HOUSTON, Texas - Led by 14 points apiece from junior guard Nicole Smart and sophomore center Allyssa Wall, the University of North Dakota extended its winning streak to nine straight with a gritty 57-36 Great West Conference road victory over Houston Baptist.
Minutes after the final horn, the Fighting Sioux claimed the GWC regular season title as Texas-Pan American posted a 71-70 overtime victory over second-ranked Utah Valley in Edinburg, Texas. Picked to win the Great West regular season for the third straight year, this is the second time that the Sioux have been crown regular season champions.
Tonight's win over the Huskies (1-24, 0-8 GWC) didn't come easy as HBU led the Sioux (18-10, 8-1 GWC) by one point on three occasions in the opening half.
"We didn't shoot the ball well, and mentally, we weren't very focused at all. We were out of it," head coach Gene Roebuck said. "We didn't see our options inside and passed up some good opportunities."
UND centers Wall and redshirt freshman Emily Evers (Grand Forks, N.D.) were held to a combined four points in the opening 20 minutes.
"Houston Baptist hasn't won a game in the conference this season, but they are still going to come out and give you their 'A' game every time they play," Roebuck said. "They are young and their going to play hard. That's what they did tonight. We were just somewhere else today."
After falling behind the Huskies 13-12 with 6:17 left in the opening half, the Sioux looked to find their rhythm as sophomore forward Madi Buck kicked off a 14-6 half-ending run. As Buck, a native of Bismarck, N.D., flashed down the lane from the top of the key, she took a pass from senior guard Charnise Mothershed (Phoenix, Ariz.), and kissed it off the glass for two.
Following a pair from the line from HBU's Joselyn Pugh, Smart drilled her first three of the night from the baseline. Pugh sent in the two-point answer for the Huskies, but this time it was true freshman guard Brianna Williams who netted UND's response. The Minneapolis, Minn., native put in back-to-back jumpers, giving UND the 21-17 lead with 2:46 on the clock.
After a set of free throws from HBU's Devyn Weymouth, redshirt freshman guard Siri Burck (Fargo, N.D.) dished off to Evers, who was posted up on the block. To close the half, Smart nailed her second trey of the night, sending UND into the locker-room with a 26-19 lead.
It was a back-and-forth battle in the opening eight minutes of the second half, but the Sioux never let the Huskies come within more than three points. Olivia Madison looked to spark the HBU offense with a three at 12:15 to make it 37-31, but that would prove to be the home team's lone field goal through the next nine minutes.
While the Huskies fell silent, the Fighting Sioux continued to extend the margin. Inside a 17-1 run that would find the Sioux with a 54-32 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the game, Wall banked six points, four from the field and two from the line. Smart capped the clip with back-to-back three-pointers.
UND held the Huskies to just four points in the final three and a half minutes to tally the eighth straight GWC victory for the Sioux.
North Dakota shot 38.6 percent (22-for-57) from the field, 26.3 percent (5-for-19) from three-point range, and 57.1 percent (8-for-14) at the line. Smart shot 5-for-12 from the field and 4-for-10 from three-point range to register her second straight double-figure game. Wall was 5-for-8 from the field and went a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. She added a team-high eight rebounds (seven defensive).
Weymouth led HBU with 13 points on 3-for-7 shooting from the field, including a three-pointer, and a 6-for-8 showing at the line. Pugh added another 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 outing at the free throw line. Maisie Elston led HBU with a team-high nine rebounds (seven defensive).
"The bottom line is that we are going to have to play better if we are going to reach our goal of 20 wins this season," Roebuck said. "I'm going to tighten the reigns a little bit next week. We had nine days off before Thursday's game, but that isn't an excuse. I won't use that as an excuse. We have to understand that if we are going to achieve goals and be successful, we have to work for it. Nothing is given to you."
The Fighting Sioux will finish off the 2011-12 Great West Conference regular season in just one week as they face Utah Valley on March 3 in Orem, Utah.
- Go Sioux -
