GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Senior Kayla Bagaason banked her second-consecutive 20-point game to help lead the University of North Dakota to a 69-44 Great West Conference victory over NJIT in front of 1,649 fans at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
With the win, the Fighting Sioux upped their record to 12-13, 7-1 GWC and extended their winning-streak to six games. They have now posted at least one victory over each league opponent. The UND win dropped NJIT to 10-13, 4-2 GWC and put an end to its five-game conference winning-streak.
"It was a hands-on game defensively," head coach Gene Roebuck said. "We have to be real strong with the basketball and take it to the basket. Tonight our players did a nice job of that.
"We came out the exact opposite of how we did on Saturday against Utah Valley. Maybe we were looking to far ahead that day? We came out today with a lot of energy and it was for 40 minutes. Our defensive effort was good and we hit some good shots."
Bagaason shot 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-7 at three-point range to score 20 points and lead a set of four UND players in double-digits. Senior Jossy Bergan (G, Valley City, N.D.) scored 13 points - with the help of three first-half three-pointers, and Whitney Ledger (Sr., F, Bismarck, N.D.) and junior Corey Lof (G, Detroit Lakes, Minn.) finished with 10 points apiece.
"Jossy had a great game today," Roebuck said. "Not only did she hit some big shots for us, but she really handled the ball well. She had only one turnover with them pressuring her up and down the floor. They pressured her at half-court and at times doubled her. For her to only turn it over once was huge for us. She had a great game, but then again, I expect that from her."
UND held all NJIT players to single-digit finishes. The Highlanders were led by Jessica Gerald, who finished with nine points. Melanie Griffin and Taiwo Oyelola tallied eight points apiece. Oyelola also added a team- and game-high 14 rebounds.
For the first time this season, UND shot over 50 percent in all areas. The Sioux shot a season-high .500 (11-for-22) from three-point range and finished .556 (25-for-45) from the field and .800 (8-for-10) at the free throw line. The Highlanders shot .300 (15-for-50) from the field and finished .231 (3-for-13) beyond the three-point line.
North Dakota scored 23 points off of NJIT's 19 turnovers and registered 14 points in the paint. NJIT finished with a slight 31-25 rebound advantage over UND.
"There are a lot of ways to win games and it's not just by hitting your first shot," Roebuck said. "It's by getting the offensive boards and cutting your turnovers down. In the first half we gave up 14 offensive boards to NJIT, but in the second half we only gave up three. We did a nice job in the second half of controlling the boards.
The Fighting Sioux and the Highlanders will meet again on the court shortly as the Sioux travel to Newark, N.J., for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Feb. 27. Prior to Saturday's game, UND will take on Chicago State in Illinois. Gametime between the Sioux and the Cougars is slated for 5 p.m. at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center.
"We have to win on the road," Roebuck said. "There is no margin of error. We have to go out and take care of business.
"We'd like two, hopefully one, but two wins. If we get that we'll be in a good position for the next week."
"We have a tough week ahead of us, and this was a great way to start it off," Bergan said. "NJIT had just one loss coming into today's game so we knew that we had to get a win in order to give us a little breathing room in the conference."
NJIT controlled the ball from the tip-off and held on for the first two minutes before T. Oyelola dropped in the first score of the game. UND answered with a three-pointer from Bergan on its first possession and seconds later, Bergan scored again to give the Sioux the 5-2 lead. Bergan's second basket came off of a steal on the Highlander end after she nabbed the ball from Ivana Seric at NJIT three-point and the drove untouched all the way to the basket.
The Highlanders tied the game at 5-5 with a bucket from Kehinde Oyelola, but the Sioux fired back with a 12-2 run to take their first double-digit lead - a 17-7 advantage - with 8:51 on the clock.
"It was a different kind of day today with the game starting at Noon," Bergan said. "It was something that we've never done before, but we knew that we had to come out with a lot of intensity and jump on them quick. We wanted to put them away early and send them a message."
NJIT used a few small scoring spurts to pull within five points of the Fighting Sioux, but with momentum on their side, UND finished the half with a 10-4 run. Inside the run, the Sioux posted an impressive eight points - all from Bagaason - in a matter of 47 seconds. She netted back-to-back three-pointers and scored her other two points on a pass from Bergan.
Leading 32-21, North Dakota opened the second half with five unanswered points as Ledger drove to the basket from the baseline and junior Mallory Youngblut (G, Davenport, Iowa) recorded her first basket of the game, a three-pointer from the left corner. With an additional Youngblut to Bagaason combination, the Fighting Sioux took a 17-point lead - the largest of either team thus far.
The Highlanders cut the lead down to 12 and then picked up the defensive pressure. But even with the guards double-teamed at the top of the key, the Fighting Sioux used patience and quick passes to drain four buckets from three-point range. Off of the bench, freshman Nicole Smart (G, Ada, Minn.) netted the final pair of UND three's.
At 7:04, Smart helped UND regain the 17-point advantage as she flashed to the block, took a pass from Ledger and kissed the ball off of the glass to give the Sioux the 53-36 lead.
NJIT twice cut the margin down to 15 points, but with three points from the charity stripe from Ledger and a quick basket from Baggason, the Fighting Sioux extended their lead to 20.
In the final minutes, North Dakota out-scored the Highlanders 9-1 to close the game with a 25-point victory.
GAME NOTES: Kayla Bagaason is now the 28th member of UND's 1,000 Point Club with 1,023 points. She is ranked No. 7 on UND's career three-pointers made list with 170 three's ... Jossy Bergan is ranked No. 8 on UND's career three-pointers made list with 165 three's. Bergan is also ranked No. 7 in career three-pointers attempted with 481. Bergan also tied her career-high in field goals (five) ... This marks the first time North Dakota and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have met on the hardwood. UND now leads the series 1-0 ... North Dakota now holds an NCAA Division I transition record of 30-24 and a 7-1 record in the Great West Conference ... Since the move the Sioux are 8-1 in the month of February and 6-5 when playing on a Tuesday ... The Fighting Sioux are 763-281 all-time and 587-117 under head coach Gene Roebuck ... North Dakota is now just eight games away from playing its 100th game in 'The Betty' and is nine games away from playing its 500th home game.
- Go Sioux -
