NORMAL, Ill.-- Illinois State held North Dakota to just 29 percent shooting in a 67-55 win Wednesday evening at Redbird Arena. ISU got out to a double-digit lead and never looked back, despite several North Dakota runs to trim the lead, including a late spurt that saw UND close it to five midway through the fourth.

Senior Lexi Klabo registered her 21st career double-double, and first of the season, with game highs 19 points and 10 rebounds. She hadn't missed (5-5 FG, 1-1 3FG, 8-8 FT) until the final minute of the game. Bailey Strand and Alaina Jarnot each added eight points for the Fighting Hawks (1-2).

Illinois State (1-1) had three players in double figures, led by 19 from Simone Goods.

"We came out slow and didn't take care of the basketball," UND head coach Travis Brewster said. "We took some uncharacteristic shots and it's hard to guard from the free throw line on the other end-- we kept fouling them."

Illinois State took advantage of a slow start for North Dakota to get out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter. After an Alaina Jarnot bucket on a penetration to the hoop to break a long scoring spell, Melissa Leet would triple on the next trip down the floor and Mikayla Reinke added a free throw to help trim the deficit to five.

Leet, who made just two triples in 22 games last season, hit another three from the right wing early in the second quarter, part of a 7-0 Fighting Hawks run that helped the deficit shrink to just four. That would ultimately be the closest UND could get in the quarter, however, as Goods hit six straight free throws to regain a double-digit lead and UND was held without a field goal for over six minutes.

It was 38-28 at the half, but the Fighting Hawks picked up the tempo in the second half, forcing turnovers and getting the Redbird advantage all the way down to three on a Klabo 7-0 run by herself late in the third quarter. Klabo banked in a three from the left wing in the middle of that stretch as North Dakota seemingly had wrestled away the momentum.

It was short-lived, however, with ISU running off the next 10 points and the Hawks recording just three field goals in the entire fourth quarter to keep the home team in front.

North Dakota returns home briefly before heading right back to the road to face Penn State next Wednesday. The matchup against the B1G TEN school is set for a 1:00 p.m. tip.

Notes:
*All three of UND's three-point baskets were made by its post players (Leet- 2, Klabo- 1).
*Those two players were 3-for-6 from deep while the rest of the team combined to go 0-for-17
*North Dakota is in the midst of a seven consecutive road games to start the season.