Trailing 47-35 heading into the second half and down by as much as 21 points, the Fighting Sioux cut it to within one with less that two minutes left in the game. Sophomore Mallory Youngblut (Davenport, Iowa) hit a jumper at 1:55 to bring the score to 79-78.

A trio of Bobcat free throws put the game at 81-78 and with more fouls called on UND, MSU tacked on four more points to take the 85-78 win.

Senior Kierah Kimbrough (Greenbush, Minn.) led the Sioux with 24 points (12-for-16), including the first two baskets for the Sioux in both halves.

The game found four others with double-figure marks. Off the bench, junior Alys Seay (Grand Forks, N.D) tallied 14 points off of 8-for-13 shooting and junior Whitney Ledger shot 5-for-11 for 13 points. Senior Danye Guinn (St. Francis, Minn.) and Youngblut had 10 points apiece.

Youngblut was 2-for-2 in three-point shots.

Ledger led the Sioux with nine rebounds.

North Dakota out-shot the Bobcats 47.1 to 40.6 percent from the field but were out-shot, 42.1 to 26.3 percent behind the three-point line. MSU's three-point shooting was a major factor in the win as it hit 3-for-9 in the first half.

Montana State's Sarah Strand came away with a team-high 19 points. Nubia Garcia finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats.

The Sioux jumped up on the Bobcats, 6-2, early in the game when a steal by Jossy Bergan (Valley City, N.D.) set up a long, cross court pass from Kayla Bagaason (Clearbrook, Minn.) to Youngblut for the layup.

The green and white got up 8-2, but after an 8-0 run, Montana State took its first lead of the game, a 10-8 advantage. MSU took the lead at 13:48 in the first half on a three-point basket by Jenny Heringer.

The Bobcats continued to up the margin, but keeping the Sioux within reach was a combined 13 points from Seay and Ledger off the bench and a trio of steals by Youngblut.

The Bobcats pulled away with a few crucial runs including a 10-5 run to closeout the half. They were aided by 66.7 percent shooting from the three-point arc and 90 percent from the free throw line. Going into the locker-room, North Dakota trailed 35-47.

Not willing to go down easy on their first Division I road game, the Fighting Sioux continued to fight, and they fought hard.

After a deficit of as much as 21-points, UND used a 11-0 run to pull within five baskets with three-consecutive baskets credited to Ledger.

In the last eight minutes of the game, Seay, Youngblut, and Guinn dropped in crucial three-pointers to keep the Bobcats on their toes.

With less than two minutes remaining, Youngblut hit a baseline jumper to bring the Sioux within one point of Montana State.

The game was in the hands of North Dakota, but fouls called on the Sioux allowed to Bobcats to gain seven points from the bonus line and take the win.

North Dakota returns to action on Nov. 20 when it travels to Laramie, Wyo. to take on the Wyoming Cowgirls. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m.

- Go Sioux -