CHICAGO, Ill. - North Dakota led by as much as 13 points in the first half, but with a hot streak just before the break, Chicago State staged a comeback and an eventual takeover to defeat the Fighting Sioux 78-57 in Great West Conference action at the Jones Convocation Center.
"We played OK at times and at other times, we didn't play hard enough," said UND head coach Gene Roebuck. "We have to have everyone on the same page and we have to go out and compete to win. You can't just go out and play and expect to win, you have to compete to win."
The win was CSU's 12th straight overall and pushed its unblemished GWC mark to 9-0. The Cougars (17-8) remain as the only unbeaten team in the league. The loss dropped North Dakota to 9-13 overall, 5-2 in the conference. The Sioux are now tied at second with South Dakota (14-10, 5-2 GWC).
CSU's Courtney Waldon led all players with 19 points on 7-for-19 shooting from the field, including four three-pointers. Natalie Marlowe finished with 14 points. Janay Dockery and Calia DeSroches recorded 11 points apiece. The league's top scorer, Tressa Beckel, was held to just nine points.
The Cougars shot 27-for-61 (.443) from the field, 9-for-25 (.360) beyond the arc, and 15-for-22 (.682) at the free throw line. They converted UND's 26 turnovers into 32 points and scored 28 points in the paint.
The Fighting Sioux were led by a trio of freshmen in double figures. Forward Madi Buck (Bismarck, N.D.) led the charge with 14 points off of the bench. She shot 4-for-6 from the field and was a perfect 2-for-2 beyond the arc and 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
Forward Megan Lauck (Arden Hills, Minn.) and center Allyssa Wall (North Sioux City, S.D.) finished with 13 points apiece. Lauck was 3-for-9 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. Wall shot 5-for-13 at the field and finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
"Our freshman played very well today," said Roebuck. "They were scrappy and earned their playing time."
The freshman class combined for 85 minutes on the floor, including a season high 31 minutes from Wall. With Katie Houdek (RFr., C, Grafton, N.D.) left behind in the Grand Forks due to injury, it was necessary to keep Wall on the court to give UND height under the basket.
"It really hurt to have to have Allyssa in the game the entire time," said Roebuck. "She was pretty tired towards the end and missed a few easy shots. But that's the way it is when you only have one post player."
As a team, UND finished 18-for-54 (.333) from the field, 6-for-9 (.667) beyond the arc, and 15-for-19 (.789) at the free throw line. The Sioux were held to just 19.2 percent (5-for-26) shooting from the field in the second half and made just one three-pointer.
The Fighting Sioux will return home to host Mayville State on Tuesday, Feb. 15 for the final non-conference game of the season. The Sioux will then hit the road again as they travel to Orem, Utah, to face the 2010 Great West Conference Tournament champion Utah Valley Wolverines on Saturday, Feb. 19. Tuesday game will tip at 7 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Saturday's game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the UCCU Center.
GAME NOTES: Mallory Youngblut is ranked 21st all-time at UND with 1,165 points. She is ranked No. 5 with 525 career three-point attempts and is fifth in career three-pointers made (205) ... North Dakota leads the all-time series over Chicago State 2-1. UND is 1-0 in Grand Forks and the teams are tied at 1-1 in Chicago ... Since the inaugural season of the Great West Conference (2008-09), UND has gone 16-3 against league foes and 28-36 against non-conference opponents ... The University of North Dakota women's basketball program holds a 777-294 record all-time since the first game was played in 1974. Under head coach Gene Roebuck, UND is 601-130 ... All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 425-83 (.836) when it comes to defending their own court and are 330-39 (.893) under the tutelage of Gene Roebuck ... UND is 90-14 (.861) all-time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, which opened prior to the 2004-05 season.
- Go Sioux -
