LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – Double-digit scoring from three different players helped the Fighting Hawks soar past the Saints for a 71-63 win on Tuesday evening.

Kacie Borowicz was an offensive leader against Siena. She ended the night with 18 points and seven assists, but she was closely followed by Claire Orth and Maggie Manson. Orth ended with 17 points, two assists and six rebounds while Manson ended with 16 points, two assists and five rebounds.

While Borowicz, Orth and Manson led UND's offense, Joli Daninger led the defense. She ended the game with nine rebounds and four steals.

North Dakota went 46.4 percent from the floor, 50.0 percent from the three and 85.7 percent at the line. Comparatively, Siena shot 40.3 percent from the floor, 29.4 percent from the three and 80.0 percent from the line.

The Fighting Hawks held the lead the entire contest, but the Saints held an advantage in points in the paint (30-24), points off turnovers (16-15), and fast break points (7-4). UND won the rebounding battle (38-29) and second chance points (11-6). The teams tied at 16 for points off the bench.

Winning the initial tip, North Dakota went on a 4-0 run early with a three from Borowicz and a free throw from Orth. Rayshel Brown snagged an offensive rebound and put it up for two to get the Saints on the board and stop the run, but Orth responded with a jumper to keep the Hawks up by four. Daninger entered the game and hit a three followed by a bucket by Borowicz to give them a 5-0 run. Throughout the final two minutes of the quarter, there would be a back-and-forth battle on offense but a layup by Jodi Anderson with 26 seconds left would give North Dakota the six-point lead (18-12).

Both teams struggled to get on the board for the first 2:07 of the quarter. UND was able to score one point within that time frame, but a layup by Manson would help energize their offense. The Hawks went on a 6-0 run while Siena struggled to score for the first three minutes and 53 seconds. Amari Anthony would hit a jumper to end their scoring woes. She would hit two more shots to single handedly give the Saints a 6-0 run. Orth stopped the run with back-to-back layups, but Siena would continue to fight back and bring it within three with 49 seconds left before the half. Although they were within reach, their defensive efforts were not enough to contain Manson and Borowicz in the final seconds as they each added a three to put North Dakota up by nine.

The Saints stepped into the half prepared for UND's offense. They caused a turnover and took it down for a layup, but Orth would respond seconds later with a jumper to keep the nine-point lead. The third quarter had a lot of back-and-forth scoring between both teams, yet the Saints would not be able to create enough offense to take the lead. The Fighting Hawks ended the quarter with a double-digit lead, 53-43.  

The fourth quarter would showcase much of the same as the third until there was only 1:59 left, which is when Siena would bring it within six. The Saints would be unable to contain the Hawks on defense and would continue to stay within six until the final seconds of the game when Daninger capitalized on her free throws to give UND the 71-63 win.

Anthony was the top scorer for Siena with 22 points and seven rebounds. Brown came in as a close second with 19 points and six rebounds.

"We did a lot of things right tonight. I liked that we established a lead early and responded every time they made a run," shared head coach Mallory Bernhard. "Our shot selection was very good, and we hit clutch free throws and secured important rebounds. We certainly need to reduce the turnovers, but it's always better to work out those kinks after a win. We feel good about this one and are looking forward to playing in front of our fans again this Saturday."

North Dakota will return home to face Minnesota Morris on Saturday, Dec. 4 with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m.