GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Laurie Rogers struck for 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Northern State to an 81-75 victory over North Dakota in exhibition action on Wednesday night from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Wolves led for nearly 37 minutes of the contest, but North Dakota overcame an 11-point deficit to take the lead twice in the fourth quarter; however, NSU held off the late charge from the Fighting Hawks to come away with the victory.
Claire Orth led the way for the hosts with 17 points on an efficient 6-for-7 night from the field and 5-for-7 at the charity stripe. The graduate student also grabbed five boards and came up with a steal in 24 minutes of action.
Fellow graduate student
Juliet Gordon returned to action with a strong performance, posting a double-double with 12 points, without missing a shot attempt from the field, and 12 boards to pace the team.
Newcomer Nakiyah Hurst showed flashes of her talent coming off the bench with 16 points and six rebounds in just under 15 minutes. Kacie Borowicz and Sammiyah Hoskin were the final of the five Hawks to reach double figures, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively.
It was Northern State who came out strong offensively, connecting on six of its first nine attempts while holding North Dakota to just 1-for-5 with a pair of turnovers to jump out to an early 15-5 advantage just over four minutes into the game.
UND cranked up the defensive intensity in the half court over the final portion of the opening quarter, holding the Wolves without a point for over three minutes while striking for seven consecutive points to cut the deficit to just four, 19-15, after one quarter of play.
Gordon and the Hawks kept trying to push back into the game as the second quarter wore on, with the graduate student scoring six points in the opening five minutes of the frame, but Northern State maintained its 30-25 lead with 4:30 to play in the half.
North Dakota sped it up offensively in the final four minutes of the second half, but Northern State hit on five of its 13 attempts from distance to hold a five-point advantage, 38-33, heading to the intermission.
Out of the halftime break, the Hawks kept up the defensive intensity and started fast on offense to even the game at 41-41 on an Orth bucket, but a quick 5-0 run by the Wolves put the visitors back in front by five, 46-41, midway though the third.
The teams continued to trade baskets as the quarter wore down, but UND found its touch from distance to open the fourth. Joli Daninger knocked down her second triple of the game before Hurst nailed one from straightaway to give the Hawks their first lead of the game, 58-57, less than a minute into the stanza.
The back-and-forth continued as the game moved to crunch time, with North Dakota jumping back in front by one before NSU responded again with a run of its own to grab the lead, 72-66, with three minutes to go.
UND cut the lead to three a trio of times, but could not get any closer as Northern State escaped with an 81-75 victory.
North Dakota opens the regular season on Monday evening against Detroit Mercy at 7 p.m. from The Betty.
Postgame Notes
- UND finished 24-of-61 (.393) from the field while Northern State went 27-of-65 (.415)
- Five Fighting Hawks reached double figures, led by Orth's 17
- NSU knocked down eight triples on 20 attempts and held UND to just 3-for-15 from distance
- Joli Daninger finished with two triples to lead the Hawks
- UND won the rebounding battle, 44-40
- Borowicz dished out five assists to lead all players
- The Hawks dominated the paint, outscoring NSU by a 36-18 margin
- UND committed 14 turnovers compared to seven for the Wolves
How It Happened
- Q1: Northern State 19, North Dakota 15
- Q2: Northern State 38, North Dakota 33
- Q3: Northern State 57, North Dakota 52
- Q4: Northern State 81, North Dakota 75
