GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota Fighting Hawks (8-8) defeated the Denver Pioneers (5-10), 80-75, in a nail biter at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Saturday, afternoon. The Fighting Hawks had two players finish with double-doubles.  

Olivia Lane led the charge with a double-double 25 points and 11 rebounds. She netted ten of those points in the first five minutes of the first quarter.

Kacie Borowicz netted 23 points, six rebounds, five assists, and a block.

Melissa Leet ended the evening with a double-double as well with 17 points and ten rebounds. She had three blocks and three assists.

Claire Orth finished with 13 points, secured four rebounds, and one steal.

The Fighting Hawks finished the afternoon shooting 47.8 percent from inside the arch, 20.0 percent from outside, and 80.0 percent from the free throw line. The Pioneers hit their shots at 39.1 percent from the field, 31.0 percent beyond the arch, and 92.3 percent from the line.

Denver took the initial lead with a three from Uju Ezeudu, but Lane responded with a jumper seconds later. The teams traded baskets until 7:31 when the Fighting Hawks took the lead with a layup from Lane. A layup from Leet extended the lead to 8-5, but the Pioneers tied it with 5:45 left in the quarter. Lane yet again put North Dakota in the lead with back-to-back layups giving her ten points within the first five minutes of the game. The back-and-forth battle continued as the Pioneers stayed hot on the heels of the Hawks. Denver brought it within one (15-16) with 2:36 left in the first. A three from Borowicz gave the Fighting Hawks a 19-17 lead headed into the second.  

The Pioneers tied the game at 19 points each seventeen seconds into the second. They took the lead seconds later off a three-point play by Ezeudu (22-19). Lane and Borowicz responded with back-to-back baskets to give the Fighting Hawks the lead again (23-22). The teams continued to battle with back-and-forth baskets, but a three from Anna Jackson at 6:33 gave them a 28-27 lead. Tess Santos extended the lead with a three, but Leet and Orth scored continuous baskets to put North Dakota up yet again at 4:02. The teams failed to score again until 2:03 when Borowicz scored a layup to put the Hawks up by three. Meghan Boyd scored a layup at the buzzer for Denver, but UND maintained the lead, 34-33.

North Dakota came out of the half prepared as they scored a jumper to try to extend their lead, but Denver responded seconds later to keep it within one. The Fighting Hawks replied with a 12-0 run before the Pioneers scored a jumper with 5:28 left in the third. This put Denver on a 9-0 run until they were stopped by layup from Borowicz with 3:37 left to play in the quarter. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the third, but it was North Dakota who led 58-49 headed into the fourth.

Denver started the fourth with momentum as they hit back-to-back threes to give them a 6-0 run and bring them within three (55-58). Lane responded with a layup and Borowicz added a three-point play seconds later to extend the lead to eight. The battle continued as both teams netted back-and-forth baskets towards the middle of the fourth. Jackson and Ezeudu scored back-to-back to put the Pioneers within four with :34 seconds left in the game. As the fourth wound down, the Pioneers continued to attack, but the Fighting Hawks were able to convert from the free-throw line to give them the 80-75 victory.

Ezeudu led the Pioneers earning a double-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Jackson finished in double-digits with 12 points followed by Tess Santos and Makayla Minett who netted 11 points each.

The University of North Dakota heads to Macomb, Ill. to face Western Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. CT.