QUICK JUMPERS

* North Dakota finishes the regular season against inner-state rival North Dakota State in Fargo on Saturday, Feb. 26.

*The Fighting Hawks head into Saturday's game with an overall record of 15-13 and a conference record of 9-8.

* Kacie Borowicz led the Fighting Hawks with 26 points. She had five assists, secured five rebounds, and one steal.

* Melissa Leet was the second Fighting Hawk to end the night in double figures. She netted 14 points, had five blocks, and one rebound.

* Olivia Lane ended the afternoon with ten points, six rebounds, and one assist.

* Joli Daninger netted six points, secured five rebounds, and had two steals against the Golden Eagles.

* Maggie Manson and Claire Orth both ended the night with five points. Orth had two rebounds, a steal and an assist. Manson had one rebound and one assist.

* North Dakota currently leads the Bison in the series, 47-40. A win would end a seven-game losing streak against the Bison. 

* The Bison currently sit at a 10-17 overall record. They are currently 6-11 for conference play.

* North Dakota State is led by Heaven Hamling with 13.8 points per game.

* The Bison currently sit sixth in the Summit League standings.

* North Dakota is currently averaging 67.8 points per game, and they are averaging 39.1 rebounds per game.

 * The Fighting Hawks were ranked ninth in the Summit's Preseason Coaches' Poll. They currently sit fifth in the standings behind the Golden Eagles and ahead of the Bison

NORTH DAKOTA IN THE NCAA TOP 50

* Ninth in free-throw percentage with a .788

* 23rd in rebounds with 1093

* 26th in free-throws made with 467

* Tied for 46th in blocked shots with 112

INDIVIDUAL HAWKS IN THE NCAA TOP 50

* Second in free-throw percentage

     - Kacie Borowicz with a .960

* 13th in blocked shots

     - Melissa Leet with 63

* Tied for 14th in free-throws made

     - Kacie Borowicz with 121

* 20th for blocked shots per game

     - Melissa Leet with 2.25

* 24th in points per game

     - Kacie Borowicz with 19.4

* 25th in final points

    - Kacie Borowicz with 484

* 30th in field-goal attempts

    - Kacie Borowicz with 381

* 48th in field-goals made

    - Kacie Borowicz with 166

ON TAP

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks travel to Fargo to face their inner state rival the North Dakota State Bison. The tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26.

ALL-TIME WITH NORTH DAKOTA STATE

The University of North Dakota leads North Dakota State in the series, 47-40. The last time that the two teams played each other was on Dec. 22, 2021. The Fighting Hawks fell 61-67 to the Bison at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

LAST TIME OUT

The University of North Dakota fell to Oral Roberts 89-73 on Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Hawks took the initial lead going up 5-0 before the Golden Eagles hit a layup. The teams then traded baskets until Tirzah Moore helped Oral Roberts take a 13-2 lead with 4:47 left to go in the first. The Golden Eagles then went on a 10-0 run to extend their lead. The Fighting Hawks continued to attack on offense but trailed 18-16 at the end of the first quarter. Oral Roberts scored the first four of the second quarter, but Leet responded with a three to keep it within single figures. North Dakota hit consecutive baskets to bring them within four with 4:32 left in the second. The Golden Eagles then went on a 7-0 run to extend the lead, but the Fighting Hawks hit a three and jumper to end the quarter down 33-39. The teams traded baskets to start the third quarter. The back-and-forth battle continued, but North Dakota brought it within four (43-47) with 3:43 left in the third. Although both teams continued to convert on offense, the Golden Eagles led 62-49 at the end of three quarters. Oral Roberts stepped out of the break and hit a layup to extend the lead, but Leet and Borowicz converted on the offensive end to cut into the lead. Oral Roberts then went on a 7-0 run to extend it to a double figure lead. The Fighting Hawks continued to battle, but they were unable to bounce back and overcome the Golden Eagles who won 85-68. North Dakota shot 42.2 percent from the field, 35.0 percent from the three-point line, and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line. Oral Roberts shot 47.5 percent from the field, 27.8 percent from the three, and 96.6 percent from the line. The Fighting Hawks led the Golden Eagles in fast break points (7-2) and points off turnovers (21-19. The Golden Eagles led in bench points (42-13), points in the point (36-30), and second chance points (13-7).

NOTING THE RIVALRY

North Dakota and North Dakota State have a long history of being rivals. The two teams played each other long before the Fighting Hawks entered the Division I era. The first meeting between the two is dated to January 10, 1975 with UND winning 61-44 at home against NDSU. Since that initial meeting, the two teams have played each other 86 times. Currently, the Fighting Hawks are on a losing streak against the Bison. They have lost seven straight since beating the Bison 70-58 in Grand Forks on Feb. 7, 2019. The Fighting Hawks have not beat the Bison in Fargo since Dec. 10, 2016. A win this weekend would break the losing streak and give North Dakota the first win in the Bison's home in seven years.

 

SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA STATE

North Dakota State enters the game with a 4-6 overall record. The Bison opened their season with a 69-58 win in Milwaukee against the Panthers. They then traveled to Green Bay where they fell 54-71 for the first loss of the season. Their losing streak continued as they faced Northern Iowa (63-76) and Montana (63-65) at home. The streak would end with a 95-42 win at home against Dickinson State before they headed on the road again. The Bison traveled to Kansas State and fell again on the road, 57-78. They returned home and beat Bradley, 83-72. Once again, the Bison headed on the road and did not fair well as they faced #10/6 Arizona (47-59) and Wyoming (45-71). NDSU returned home to round out their non-conference play for the season against Jamestown. They won the game 82-36. The Bison faced their first conference challenge against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, who they beat 67-61. After the holiday break, the Bison headed to South Dakota and fell to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 60-77 and to the South Dakota Coyotes 38-65. They returned home and beat Denver 74-68. They lost their next home game against Omaha 54-68. The Bison traveled to Minnesota and fell to St. Thomas 62-73 before heading to Macomb to beat Western Illinois (63-55). NDSU secured another split at home with a loss to Kansas City (62-67) and a win against Oral Roberts (74-70). The Bison then dropped two more at home against South Dakota (59-78) and South Dakota State (60-76). The Bison picked up another win on the road against Omaha (69-53), but they fell to Denver 48-62 on the road. The Bison fell once more to the Leathernecks 59-61 before securing a win against the Tommies (69-60). The Bison dropped the last two on the road against the Golden Eagles (64-68) and Roos (67-76).

NEXT UP

Following Saturday afternoon's game, the University of North Dakota travels to Sioux Falls for the Summit League tournament. The tournament is set to start on Sunday, March 6.