GRAND FORKS, N.D.-- The University of North Dakota tipped off its new era in The Summit League with a 79-60 home win over Purdue Fort Wayne Sunday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Four UND players were in double figures, paced by senior Lexi Klabo's 21 points and eight rebounds in the win. 

"The thing that I liked about it was the intensity from the start and trying to not have a letdown in the third quarter," UND head coach Travis Brewster said. "You can't just do enough to just get by. 

I thought it was very good to have Melissa Dailey come in off the bench, she's been a spark-plug for us. Lexi is going to get those looks, but for me anytime Lexi touches the basketball, she puts us in a good position."

North Dakota (6-9, 1-0 Summit) picked up its third consecutive win with the victory. It came after the Fighting Hawks strung together 16 straight points early in the second quarter to distance themselves from the Mastodons (4-10, 0-2) by 21 at the half and they never looked back.

 A layup by Lexi Klabo then a jumper by Jill Morton kick-started the run the Klabo had an and-one play and Julia Fleecs' three-point play later gave UND the lead for good. 

Anna Lappenkuper beat the first-quarter buzzer and was fouled to get thee Mastodons back within a bucket at 14-12 but the second quarter belonged to the Fighting Hawks. North Dakota out-scored the visitors, 31-11, in that frame alone to take command of the game. The Dons actually regained the lead on the first possession with a Kierstyn Repp three, but UND roared back with 16 consecutive, not allowing the Mastodons to score again until the 5:23 mark. 

North Dakota then went on another long run, scoring 13 of the next 15 points and owned a 22-point cushion at the break. UND's bench collected 37 combined points with 10 players in total finding the score sheet for the winners. UND picked up its third consecutive win in the victory as it heads to the road for the first time in Summit League play next week. 

Jill Morton and Melissa Dailey each contributed 13 points to the North Dakota win while Julia Fleecs added 11 off the bench. 

UND will hit the road for its next two games, heading to Oral Roberts Wednesday then Denver Saturday.

Notes
*Klabo, who leads all of NCAA Division I in free throw makes, was 7-for-7 Sunday. 
*UND hit 66.7 percent from the floor in the second period. 
*North Dakota had 20 assists on 31 made buckets.