Evers' 22 points leads Sioux past UMC

Women's Basketball Christy Kramer, UND Athletic Media Relations

Evers' 22 points leads Sioux past UMC

GRAND FORKS, N.D.  - Led by 22 points from redshirt freshman center Emily Evers, the University of North Dakota pulled out a 62-56 win over Minnesota, Crookston in exhibition action at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

In her collegiate debut, Evers, a native of Grand Forks, N.D., shot 9-for-15 from the field and 4-for-6 at the line, and tallied a team-high six rebounds and two blocks. She scored all but five of UND's 27 bench points.

"Emily has been doing very well at practice, and I was glad to see that she could do the same in a game situation," head coach Gene Roebuck said. "I was very impressed with the way that she ran the floor and the stamina that she had. She's an intelligent player and she understands the game very well.

"I'm very proud of Emily. It's been over a year since she's been able to play in a game, and she worked very hard to get herself in shape. That's what I'm most proud of and that should be a story for all young kids. If you have a dream, you need to realize that dream through hard work. That's exactly what Emily did."

The Fighting Sioux scored first on a free throw from senior guard Charnay Mothershed (Phoenix, Ariz.), but the Golden Eagles quickly answered with a layup on the other end. UMC held onto a small lead until a layup from Evers at 13:34 put the Sioux back on top with an 8-7 advantage.

UMC kept it close until an 11-0 UND run pushed the Sioux to a 23-11 lead with 5:59 on the clock. However, over the next five minutes the Golden Eagles put together a run of their own, scoring eight straight points to cut the margin down to four.

Heading into the locker-room, it was North Dakota 25, Minnesota, Crookston 23.

Nineteen seconds into the second half, Evers hit her sixth field goal of the game to give UND the four-point advantage, but a pair of UMC baskets would knot the game at 27-27 with 17:55 on the clock.

UND again took a four-point advantage, but with a three-pointer from UMC's Ashley Martell and a free throw by Megan Eul to follow, the teams were tied at 31-31. With another free throw from Eul and a jumper to follow, Crookston was back in the lead with 14:39 remaining.

The Fighting Sioux held a brief one-point lead inside the 13-minute mark, but UMC quickly took it way, and then built a five-point advantage (9:44), its largest of the game.

Within a matter of seconds, sophomore center Allyssa Wall (North Sioux City, S.D.) scored three points and true freshman guard Brianna Williams (Minneapolis, Minn.) sunk a fast break layup to erase the deficit and tie the game at 42-42.

Evers scored underneath off of a pass from sophomore forward Madi Buck (Bismarck, N.D.) to break the tie (8:38), and from then on out, the Sioux never again fell behind the Golden Eagles.

Wall finished with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field and a pair of free throws. She also added five rebounds, a block and a steal. Junior guard Nicole Smart (Ada, Minn.) came away with 11 points, four rebounds, three steals, and two assists, and in her collegiate debut, Williams posted eight points, two rebounds, two assists, and led the team with four steals.

"Nicole did a real nice job tonight," Roebuck said. "She was the steady person on the floor that worked hard and was consistent. She's going to keep getting better for us."

"Brianna is a very intelligent defensive player. She's one of those players that keeps on working even when she's tired and maintains her mental focus. That's the sign of an athlete."

UND shot 35.6 percent (21-for-59) from the field, 12.5 percent (1-for-8) from three-point range, and 63.3 percent (19-for-30) at the line. The Sioux banked 29 points off of UMC's 33 turnovers.

Brittani Wiese led the Golden Eagles with 22 points and Eul finished with 15. UMC went 20-for-44 (44.4 percent) from the field, 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) from behind the arc, and 13-for-15 (86.7 percent) at the line.

"The good thing is, we won the game," Roebuck said. "The other good thing is that we have nine days before we play the next game."

The Fighting Sioux will officially open the season on Nov. 11 when then host Creighton for a 7 p.m. game at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

- Go Sioux -

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Players Mentioned

Nicole Smart

#11 Nicole Smart

G
5' 8"
Freshman
Madi Buck

#13 Madi Buck

F
6' 0"
Freshman
Emily Evers

#23 Emily Evers

C
6' 4"
Freshman
Charnay Mothershed

#3 Charnay Mothershed

G
5' 7"
Junior
Allyssa Wall

#52 Allyssa Wall

C
6' 4"
Freshman
Brianna Williams

#20 Brianna Williams

G
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Nicole Smart

#11 Nicole Smart

5' 8"
Freshman
G
Madi Buck

#13 Madi Buck

6' 0"
Freshman
F
Emily Evers

#23 Emily Evers

6' 4"
Freshman
C
Charnay Mothershed

#3 Charnay Mothershed

5' 7"
Junior
G
Allyssa Wall

#52 Allyssa Wall

6' 4"
Freshman
C
Brianna Williams

#20 Brianna Williams

5' 7"
Freshman
G