounds in the win.

It looked bleak for the home team as it trailed by 14 at halftime, 47-33. In that first half, Northern Colorado made 20-of-35 (57 percent) of its shots) and had two long runs at the end of each quarter to seize control. After UND led 17-13 early, UNC ended the first quarter with 15 consecutive points, the final on a steal and a layup to beat the buzzer at the end of the first frame.

The Fighting Hawks would whittle the deficit down to five in the second quarter, but another UNC run-- this time an 11-2 spurt-- hoisted the Bears in front by 14 at halftime. Scott again beat the buzzer in period two as the visitors seemed poised to steal a potential rare road win at the Betty.

Morton drove the lane and scored on back-to-back plays to open the third, setting the tone for a raucous third quarter. After Savannah Smith tripled as part of her game-high 26 points with just over six minutes left, UND rattled off a 17-3 period-ending run, holding Northern Colorado without a field goal for the rest of that frame. Morton had 10 points in that period alone and Melissa Dailey connected from deep twice in the final minute to set the home crowd into a tizzy. Her first three gave North Dakota the lead at 55-53 with 39 seconds left then she nailed a 25-footer before the buzzer sounded that made the Betty erupt as the Hawks capped an impressive 25-8 quarter.

UND scored the first seven of the final period as well to make it a 24-3 stretch overall, holding UNC without a field goal until the 7:49 mark when Savannah Smith made a jumper to end a more-than-eight-minute dryspell without a field goal for the Bears. UNC could never fully recover, getting the lead back down to a half-dozen on several occassions, but each time having it met with a UND basket. With a six-point lead, North Dakota turned again to Dailey, who delivered with another three-pointer, the final of five on the afternoon for a 72-63 edge with 2:23 to go. UND would salt the game away from the line to deliver a second straight home win.

North Dakota (9-9, 2-5) collected its 500th home win in program history.

Northern Colorado (13-5, 5-2) falls to UND for the fifth straight time in the series history.

UND will continue its homestand Thursday hosting Eastern Washington University at 7:00 p.m.

Notes: UND is 500-109 all-time in home games (UND Fieldhouse, Hyslop Sports Center, Ralph Engelstad Arena, Betty Engelstad Sioux Center) ... Morton scored the third 20-point game of her career, and second straight of 22 points ... Klabo's 17 rebounds tied a career best ... North Dakota is 7-1 at home this season and has won 13 of its last 14 at home, dating back to last season ... Northern Colorado was ranked 20th in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.