GRAND FORKS, N.D. - In a game that featured offensive tenacity and grit, the University of North Dakota improved to 2-0 in Summit League play thanks to its defense in the final 12 minutes of play to defeat Purdue Fort Wayne, 91-82. UND (11-4) finished the night with a 51.6 field goal percentage while the Mastodons closed the contest over 55-percent.

Lilly Keplin and Megan Zander led the Fighting Hawks bench with career-bests 22 and 18 points, respectively, as North Dakota outscored the Dons bench, 47-27. Keplin was 6-of-8 behind the arc while Zander was 3-for-3. Julia Fleecs (14) and Jaclyn Jarnot (12) also tallied double figures in scoring while Alaina Jarnot recorded nine of the Hawks 22 assists.

Ball control was emphasized for North Dakota in its Summit League home opener as it committed five fewer giveaways than its foes and finished +4 on assist/turnover ratio for the first time since Dec. 18 versus Mayville State.

While the Fighting Hawks shot an impressive 10-of-19 (.526) behind the three-point line, the Dons posted an 11-for-20 clip beyond the arc as the teams worked the ball around the court. UND's inside-out presence was its most significant edge offensively as it outscored Purdue Fort Wayne in the paint, 34-18, while also outscoring the Dons off turnovers, 27-12.

"As a young group, there are some things we do that don't come naturally to our team yet because they don't know how to that yet," said Head Coach Travis Brewster. "The fight this team has, though, comes naturally to them, and so does their effort. We did a good job of pushing the tempo, but sometimes you have to be able to know hat you can't gamble defensively, and that's teachable and correctable."

In the final minutes of the third quarter with the Hawks trailing the Dons, 61-54, Claire Orth intercepted a cross-court pass at midcourt and shifted the tide for North Dakota as it went on an 11-3 run to tie the game with 17 seconds left in the period.

Trailing by two in the final quarter, Keplin gave North Dakota its last lead with 9:36 left in the game on a trey. She finished the quarter with eight points to record the first 20-point game of her career.

Thanks to Orth's defensive charge, the Fighting Hawks forced 11 Purdue Fort Wayne turnovers. Orth finished with three steals while tallying eight points offensively.

North Dakota will return to The Betty on Thursday, Jan. 9, when it hosts Omaha. The Mavericks and Fighting Hawks will tip at 7 p.m. on Midco Sports Network.

GAME NOTES:
The University of North Dakota scored 90 points for the fourth time this season ... It was the first time since Jan. 23-25, 2014 that UND scored 90-or-more points in consecutive conference games, scoring 104 at Sacramento State and 91 at Northern Arizona ... The Fighting Hawks are 2-0 to start Summit League play for the second-straight season ... North Dakota's 11-4 start is its best start since 2013-14 ... The UND bench scored 47 points, the fifth time it scored 40-or-more in a game ... The Fighting Hawks 23 second-chance points were the most in a game by UND this season ... Megan Zander scored 18 points for the third time this season.