GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Led by freshman Allyssa Wall (North Sioux City, S.D.), the University of North Dakota tallied a 71-38 victory over Minnesota, Crookston in women's basketball exhibition play on Friday evening. In front of a Betty Engelstad Sioux Center crowd of 1,468, the Golden Eagles were held to their lowest point total since opening the series with UND.
"I think we took a big step forward today, a big step every way," said head coach Gene Roebuck. "The biggest step is that we competed at another level. We completed as a Division I team today. Back on Monday, we were tentative and didn't complete like a DI school. Today we were out there working really hard on defense and going for the rebounds.
"I like the way we came out today. Our intensity was there right away."
Just one rebound short of her second double-double in as many games, Wall shot 7-for-11 from the field and 3-for-4 at the free throw line to finish with 17 points. She also added nine rebounds (five defensive).
"We've improved a lot since Monday, especially defensively," said Wall. "We did a lot of work in practice and our zone has gotten a lot better from when we practiced it on Wednesday to today. Our communication and the overall feel of being a team has improved as well."
Wall led a quartet of Sioux players in double figures. Redshirt freshman Katie Houdek (F, Grafton, N.D.) tallied her first collegiate double-digit game with 13 points and sophomores Nicole Smart (G, Ada, Minn.) and Carly Rothfusz (Eden Prairie, Minn.) finished with 10 points apiece.
UND dominated the Eagles on the boards with a 50-34 rebounding advantage. Senior Mallory Youngblut (F, Davenport, Iowa) led both teams with 11 boards (six offensive). She also registered six assists.
UMC was led by Annessa Hicks, Jamie Zelinsky, and Megan Eul, each with six points. Zelinsky also tallied a team-high seven rebounds.
After four minutes without a basket from either end, Houdek put the first bucket in to give UND the 2-0 lead. The Sioux were able to build an 8-0 advantage before Gina Jaroszewski hit the first basket for UMC, a three-pointer, to pull the Eagles within five.
After trading baskets, UMC was within five points once again, but it would be last time the margin fell into single-digits as the Sioux rallied to a 15-point lead midway through the opening quarter. By the time the half was over, UND held a 31-11 lead over Minnesota, Crookston.
In the first 20 minutes, the Eagles were held to just six baskets total - three free throws, two three-pointers, and one field goal.
Even with a solid lead heading into the second half, Sioux offence and defense didn't let up. UND shot .536 (15-for-28) from the field while holding the Eagles to a .357 (10-for-28) shooting percentage. Ten Sioux points were scored off of UMC turnovers and 19 were tallied off of the bench.
With a 13-2 run opened and closed by Wall late in the second half, the Sioux built a 39-point lead, it largest margin of the game.
The Fighting Sioux are now 12-0 overall and 7-0 at home against Minnesota, Crookston.
North Dakota will open the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 13 when it hosts New Mexico State at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
- Go Sioux -
