GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Led by 16 points from freshman center Allyssa Wall (North Sioux City, S.D.) and 14 points from senior forward Mallory Youngblut (Davenport, Iowa) the North Dakota women's basketball team defeated Utah Valley 69-52 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center and sent the Wolverines home with their second Great West Conference loss.
It was the fourth straight win for the Sioux, who move to 6-11 on the season and 2-0 in the GWC. The loss dropped UVU to a 2-15 record overall and a 0-2 mark in the conference.
"Any win is a good win, but I feel like we lacked a bit of focus at times," said UND head coach Gene Roebuck. "We let them get back in the game when we had them down, but Utah Valley is a scrappy team. Their record shows that they've lost a lot of games, but they really scrapped today. You have to give them credit. They fought and were after us every second of the game."
The last time these two teams met, the sixth-seeded Utah Valley Wolverines knocked off the top-seeded North Dakota Fighting Sioux in the championship game of the inaugural Great West Conference Tournament. This time the Sioux were ready as they took an early lead and never let UVU within more than six points.
When asked if this made up for last year's loss, Youngblut said that it did play a part in the back of her mind.
"You've got to have what they did to us last year in the back of your mind and to want a little bit of revenge," said Youngblut. "This isn't the kind of revenge we really wanted. We would have liked to put them away by a bit more, but we'll take the win at this point."
The Sioux rattled off 30 points via UVU's 26 turnovers and notched 14 steals. Twenty-seven points were scored off of the bench and 20 points were scored in the paint.
UND finished 23-for-48 (.479) from the field, 5-for-14 (.357) beyond the arc, and 18-for-20 (.900) at the free throw line.
Utah Valley was led by Sammie Jensen, who tallied a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double. The Wolverines finished 17-for-52 (.327) from the field, 8-for-26 (.308) at three-point range, and 10-for-12 (.833) at the free throw line.
North Dakota opened the game with a 17-2 run to hold the advantage over Utah Valley through the first 9:15. Wall secured the first six points for the Sioux, Youngblut contributed seven, including a three-pointer and both freshman Megan Lauck (Arden Hills, Minn.) and sophomore Carly Rothfusz (Eden Prairie, Minn.) added a pair apiece.
That proved to be the only two points for Lauck while Rothfusz finished 1-for-2 from three-point range and 6-for-6 at the free throw line to finish with nine points.
UVU's Kaycee Mansfield hit a jumper to break the run, but Wall answered on the other end with her fourth field goal of the game. Back in the Wolverine's possession, Jenna Johnson hit a pair of three-pointers and Abbie Beutler added one of her own pull UVU to within six points with 8:33 on the clock.
Johnson led UVU in scoring with 15 points. Mansfield finished with 12 points and Beutler four.
Senior forward Corey Lof (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) answered with her fifth three of the season, but UVU's Kim Bell fired back with a three-point play after being fouled on the jumper.
Lof ended with six points, six rebounds, and three steals. Those ended up being the only points for Bell.
With Utah Valley now trailing just 22-16 with 6:45 remaining in the opening half, the Fighting Sioux set out on another run to move into a 14-point lead with just over two minutes left in the half. Junior guard Charnay Mothershed (Phoenix, Ariz.) opened the run with a jumper on the assist by Youngblut and freshman forward Madi Buck (Bismarck, N.D.) followed with an end-to-end run after making the steal deep in UVU territory.
With a set of free throws by both Rothfusz and redshirt freshman Katie Houdek (Grafton, N.D.), it was UND with a 30-16 lead. Johnson chipped the margin down by three, but with a spin move off of the screen and a jumper to follow from Lof, the Sioux when into the break holding a 32-19 lead.
Through the first 20 minutes, the Wolverines shot just .259 (7-for-27) from the field and .364 (4-for-11) at three-point range. UND was 12-for-23 (.522) from the field, 2-for-7 (.286) beyond the arc, and 6-for-6 (1.000) at the line.
Back out of the break the Sioux used quick passes and smart plays to inch their way into an 18-point lead. Coming off a UVU turnover, sophomore guard Nicole Smart (Ada, Minn.) found Lauck open across the lane, Lauck then quickly dished inside to Wall, and then Wall kissed the ball off the glass for two.
Utah Valley's Jensen hit a three in-between a set of free throws and a field goal by Smart, but with another bucket from Wall, UND sat holding a 40-22 lead. Moments later, Houdek hit a quick jumper to give UND a 19-point lead with 13:57 remaining.
Two and a half minutes later, off of a pass from Lauck, Rothfusz nailed a three to give UND the 21-point, 48-27 lead - the largest lead of the game.
The Wolverines continued to battle, the Sioux never let them in closer than 12 points in the final nine minutes.
The Sioux return to GWC action on Thursday, Jan. 27 as they host Texas-Pan American. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
GAME NOTES: Tonight's game marks the fourth meeting overall between North Dakota and Utah Valley and the first since the sixth-seeded Wolverines knocked off the top ranked Fighting Sioux in the championship game of the Great West Conference Tournament. UND leads to all-time series 3-1 (2-0 home, 1-1 away) ... Mallory Youngblut is now ranked 24th all-time at UND with 1,088 points. She is also 5th in career three-pointers made (187) and eighth in career three-pointers attempted (494) ... Players who reached new career highs against UVU today: Carly Rothfusz - free throws made (6) and free throws attempted (6), Corey Lof - three-pointers attempted (2) ... Since the inaugural season of the Great West Conference (2008-09), UND has gone 13-1 against league foes and 28-36 against non-conference opponents ... The University of North Dakota women's basketball program holds a 774-292 record all-time since the first game was played in 1974. Under head coach Gene Roebuck, UND is 598-128 ... All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 423-83 (.836) when it comes to defending their own court and are 328-39 (.893) under the tutelage of Gene Roebuck ... UND is 88-14 (.861) all-time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, which opened prior to the 2004-05 season ... Head coach Gene Roebuck is just TWO wins away from his 600th win at the helm of Fighting Sioux women's basketball.
- Go Sioux -
