PHOENIX -- The University of North Dakota women's basketball team rallied for a 65-59 victory over Manhattan on Saturday afternoon to conclude the GCU Thanksgiving Classic from Phoenix, Ariz.
UND (3-3) closed the game on a 16-2 run over the final 3:30 of the contest to rally from a 57-49 deficit and snap a three-game losing skid to get back to .500 on the season.
Kacie Borowicz once again paced the Fighting Hawks on offense with 16 points to lead the team for the sixth straight game. The senior guard also dished out a team-high six assists, grabbed five rebounds and two steals in a full 40 minutes of play.
Joli Daninger also crossed the 10-point plateau, scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting while grabbing two rebounds and snagging a trio of steals in 30 minutes of action. The contest was her second this season reaching double figures, with the 15 points coming as a season-high for the guard.
Juliet Gordon was the final Fighting Hawk in double figures, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds to notch her second double-double of her career. The forward knocked down a pair of clutch triples and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the line to help spark the rally in the final frame.
Trailing by eight with 3:45 to play, Daninger and Borowicz started to chip away with a pair of buckets to cut the lead in half, 57-53, before
Claire Orth grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to make it 57-55 with 2:19 remaining.
UND cranked up the defense, forcing turnovers on two straight possessions leading to four points from the visitors and its first lead since it was 9-7 in the opening portion of the first quarter, 59-57, with just over 60 seconds to play. The Hawks polished off the victory with solid defense and strong shooting at the charity stripe to close out the 65-59 win.
North Dakota returns home to play Wisconsin-Superior at 7 p.m. on Dec. 2 from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
Postgame Notes
- UND hit 20-of-56 (.360) from the field while Manhattan was 21-of-57 (.370)
- Three Fighting Hawks reached double figures, led by 16 from Borowicz
- Borowicz has led UND in points in each game this season
- UND rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half
- NoDak went 4-for-12 from distance, with Gordon going 2-for-2
- The Jaspers were held to just 3-for-15 from distance
- The Hawks turned Manhattan over 18 times, leading to 18 points
- UND won the rebounding battle, 39-36
- NoDak was 21-for-23 from the line, including a perfect 12-of-12 in the fourth quarter
- Gordon had her first double-double of the season and second of her career
How It Happened
- Q1: Manhattan 19, UND 14
- Q2: Manhattan 34, UND 23
- Q3: Manhattan 45, UND 40
- Q4: UND 65, Manhattan 59
