GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota women's basketball team was unable to overcome a first-half deficit and fell 76-66 to St. Thomas Saturday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
After a defensive-heavy first quarter, the Fighting Hawks opened the second frame with 10 points in the first five minutes to take a 19-16 lead following a Kiera Pemberton bucket. The final five minutes of the period belonged to the Tommies, however, as they closed the first half with 18 unanswered points and held a 34-19 edge at the intermission.
 
Trailing 53-39 heading into the fourth quarter, the Fighting Hawks looked to make a late run with six straight points to pull within 69-59 with 1:36 left. Rakiyah Beal corralled an offensive rebound, made the basket and converted the and-one opportunity to cut the deficit to single digits, 71-62. It was the first time UND had been within single-digit points since the two-minute mark in the second quarter. NoDak cut the lead to nine again, after two UST free throws, but the Tommies iced the game by going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final minute.
 
Kacie Borowicz started to heat up in the second half, pouring in 20 of her team-high 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Kiyah Hurst scored 10 of her 19 points in the second half and grabbed seven rebounds. Sammiyah Hoskin had a game-high 10 rebounds with five offensive boards.
 
Both teams shot right around the .300 percent mark in the opening 10 minutes with St. Thomas holding a 12-9 lead. UND turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter, and 15 times in the first half which led to nine UST points. The lead changed hands twice in the opening five minutes, but then the game saw a four-minute scoring drought that lasted over four minutes before St. Thomas connected on a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the first period.
 
The Hawks shot .533 percent from the floor in the third quarter, with 14 of their 20 points in the paint. The Tommies nearly matched UND's points output with 19 on .412 percent shooting and came down with six offensive rebounds. Eight straight points from Hurst and Borowicz brought NoDak within 10 of St. Thomas, but the lead would jump back up to 53-39 by the end of the period.
 
North Dakota will look to bounce back next week when they host South Dakota on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the Betty.
 
Postgame Notes 

• Kacie Borowicz hit the 20-point mark for the ninth time and led UND in scoring for the 13th time this season
• Sammiyah Hoskin reached double-digit rebounds for the first time this year with 10 today
• NoDak is now 3-4 in Summit League play and 5-7 at the Betty
• Hoskin and Nevaeh Ferrara Horne each recorded two steals
• St. Thomas had the advantage in fast break points 21-5 and points off turnovers 20-15
• UND moves to 1-12 when trailing at halftime 
   

How It Happened 
Q1: UST 12, UND 9
Q2: UST 34, UND 19
Q3: UST 53, UND 39
Q4: UST 76, UND 66

For more information on North Dakota women's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDwbasketball.