GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota women's basketball needed every one of its season-high 89 points to climb to victory and fight off a gritty Bismarck State College team, 89-80, on Sunday afternoon inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
Mackenzie Hughes continued her double-figure streak in dominant fashion with a cool 23 points with her six assists and four rebounds in a mammoth 38 minutes on the court. A controlling quad of four other Fighting Hawks joined her in the double-digit affair in the likes of Lauren Hillesheim (13), Mikayla Aumer (12), Ava Miller (12) and London Harris (10).
 
Finley Ohnstad and Sydney Piekny each finished just outside of the party with nine points apiece, with all of Piekny's points again coming from 3-point land. Hillesheim led the rebounding effort for UND with her seven boards as Miller followed close behind with six.
 
North Dakota went 32-of-64 (50-percent) from the floor, 11-of-32 (34-percent) from behind the arc and 14-of-20 (70-percent) at the free throw line in the afternoon affair. The home team forced 22 turnovers for the visitors and scored a bullying 40 points in the paint compared to the Mystics' 20.
 
Bismarck State jumped out to an 8-0 lead within the first two minutes that quickly dissolved into a 12-12 tie off a triple from Piekny. Miller scored five points and Hughes added in four during that same nearly-five-minute streak as the 3-point shooting began to light up. The Mystics hit three long-range shots during a back-and-forth battle over the last 2:57 to hold the 23-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Fighting Hawks slowly crawled their way back from the one-point deficit throughout the second period and slowly but surely took control. The visitors forced a 32-27 spread with 6:04 remaining after another shot from deep but back-to-back UND triples tied up the score. It would knot up two more times over the course of the final four minutes and each time, North Dakota regained the lead. An eventual five straight points from UND off the hands of Ohnstad and Hillesheim in under 50 seconds gave the Hawks the 44-41 advantage heading into the locker room.
 
Hillesheim knocked down a half-opening 3-pointer to push the lead to six, but the Mystics quickly tied the game up. A combined 9-2 run—including seven straight from Hughes—put the home team back in control at 56-49 with 3:36 remaining and Bismarck State continued to claw back, eventually tying it back up at 57-all with 38 second remaining. Aumer drove herself straight to the bucket for a score at literally the last second to give UND the two-point advantage at the final quarter break.
 
A 30-point fourth quarter would eventually give North Dakota enough separation to pull away from the fierce Mystic defense and not give up the lead for the remainder of play.
 
It all first began with yet another long ball from Piekny before a 10-2 UND run forced a 69-59 game at the 6:51 mark. Despite the continued strong 3-point shooting from the visitors, the Hawks responded every time. The UND lead never dropped below four and the final seven points for the home team came from the free throw line en route to an 89-80 win.
 
Post-Game Notes 

• North Dakota scored a season high 89 points in the afternoon affair
• UND hit a total of 26 3-pointers in the back-to-back games this weekend
• Mackenzie Hughes' 23 points marks the third 20+ point game from a Hawk this season
• Five Fighting Hawks finished in double figures for the first time this season
• Sydney Piekny logged the lone block
• Two Hawks each tallied four steals apiece to lead UND (Hillesheim and Hughes)
• North Dakota's 11 steals tied for the second-most this season

  
How It Happened 
Q1: North Dakota 22, Bismarck State 23
Q2: North Dakota 44, Bismarck State 41
Q3: North Dakota 59, Bismarck State 57
Q4: North Dakota 89, Bismarck State 80
 
Up Next
North Dakota will hit the road for a three-game stretch, and it all begins on Thursday, February 5 at the Fighting Hawks are set for a rematch against the Omaha Mavericks. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.   

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