VERMILLION, S.D.--Kierah Kimbrough has put the fifth-ranked Fighting Sioux in position to win an eighth consecutive North Central Conference playoff championship.
The Sioux junior forward turned in the performance of a lifetime with a UND playoff record and career-high 37 points and lifted second-seeded UND to an 82-63 semifinal victory over third-seeded Augustana this afternoon at the DakotaDome.
UND (27-2) now advances to the NCC championship game and awaits the winner of No. 1 seed South Dakota and No. 4 seed Minnesota State.
Kimbrough, a Greenbush, Minn., native, poured in 22 second-half points on her way to the seventh-highest single-game scoring output in Sioux history. At one point, Kimbrough scored 10 straight points to five the Sioux an 80-59 lead.
She finished 12-for-20 from the field and 13-for-14 from the free throw line. She also added 10 rebounds.
Before Kimbrough took over, it was UND's perimeter game that stood out. Senior guard Karla Beck (Munich, N.D.) hit five three-pointers ? matching her career high ? including triples on three straight early possessions that staked the Sioux to a 15-2 lead.
Beck finished with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Fellow guards Danye Guinn (Jr., St. Francis, Minn.) and Mallory Youngblut (Fr., Davenport, Iowa) combined for five treys as the Sioux went 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from beyond the arc.
Augustana junior guard Amy Puthoff led the Vikings with 20 points, while Dani Arens added 11.
The Viking shot just 35.2 percent from the field, including seven of 21 three-pointers.
UND held a 43-33 rebounding edge.
Notes: Kimbrough's 37-point effort is tied for the seventh-highest single-game total in UND history and the most since Becky Moen scored 37 against Minnesota, Crookston on Dec. 20, 2002. Whitney Meier holds the school scoring record with 45 points against Barry on Dec. 9, 1990 ... Kimbrough's previous career high was 28 points.
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