OREM, Utah - Once again, it was unselfishness and an overall team effort that led the University of North Dakota women's basketball team to victory. Led by freshman Allyssa Wall, UND (11-13, 6-2 GWC) finished with five players in double figures to defeat Utah Valley 74-71 at the UCCU Center and pick up a regular-season sweep over the Wolverines (5-20, 3-7 GWC).
"A win on the road is a win," UND head coach Gene Roebuck said. "All in all, I think we did a nice job. Utah Valley isn't a bad team, I said that going in. They don't have a really good record, but they are going to fight you all the way and that's what they did tonight."
Utah Valley jumped out early to lead the Sioux 16-9 with 12:32 on the clock. Ninety seconds later, freshman Megan Lauck (Arden Hills, Minn.) dropped in a bucket and ignited an 11-0 run to give UND control. A last-second UVU three-pointer sent the game into the break tied 34-34 and minutes into the new stanza, the Wolverines found themselves back on top. Not backing down, UND's shooting heated up and with a few shot runs, the Sioux managed to fend off the biting Wolverines.
"I thought we held on and did a nice job of keeping our composure down the stretch," said Roebuck. "We shot the ball well the second half and didn't turn it over as much. We played pretty steady."
With the win, the Fighting Sioux and South Dakota share the No. 2 spot in the league. Chicago State (18-8) leads with a perfect 9-0 record.
Wall, a native of North Sioux City, S.D., scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the second half and added four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
Senior forward Mallory Youngblut (Davenport, Iowa) and junior guard Charnise Mothershed (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored 11 points apiece and both senior forward Corey Lof (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) and Lauck finished with 10. Youngblut recorded a team-high seven assists and freshman forward Madi Buck (Bismarck, N.D.) led with seven rebounds.
North Dakota shot 48.2 percent (27-for-56) from the field and 66.7 percent (14-for-21) at the free throw line. UND's three-point shooting improved to 75 percent (3-for-4) in the second half after shooting just 37.5 percent (3-for-8) in the opening 20 minutes. Thirty-six points were scored in the paint and the UND bench combined for 28 points.
Utah Valley was led by Jenna Johnson, who finished with 21 points on 6-for-21 shooting from the field, including a trio of three-pointers. It was Johnson's trey with four seconds on the clock that knotted the game at 34-34 just outside the half. Abbie Beutler finished with 17 points, including 12 from three-point range.
The Wolverines shot 35.4 percent (23-for-65) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-for-24) behind the arc, and 89.5 percent (17-for-19) at the free throw line. UVU won the rebounding battle, 41-36.
It took over a minute for the first bucket to fall and unfortunately for the Sioux, it was UVU's score. With a trey by Beutler to follow, UVU led 5-0 before sophomore guard Carly Rothfusz (Eden Prairie, Minn.) ended UND's silence with a three of her own. The Wolverines continued to push, but just inside the 10-minute mark, a layup by Lauck sparked a much needed 11-0 run for the Sioux to give them the 20-16 lead with 7:38 on the clock.
In addition to her own basket, Lauck dished off to both Wall and Mothershed, Mothershed scored on a fast break, and to cap off the run, Buck hit from behind the arc.
To quote Fighting Sioux Sports Network radio announcer Paul Ralston on the play, "Buck dialed in from distance."
From the free throw line, Utah Valley managed to pull within two points of UND and with a basket by Kaycee Mansfield at 5:42, the game was tied at 22-22. Fouled on the shot, she made the bonus to give the Wolverines a one-point lead.
UND then set out on a 12-1 run, but UVU answered with a 10-0 run of its own to knot the game at 34-34 heading into the break. The run was capped by a three-pointer from Johnson with just four seconds remaining.
The second half was definitely a battle. The lead changed 10 times and on three occasions, the teams found themselves once again in a tie.
At 11:41, Beutler drained another three to give UVU the 55-53 lead; however Mothershed answered with a three-pointer of her own to start a brief 9-3 run for UND. Trailing 63-58 with 8:15 remaining, Utah Valley staged a 5-0 run to pull within one-point, but the Sioux responded by taking an eight point lead. The Wolverines scored five points in the final 11 seconds of the game, but it wasn't enough to claim victory.
The Fighting Sioux will return to Grand Forks to host NJIT and Chicago State for the final home games of the season. The Sioux will tip off against the Highlanders at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26. Game time against the Cougars is slated for 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 28.
GAME NOTES: With 281 points on the season, Allyssa Wall ranks eighth on UND's all-time freshman scoring list ... Mallory Youngblut is now ranked 19th all-time at UND with 1,189 points. With 11 points on the night, she surpassed Dona Corcoran, who tallied 1,186 career points from 1980-84. Youngblut is also listed No. 5 with 533 career three-point attempts and 208 career three-pointers made. She is also listed No. 10 with 164 career steals after surpassing Becky Moen, who recorded 163 from 1999-03 ... North Dakota leads the all-time series over Utah Valley 4-1. The Fighting Sioux lead 2-0 in Grand Forks and 2-1 in Orem ... Since the inaugural season of the Great West Conference (2008-09), UND has gone 17-3 against league foes and 29-36 against non-conference opponents ... The University of North Dakota women's basketball program holds a 779-294 record all-time since the first game was played in 1974. Under head coach Gene Roebuck, UND is 603-130 ... All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 426-83 (.836) when it comes to defending their own court and are 331-39 (.893) under the tutelage of Gene Roebuck ... UND is 91-14 (.861) all-time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, which opened prior to the 2004-05 season.
- Go Sioux -
