BROOKINGS, S.D. – North Dakota women's basketball faced a one-point game at the end of the first quarter, but competition quickly slipped into a 94-48 loss on the road to South Dakota State on Thursday evening inside First Bank & Trust Arena.
UND drops to 7-19 overall and 3-9 in conference play while SDSU improves to 19-6 and 9-2.
Walker Demers,
Lauren Hillesheim and
Mackenzie Hughes combined for 30 total points, scoring 10 apiece in the affair. Demers also led the team with eight rebounds and four blocks as Hughes dished out six assists.
North Dakota was 19-of-55 (34.5-percent) from the floor, 6-of-26 (23.1-percent) from behind the arc and 4-of-10 (40-percent) from the free throw line while totaling 26 rebounds and 10 assists and seven steals.
Three Hawks combined to help kick open an early lead through the first two minutes for North Dakota before seven straight points from the home team made it an 11-6 game. Hughes connected in the paint and Hillesheim struck from deep to tie up the game at 11-all and kickstart a collective 10-2 UND run. The back half of that run saw a triple from
Sydney Piekny and a layup from
Ava Miller to put the Hawks ahead 16-13 with 2:46 remaining. SDSU scored the last four points of the quarter to take a 17-16 lead.
The home team then got hot, rattling off a 26-6 cumulative second quarter rally. Hughes,
Mataeya Mathern and
Skyler Volmer were the lone Hawks to score, dropping two points, three points and one points, respectively. North Dakota did not attempt its first free throw until the 2:15 mark in the second quarter, while the Jackrabbits made 12 trips.
South Dakota State's lead grew to 28 through the first three minutes of the third quarter and Demers responded with back-to-back buckets. Hughes knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a 52-30 game with 5:36 remaining, but UND would only score once more in the period, facing a 61-32 deficit heading into the final 10 minutes.
A 13-3 run to start the fourth opened up a 39-point lead for the Jackrabbits as the two teams hit five 3-pointers on five straight possessions. The shots continued to fall for the home team and culminated in a 94-48 final score.
Post-Game Notes
- 30 of UND's 48 points came from a trio of Fighting Hawks
- Demers, Hillesheim and Hughes scored 10 points apiece
- SDSU held the rebounding advantage 45-26
- Thursday marked UND's 21st straight loss to SDSU
- NoDak remains with one road win on the season
- North Dakota scored 24 points in the paint with eight points off the bench
How It Happened
Q1: North Dakota 16, South Dakota State 17
Q2: North Dakota 22, South Dakota State 43
Q3: North Dakota 32, South Dakota State 61
Q4: North Dakota 48, South Dakota State 94
Up Next
North Dakota women's basketball returns to the familiar lights of the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center for a Sunday matinee against in-state rival, North Dakota State, at 1 p.m.
For more information on North Dakota women's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media
@UNDwbasketball.
