DENVER, COLO. – The University of North Dakota made a comeback to beat the University of Denver 73-64 in overtime. The Fighting Hawks tied it at 61 late in the fourth to send the game into extra time.
The Fighting Hawks shot 38.8 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from beyond the arch, and 73.9 percent from the line. While the Pioneers shot 29.6 percent from the field, 15.2 percent from beyond the arch, and 80.0 percent from the line.
Kacie Borowicz led the charge for North Dakota with 24 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.
Olivia Lane followed with 12 points and a career-high of 17 rebounds to earn herself a double-double.
Melissa Leet narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and six rebounds.
Claire Orth was the final Fighting Hawks to end the night in the double figures with ten points. She secured six rebounds and had two steals.
Maggie Manson ended the night with eight points, three rebounds and two assists.
DJ Davis netted a pair of baskets to end the night with four points and three rebounds.
Sammiyah Hoskin and
Allie McCarthy both ended the evening with two points. Hoskin secured one rebounds and a steal.
The Fighting Hawks took the initial lead with a layup from Lane, but the Pioneers responded seconds later with a three and layup by Uju Ezeudu to take the 5-2 lead. Manson and Orth combined for consecutive baskets to retake the lead with 7:25 left in the game. The teams would fail to score again for two minutes until the Pioneers hit two free throws to give them the lead once again. Denver hit two more free throws to extend the lead, but Borowicz cut it back to within one (8-9) with 4:09 left in the game. The Pioneers hit their final basket of the quarter to extend the lead to three, but Lane and Borowicz would hit back-to-back baskets to give the Fighting Hawks a 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter started off with both teams failing to score until Hoskin netted a basket at 9:02. Makayla Minett responded with a layup to bring the game back within one and start the Pioneers on a 7-0 run. The run was ended by Orth who brought it within two with a floating jump shot (16-18). On the next possession,
DJ Davis tied the game with a layup. The Pioneers retook the lead seconds later. The teams continued to battle back-and-forth, but the Pioneers ended the quarter with a 28-24 lead.
Exiting the locker room, Denver maintained momentum as Meghan Boyd hit a three and Ezeudu hit a bucket to extend the lead to nine. The teams traded baskets until the media timeout (5:48). After the timeout, the Fighting Hawks continued to extend their run to 6-0, but Cheyenne Forney stopped it with a layup. As the quarter wound down, North Dakota went on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 40 each.
In the fourth quarter, the Fighting Hawks and Pioneers continued to make it a back-and-forth game, but Borowicz hit a free-throw and jump shot to give UND the three-point lead (45-42). The Pioneers fought back to retake the lead and go on a 6-0 run, but Leet cut the run short and kept the game within one with 5:50 left to play. At the halfway point in the quarter, North Dakota and Denver sat tied at 50, but the Pioneers hit back-to-back shots to extend their lead to five. As the quarter continued, the teams continued to battle. Borowicz hit a three with 1:28 left to play to tie it at 57. Ezeudu netted a layup to put the Pioneers up by two, but Lane was fouled on her next shot and made one of her two layups to keep the game within one for the Hawks. Forney was fouled in the following play and put the Pioneers up by three with 36 seconds left to play. North Dakota called a timeout and chose to advance the ball up the court for a sideline out-of-bounds play. The Fighting Hawks inbounded the ball and Borowicz found Manson outside the arch for a three to send it into overtime tied at 61.
The Fighting Hawks carried the momentum into overtime as Leet scored a three and then a two to put them up by five. Lane helped UND extend the run to 8-0 before Denver was fouled and netted two free-throws to put them within six (63-69). Lane scored a layup to extend the lead to eight. Denver continued to attack, but they would score only one more point as overtime went on. Borowicz scored the last two points of the game to give the Fighting Hawks a 73-64 win.
Ezeudu led South Denver on offense with 23 points, six rebounds and three assists. Forney followed with 10 points and five rebounds.
North Dakota will head to Omaha to play the Mavericks on Saturday, Feb. 5 at noon.
