OMAHA, Neb.-- North Dakota hit 4 of 5 from three-point range in a key third-quarter push to help elevate the Fighting Hawks to a 69-68 road win at Omaha Sunday afternoon in Summit League play. UND earns the season series sweep over the Mavericks with the victory.
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"Proud of the fight these ladies had," UND head coach
Travis Brewster said of the road win. "You saw again, with our youth, we made some simple mistakes. We gave up a 6-0 run just running down the floor trying to push in transition. So, there are some things we still have to work on yet, but we figured it out and road wins are always good."
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North Dakota, for the second time against Omaha, had to scheme a plan to win without
Lexi Klabo. The senior--who missed the first contest between these teams-- was in foul trouble in this one and needed other players to step up to help erase a six-point deficit at the break.
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The perimeter play made a huge impact in that pivotal third period to boost UND in front. Trailing by seven with just over three-and-half minutes to play in the period,
Julia Fleecs knocked down a three then later,
Alaina Jarnot and
Melissa Leet each tripled followed by a
Mikayla Reinke layup on UND's final possession to tie the score.
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North Dakota built its lead to as many as nine in the final frame, looking to cruise to a road win for its first true road win in more than a month (Jan. 2 at Oral Roberts). Omaha had other thoughts as the Mavs stormed back with a quick 8-0 run to close it to a single point and just 47 seconds remaining.
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Fleecs, who had a career-high 33 points Friday at Western Illinois, helped close out the game with a layup and
Alaina Jarnot made it a four-point game with a free throw to put it out of reach. Fleecs would finish with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds.
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Three players scored in double figures for the Fighting Hawks with
Jill Morton chipping in 11 and
Alaina Jarnot with 10 points and five assists off the bench.
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North Dakota returns home to the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center for a Thursday's battle with rival North Dakota State. Tip time is set for 7:00 p.m. on Midco Sports Network.
Notes
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Julia Fleecs averaged 24 points and 5.5 rebounds in UND's road trip through Western Illinois (Friday) and Omaha (Sunday).Â
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Lexi Klabo was held under double figures (9) for just the second time all season. She played just 19 minutes with foul trouble.Â
*Klabo is 13 shy of 1,500 career points.
*She needs just 44 points to crack the school's all-time top 10 list in scoring (1,531).Â
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