OREM, Utah -- All five starters finished in double-figures to help to make University of North Dakota women's basketball history as the Fighting Sioux captured their first ever Great West Conference win with an 84-71 victory over Utah Valley at the McKay Center.
The win moved the Sioux record to 5-12 overall and 1-0 in the Great West. The loss was UVU's 10th-consecutive since early December and the second-consecutive in the Great West. The Wolverines are now 3-15, 0-2 GWC.
"A win is a win, on the road or any time," head coach Gene Roebuck said. "The biggest thing is that we have a tendency to panic at times. If you get a team down you ought to really be able to get after them and really put them away. We have a tendency to panic a little bit.
"We did a nice job of keeping the pressure on and that's the biggest thing."
Senior captain Whitney Ledger led the UND charge with yet another career day. The forward from Bismarck, N.D., tied career highs in points (20) and rebounds (13) and captured her second double-double in three games and her fourth 20-point game of the season. Ledger has finished in double-figures 26 times since she first stepped on the court for UND in 2005.
"Whitney had a great game again, but equally as important is that we had five players finish in double-figures," Roebuck said. "We also did a nice job on the boards; we out-rebounded them by 10. Our shooting over 50 percent from the field was incredible."
The rest of the starters followed in suit as senior Kayla Baggason (F, Clearbrook, Minn.) ended with 18 points and junior Mallory Youngblut (G, Davenport, Iowa) finished with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and added seven rebounds. Senior Jossy Bergan finished with 12 points and junior Corey Lof (F, Detroit Lakes, Minn.) scored 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 shooting at the free throw line.
UND shot a season-best .596 (31-for-52) from the field and was .842 (16-for-19) at the charity stripe. The game marked the sixth time this season that North Dakota has scored over 80 points.
Utah Valley was 23-for-53 (.434) from the field and 17-for-22 (.773) at the free throw line. The Wolverines were led by Julie Smith who finished with 23 points, Erika Newbold scored 16 points, and Kyra Prause finished with 12 points - all from the three-point line.
North Dakota will have an early wakeup call as it heads to Vermillion, S.D. tomorrow morning. The Fighting Sioux will take on their second Great West Conference opponent as it squares off with South Dakota on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. in the DakotaDome. The Wolverines will face their final non-conference opponent on Monday before hosting South Dakota on Thursday at the McKay Center.
North Dakota opened with a three-point basket by Bagaason, but Utah Valley quickly gained ground and at 14:48 the Wolverines held an 11-7 lead. Less than a minute later, Youngblut hit from behind the three-point line to pull the Sioux within one.
The game fell into a pair of ties until a jumpshot by Ledger 9:53 gave North Dakota its first lead since the opening two minutes. Ledger's basket also ignited a 14-2 Sioux run that would take the Fighting Sioux into the halftime break with a 42-26 lead.
Within the first five minutes of the new half the Sioux worked their way into a 19-point lead. Following a pair of Lof to Youngblut scoring combinations and scores from three other players, UND held a 30-point advantage over Utah Valley.
The Wolverines clawed their way from behind to pull within 12 points of the Sioux on four occasions, but UND managed to hold on and take its first Great West Conference victory.
GAME NOTES: In the stands cheering on North Dakota was former UND women's basketball All-American Whitney Meier. As a senior, Meier was named a 1990-91 WBCA All-American first team member. She sits at No. 24 on UND's 1,000 point club with 1,057 points ... Enroute to her double-double, Whitney Ledger made a career-best eight field goals ... Corey Lof set a new career high in assists with six ... Alys Seay registered her 200th career field goal ... North Dakota now holds an NCAA Division I transition record of 23-23 (.500) ... Since the move the Sioux are 7-4 in the month of January and 2-1 when playing on a Thursday ... UND is 9-1 overall, 5-0 at home, and 4-1 on the road when playing on Jan. 14 ...The Fighting Sioux are 756-280 all-time and 580-116 under head coach Gene Roebuck.
- Go Sioux -
