MACOMB, Ill.-- Sophomore Julia Fleecs poured in a career-high 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the floor, but host Western Illinois prevailed, 111-90, Friday evening in Summit League play. Fleecs scored 14 of UND's first 16 points and North Dakota made a late push but the Leathernecks had four players in double figures scoring, led by Olivia Kaufmann's 28. 

Fleecs missed just five shots all night, going a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line and making her only three-point try on her way to North Dakota's highest individual scoring output of the season and UND's third 30-point effort (Klabo 30, 30).

Klabo added 24 points and nine rebound for the Fighting Hawks, who have dropped their last five.  

"You just can't trail them in their own gym because they get hot and they start knocking down shots," UND head coach Travis Brewster said of WIU, who shot 61.4 percent from the floor. "We played a zone defense, but that didn't work because they started making shots. We switched it up and went back to a man-to-man and that was a better defense for us but we needed a little better effort on a few things. We have to make a decision on how we're going to get better on some things and it's an effort thing on the defensive side."

Fleecs carried the load early, as her layup at the 5:32 mark in the first period gave her 12 points and gave North Dakota an early 16-9 advantage. UND would lead, 22-17, through the opening period. 

In the second, though, the Leathernecks out-scored UND, 27-12, to wrestle away control and take the lead at the break, 44-34. WIU missed just 10 shots the entire second half, making a comeback a difficult task. UND countered by shooting 51.3 percent after halftime, but the Leathernecks went 21 for 31 in the second half, good for 67.7 percent from the field. 

Despite the red-hot shooting from the home team, North Dakota made a late push. Trailing by 21 two minutes into the fourth, 87-66, UND ripped off 12 consecutive points to trim the margin all the way down to single digits. Annabel Graettinger had the answer for WIU, connecting on a pair of triples to thwart the comeback and give the Leathernecks the season series against the Fighting Hawks. 

North Dakota (8-14, 3-6 Summit) continues its road trip Sunday at Omaha with the tip set for 2:30 p.m. Central. 

Notes:
*Fleecs' previous career high was 19 (Dec. 12 vs. Mayville State). 
*It marked Lexi Klabo's eighth game this season with 20+ points. 
*Klabo is just 22 points shy of 1,500 for her career.