GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- With a 93-60 Great West Conference win over Texas-Pan American, the University of North Dakota women's basketball team and head coach Gene Roebuck tallied the program's 100th win at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center since it opened in 2004.
The win improved UND's record to 13-10, 4-1 GWC while UTPA dropped to 9-14, 2-3 GWC. With the Utah Valley/Houston Baptist game canceled due to travel difficulties for the Huskies, UND currently sits alone at the top of the Great West leader board.
UND was led by 20 points from sophomore center Allyssa Wall. The North Sioux City, S.D., native shot 8-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 from the free throw line to finish with her second straight 20-point game. With a team-high six boards (four defensive), she led UND to a 35-32 rebounding advantage over the Broncs.
"It's great to see Allyssa with back-to-back 20-point games," head coach Gene Roebuck said. "Her confidence level right now is back to where she was last year."
Five additional players hit the double-digit mark as senior guard Charnise Mothershed (Phoenix, Ariz.) went 6-for-8 from the field with two three-pointers to finish with 14 points. Junior guard Nicole Smart (Ada, Minn.), sophomore forward Megan Lauck (Shoreview, Minn.), junior guard Carly Rothfusz (Eden Prairie, Minn.), and true freshman guard Brianna Williams (Minneapolis, Minn.) registered 10 apiece. Rothfusz and Williams led a bench effort that finished with 35 points.
"We're winning these games as a team," Roebuck said. "Madi Buck was such a force shooting wise that it took a lot of pressure off of the other players. Now all of the players are stepping up together. It's not just one player that's taking over, it's everyone. I'm seeing them make that extra pass and really sharing the basketball."
North Dakota shot a season-high 58.2 percent (32-for-55) from the field and 60 percent (6-for-10) from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, UND shot 82.1 percent (23-for-28) overall and a perfect 10-for-10 in the opening half to register its second-best effort from the stripe.
With four three-pointers, Bianca Torre led UTPA with 14 points. Keandra Goodson finished with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. The Broncs finished 36.2 percent (21-for-58) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-for-13) from three-point range, and 76.5 percent (13-for-17) at the free throw line.
Texas-Pan American got the jump on North Dakota to start the game, but UND quickly gained control and an 8-3 lead as Charnise Mothershed drained back-to-back three-pointers. It was then a back-and-forth battle through the next six and a half minutes as the Broncs put on heavy and physical defensive pressure.
UND put an end to the back-and-forth as Rothfusz lit up for three at the 10:44 mark to ignite a 22-4 run. UND opened the clip with 15 unanswered points and redshirt freshman center Emily Evers (Grand Forks, N.D.) capped it with a quick basket off of a pass from Smart. Evers' bucket came just after Rothfusz buried her second trey of the half.
Trailing 40-16 with just over two minutes remaining, Torre sank a pair of three's for UTPA, but it wasn't enough to make a dent in the deficit. Heading into the break, North Dakota led 46-22.
Back on the floor, the Brocs dropped in the first three points, but Smart came in with the cancel as she netted her first three of the afternoon. With four more unanswered points, UND took a 30-point lead (55-25) with 16:28 left in the game.
Goodson and Torre teamed up for five points, but again North Dakota fired back as Evers hit from the lane and Smart dialed in again from distance. Both Smart and Rothfusz finished a prefect 2-for-2 from behind the arc.
North Dakota continued to hold off UTPA, and at the 9:20 mark, took its largest lead thus far - a 33-point advantage - as Wall finished up a personal 6-0 run.
Now trailing 72-39, Franchesca Simon put an end to Wall's run with her first and only three of the day, and the Broncs went on a brief 9-4 run. As the game played out the final seven and a half minutes, the Broncs continued to buck, but North Dakota had the reigns and maintained its 30-point margin.
Next week, North Dakota will host Chicago State (Thursday) and NJIT (Saturday). During Saturday's evening game against the Highlanders, UND will honor its two seniors - Charnay Mothershed and Charnise Mothershed.
- UND -
