GRAND FORKS, N.D. - With a trio of players finishing in double figures - senior Mallory Youngblut and freshmen Allyssa Wall and Megan Lauck - the University of North Dakota surged past Vermont to a 76-49 victory in front of 1,641 fans at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
With the win, the Fighting Sioux (1-1) knotted the all-time series with Vermont (0-2) at 1-1 and captured their first win of the 2010-11 season.
Wall, a native of North Sioux City, S.D., went 6-for-8 from the free throw line and shot 5-for-7 from the field to finish with a career-high 16 points. Youngblut (Davenport, Iowa) banked a trio of three-pointers in the first 20 minutes, including the first basket of the game, to finish with 14 points. Including games from the end of last season, she has finished in double-figures in the last seven games.
Off the bench, Lauck (Arden Hills, Minn.) scored 10 points for her second double-digit finish in as many games. Lauck was also one of four players - Charnay Mothershed (Jr., G, Phoenix, Ariz.), Nicole Smart (So., G, Ada, Minn.), and Corey Lof (Sr., F, Detroit Lakes, Minn.) - to tab five assists. Two of Lauck's assists came midway through the second half as she dished quickly to Wall, who was cutting towards the basket.
The Catamounts were led by Ashley Hoyt, who scored 17 points off of the bench. She was 7-for-15 from the field and 3-for-9 from three-point range. Also in double-figures was Lauren Buschmann, who scored 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field and three baskets at the free throw line.
UND turned all 24 of Vermont's turnovers into points and out-shot the Catamounts .464 (26-for-56) to .354 (17-for-48) from the field. The Sioux also held the advantage beyond the arc (.423 to .261) and at the free throw line (.765 to .750).
With a three-pointer from Youngblut just 50 seconds into the game, UND set the tone for the evening. Within six minutes, the Sioux had built up a 19-3 lead. Hoyt scored six points to pull the game within nine, and with help from Lauren Wheeler, the Catamounts found themselves just eight points behind.
Leading 24-13 eight minutes left and Vermont slowly closing the gap, UND seemed to find another gear. With a 13-5 run to close the half, North Dakota went into the break leading the Catamounts 37-18.
Back out of the break, Buschmann hit the first basket, but Smart answered with a pair of free throws. After trading points, UND kicked out six straight points to take a 48-27 lead. Vermont answered with a basket, but Wall was there with a six-point answer to give UND a 25-point advantage.
Minutes later, Wall connected on a jumper to give the Sioux a 67-37 lead - the largest scoring margin of the game.
During the final minutes, Vermont continued to battle, but North Dakota was there each time to fire back and keep the Catamounts at bay.
North Dakota will continue its four-game home stretch on Sunday, Nov. 21 when it hosts Colorado State for the first time in program history. Gametime at The Betty is set for 2 p.m.
GAME NOTES: North Dakota is 1-1 overall, 1-0 at home, and 0-1 against Vermont since opening the series in 2009 ... UND holds a 769-282 (.732) record all-time since the first game was played in 1974 ... All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 419-80 (.840) when playing at home ... The Sunday, Nov. 21 game against Colorado State will mark the 500th home game in program history and 593-118 (.834) under head coach Gene Roebuck ... UND is 85-11 (.885) all-time in the friendly confines of the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center ... The Jan. 10 game against Western Kentucky will mark the 100th game played in 'The Betty'.
- Go Sioux -
