GRAND FORKS, N.D. - There were several good reasons to celebrate after North Dakota defeated Utah Valley 68-57 on Saturday afternoon in front of 2,044 fans at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The big-ticket item was watching senior Kayla Bagaason register her 1,000th-career point as a Fighting Sioux. With a free throw midway through the second half, the guard from Clearbrook, Minn., became the 28th member of UND's Elite 1,000 Point Club.
"This definitely means a lot to me, especially since it happened on our home floor," said Bagaason. "I've battled through a lot of adversity over the past five years so it's something great to accomplish. More importantly, I'm happy we came away with a win today as a team."
With the win, North Dakota picked up its sixth Great West Conference victory to push its record to 11-13, 6-1 GWC. The loss dropped the Wolverines to 5-22, 1-9 GWC and extended their losing streak to three games.
"This wasn't our best game," head coach Gene Roebuck said. "It wasn't a very enthusiastic game on our part and at times we were a bit too flatfooted. I think tonight we were out-worked by Utah Valley and that's how they hung in there.
"We made some plays at the end. We won the game at home, but we are going to have to play a lot better on Tuesday."
Bagaason finished the game with 22 points and three rebounds to mark her eighth-consecutive game in double-digits and her third 20-point finish over the last four games. She has made at least two-three-pointers per game since UND opened conference play on Jan. 14.
"What separates Kayla from most of the shooters in our league is that she has that little 15-foot jump-shot," Roebuck said. "She shot the ball extremely well tonight."
Also in double-figures was junior guard Mallory Youngblut who came away with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds (seven offensive) for her sixth-career double-double. The Davenport, Iowa native has finished in double-figures in eight of the last nine games. She added four assists and five steals.
The three remaining Sioux starters ended the game with nine points apiece. Senior Jossy Bergan (G, Valley City, N.D.) scored all of her points from beyond the three-point line, fellow senior Whitney Ledger (F, Bismarck, N.D.) was 4-for-9 from the field and 1-for-2 at the free throw line, and junior Corey Lof (F, Detroit Lakes, Minn.) tallied four points from the field and five at the charity stripe.
The Fighting Sioux shot 42.9 (9-for-21) from beyond the three-point line overall and were 7-for-12 (.583) in the opening half. They also shot .789 (15-for-19) at the free throw line. Only twice this season have they shot under 60 percent at the line.
Utah Valley relied on a pair of bench players for the bulk of its points. Kayla Burningham finished with 18 points - all on three-pointers. She scored 15 of those points in the second half alone. Kaycee Mansfield added another 10 for UVU shooting 3-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 both at three-point range and at the free throw line. Starters Erika Newbold and Jenna Johnson combined for another 17 points. UND held Preseason GWC Player of the Year Julie Smith was held to just six points.
The Wolverines shot .417 (20-for-48) from the field, .375 (9-for-24) behind the arc, and .727 (8-for-11) at the free throw line. UVU was held to just one attempt at the free throw line in the opening half.
"Our defense wasn't as tight as it needed to be so they were getting some uncontested shots," said Youngblut. "They figured out a way to work our zone. They ran the same play about eight times and were successful about half of the time."
UND forced Utah Valley to 21 turnovers and used them to tally 22 points.
"We'll have to get some rest and try to get back on the floor," Roebuck said. "We need to get something going on Monday and get everything back in order.
"There is a very fine line in this league and this league is separated by teams who are able to be the aggressor for 40 minutes. That's what separates them. We hung on for the win, but we were not the aggressor tonight."
North Dakota will return to 'The Betty' on Tuesday, Feb. 23 when it hosts NJIT for a GWC tilt. Tip-off is slated for Noon. This is a rescheduled date after the Feb. 11 game was postponed due to poor weather conditions.
Utah Valley scored first, but Bagaason answered quickly from behind the arc to give UND the one-point lead - a lead that would stand through the remainder of the game. With another three from Bagaason and two more from Bergan, the Sioux worked their way into a 10-point, 16-6 advantage with just over five minutes played.
The Wolverines scored seven unanswered points to move within three of UND, but with patience on the perimeter the Sioux started to pull away once again. Each UVU basket was answered with two on the other end of the court by UND. Inside the seven-minute mark, Bagaason followed a Ledger field goal with her third three-pointer of the half to give UND the 29-18 advantage.
The Fighting Sioux ended the half on a 10-6 run to go into the break leading the Wolverines 36-22.
Inside the new half the two teams traded baskets until a Ledger put-back sparked a quick 7-0 Sioux run, which included a trio of baskets from Youngblut at the free throw line. The 45-29, 19-point lead marked the largest of the game for either team thus far.
The Wolverines made certain that the UND advantage didn't reach the 20's as they out-scored the Sioux 7-13 over the next six minutes to cut the margin down to 10. Inside that run, UVU made four baskets from beyond the arc, including a pair from Mansfield.
North Dakota answered with its own 9-1 run - scoring four different players - to push its lead back up to 18 points.
The Wolverines pulled within 10 points once again in the final four minutes, but the Sioux held them off to collect another Great West Conference win.
GAME NOTES: Kayla Bagaason is now the 28th member of UND's 1,000 Point Club with 1,003 points. She is ranked No. 7 on UND's career three-pointers made list with 166 three's ... Jossy Bergan is ranked No. 8 on UND's career three-pointers made list with 162 three's. Bergan is also ranked No. 7 in career three-pointers attempted with 473. She passed Jenny Hoffner who tallied 471 from 1997-01 ... UND leads the series over Utah Valley 2-0 since 2010 ... North Dakota now holds an NCAA Division I transition record of 29-24 and a 6-1 record in the Great West Conference ... Since the move the Sioux are 7-1 in the month of February and 9-4 when playing on a Saturday ... The Fighting Sioux are 762-281 all-time and 586-117 under head coach Gene Roebuck.
- Go Sioux -
