GRAND FORKS, N.D. – A strong first half offensive showing combined with strong defense throughout pushed North Dakota women's basketball to its second straight win by taking down Dickinson State 65-46 in a Saturday matinee inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.  
 
Walker Demers led with her double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds—with 11 of those points coming in the first half—as Sydney Piekny joined her in double figures with 13 points. London Harris added in nine points, Ava Miller tallied eight points with six rebounds while Mackenzie Hughes and Hanna Miller each dished out four assists.
 
North Dakota shot 34.9 percent from the floor (22-of-63) while going 7-of-29 from behind the arc and 14-of-17 from the free throw line. The Hawks also tallied 47 rebounds compared to Dickinson State's 41 and forced the Blue Hawks into 23 turnovers.
 
After the Blue Hawks scored the first bucket of the game, the Fighting Hawks connected on three straight layups to go ahead 6-2 with 7:58 remaining. A successful three-point play from Hughes was quickly followed by five straight points from Demers off a layup and swished 3-pointer to push the lead up to nine. UND turned up the defense and Ava Miller closed out the quarter's scoring with a shot from the paint to give UND the 17-8 advantage.
 
North Dakota kept the momentum going to start the second with nine unanswered points that eventually culminated in a 16-2 run through the first five minutes.
 
In that span, Piekny continued her hot streak from 3-point land with another pair of triples as Lauren Hillesheim completed the three-point play, Harris cashed in a triple of her own and Demers and Hughes each tossed in a layup. The 3-pointers continued to fall—this time off the hands of Hanna Miller and Hillesheim—before a pair of free throws and another driving layup capped the first half at a 43-18 UND lead.
 
Coming out of halftime proved to be a slow start for both squads, as not a single point would be scored on either side until Piekny went 2-for-2 from the free throw line at the 5:51 mark. Hillesheim collected back-to-back steals before Piekny cashed in on her third triple of the day and Ava Miller knocked down another jumper. The Fighting Hawks held the Blue Hawks to just five points in the period as the final bucket of the third came off the hands of Harris for the 53-23 lead.
 
Dickinson State would go on to outscore North Dakota 23-12 in the final 10 minutes to erase the 30-point deficit down to 19 by the final buzzer. Hanna Miller logged a steal and an assist to Harris for the first UND bucket of quarter as Demers followed up the effort with a successful and-1 against the tough Blue Hawk defense. Miranda VanderWal and Piekny combined for a 4-for-4 showing at the line to give UND the 65-46 lead to end the game.
 
Postgame Notes 

• UND has won back-to-back games for the first time this season
• Walker Demers collected her sixth career double-double and third of the season
• NoDak improves to 3-0 all-time against the Blue Hawks
• UND held DSU to just five points in the third quarter
• NoDak accrued 34 points off the bench and 28 points in the paint with 19 points off turnovers
• North Dakota next game will be the conference opener
• All 14 available Hawks saw time on the court in Saturday's game

  
How It Happened 
Q1: North Dakota 17, Dickinson State 8
Q2: North Dakota 43, Dickinson State 18
Q3: North Dakota 53, Dickinson State 23
Q4: North Dakota 65, Dickinson State 46
 
Up Next
North Dakota women's basketball will open up 2026 on New Year's Day with its Summit League conference opener. The slate will begin on the road at Denver with tip currently set for 3 p.m. CT.

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