GRAND FORKS, N.D.-- North Dakota held Summit League-leading scorer Nicole Seekamp without a field goal and combined to block 10 shots in a 65-61 non-conference win over former rival South Dakota Sunday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. UND (1-2) had four players in double figures, paced by senior Madi Buck's 18-point output.
North Dakota got out to a slow start and USD capitalized, scoring 11 straight points to grab a quick nine-point edge at the five-minute mark. That lead would grow to 16-6 midway through the half until nine straight UND points got it back within one. That run started with a triple from Buck with Mia Loyd and Allyssa Wall adding jumpers before Buck book-ended the stretch with a drive for a 16-15 Coyote advantage.
South Dakota (1-3) immediately countered with eight straight of its own with a pair of three-pointers in the run, part of a 7-of-10 effort from distance in the opening 20 minutes. USD took a 31-22 margin into the intermission, but after the break, UND immediately went to work on whittling down the deficit.
After another three opened the second-half scoring, North Dakota found itself down a dozen and turned to its defense to set the tone. UND would allow just three makes from distance and 28% shooting for the visitors as North Dakota erased a 12-point deficit to claim its first win of the season.
Buck had six points in an 11-0 UND run in the early stages of the half, but her work defensively stood out as Seekamp was 0-for-10 from the floor and scored just two points on the afternoon. North Dakota finally reclaimed a brief lead as Megan Lauck hit a perimeter jumper for a 40-39 lead.
The lead would trade hands on a Taneesha Graves three but Wall's jumper kickstarted another 8-0 run for the home team and they never looked back. South Dakota would get within a bucket in the closing stages but Leah Szabla's running layup as the shot clock expired in the final 10 seconds sealed it for North Dakota.
Mia Loyd contributed 17 points with Lauck adding 11 points. Wall collected 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocks while Szabla chipped in five points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists in the win.
UND remains at home but will have nine days in between games as Jamestown is the next opponent on Tues., Nov. 26 at the Betty. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.
Notes: The Coyotes' two leading scorers (Seekamp- 19.7 ppg, Raeshel Contreras- 13.3 ppg) came into the contest averaging 33 points combined ... They scored just seven Sunday on 2-for-22 shooting from the floor combined ... UND improved to 32-7 in home openers all-time ... North Dakota is 49-22 all-time against South Dakota ... It was the first meeting between the schools since both were in the Great West Conference in the 2010-11 season.
