MUNCIE, Ind. ? In its first overtime game of the season, North Dakota finished just short of victory as it fell to Ball State, 88-80 in front of a crowd of 1,154 at Worthen Arena.
With :50 left in regulation, junior Kayla Bagaason (G, Clearbrook, Minn.) sunk her fifth three-point basket to tie the game at 70-70. With no baskets to follow, it was sent into overtime.
The teams traded scores in the first two and a half minutes until BSU used six free throws and a jumper to take an 84-74 lead.
Both sophomore Mallory Youngblut (G, Davenport, Iowa) and junior Jossy Bergan (G, Valley City, N.D.) scored from beyond the arc, but with four more baskets form the charity stripe, the Cardinals came away with the eight-point, overtime victory.
Bagaason led the Sioux with a game- and career-high 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the field and a 5-for-6 showing from the three-point line. Her five from beyond the arc was also a personal-high and it was the first time in her career that she ended over the 20-point margin.
Three other players finished in double-digits for the Sioux. Yougblut shot 5-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line to end with 14 points. She has not missed a bonus bucket since Nov. 29.
With 13 points, senior Kierah Kimbrough (F, Greenbush, Minn.) tallied her 19th double-figure finish of the season and senior Danye Guinn (G, St. Francis, Minn.) rounded out the high scoring with 10 points.
Guinn and Bergan both recorded a career-high eight assists.
Ball State's Danielle Gratton and Emily Maggert both finished with 20-point games. Maggert led with 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting and Gratton was 8-for-12 to come away with 21 points.
Audrey McDonald and Porchia Green capped the Cardinal scoring with 14 and 10 points, respectively. All of McDonald's points came in the final 25 minutes.
North Dakota out-shot BSU 54.1-49.2 percent from the field and 58.8-25.8 percent from the three-point line. The Cardinals held a 88.9-50.0 percent shooting advantage from the free throw line. Twelve of their total 16 bonus shots were made during overtime.
Aside from fouls and rebounds, the teams finished relatively even in all columns.
UND is now 1-2 against Mid-American opponents and is an even 10-10 overall. BSU improved to 13-7.
The Fighting Sioux scored the first basket of the ballgame at 19:47 when Guinn was left alone above the three-point line. Through the next eight minutes, the Sioux would only allow the Cardinals to tie, but would never relinquish the lead.
BSU's Gratton scored nine points herself, but with six players finding the net for the Sioux, UND held a 17-15 advantage.
At 12:15, Ball State tied the game for the third time on a jumper by Gratton. On the next possession, Suzanne Grossnickle dropped in a short shot from the paint to put the score at 19-17 and give BSU its first lead of the game.
The score was knotted twice more before the Sioux used an 11-3 run to take a 32-24 lead with 5:35 remaining in the half. Inside the nearly three minute run, Youngblut, Bagaason and Guinn all hit from behind the arc. Kimbrough opened up the rally with an easy jumper off of a pass from Guinn on the baseline.
In the final two and a half minutes, UND was out-scored 8-3, but held onto the lead. The Sioux went into the locker-room with a grip on a 39-36 lead.
It took less than 60 seconds for the Cardinals to tie the score for the seventh time of the evening. A pair of three's from McDonald helped to move the score to a 46-46 tie.
With a left side drive on the baseline by Youngblut, UND moved back into a five-point advantage. The Sioux maintained control until Amber Clark checked and tipped in a pass from Green 6:40 and put the score at 61-61.
On minute later, McDonald made her fourth three-pointer of the game and gave Ball State the 66-61 lead. She was followed by a basket from Maggert to give BSU the seven-point lead.
In the ensuing three minutes, UND used a short, 6-2 run to cut the lead down to three with 63 seconds left on the clock.
Thirteen ticks later, Bagaason sunk her fifth three of the game to tie the score at 70-70. Unable for either end to connect, the game moved into overtime.
The Fighting Sioux will remain on the road for one more game before returning to Grand Forks to host Minot State on the first day of February. On Saturday, January 31, the Sioux will take on South Dakota in Vermillion. Tip-off at the DakotaDome is slated for 1 p.m.
- Go Sioux -
Game Notes: The last time the Fighting Sioux failed to reach the 10-win mark was during the 1986-87 season. They have put double-digits in the win column ever since head coach Gene Roebuck took over the helm in 1987 ... Guinn is now tied with Marisa Leighton (2000-04) for No. 9 in career games played ... Bergan finished with a personal-high eight assists and 45 minutes played ... Bagaason set new personal highs in field goals (11), field goals attempted (16), and minutes played (34) ... Kimbrough is now tied with Marisa Leighton (2000-04) with 447 career free throws attempted.
