GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota State turned up the heat in the second half to stifle the University of North Dakota women's basketball team and walk away with an 87-51 win on Sunday afternoon inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
The Fighting Hawks drop to 7-20 overall and 3-10 in Summit League action while the Bison improve to 23-2 and 12-0.
 
Mackenzie Hughes hit double figures for the seventh straight game with her 22 points as Walker Demers scored 15 with her team-high two blocks. Lauren Hillesheim and Ava Miller each topped the UND rebounding chart with six rebounds apiece.
 
North Dakota was 17-of-52 (32.7-percent) from the floor, 4-of-22 (18.2-percent) from behind the arc and 13-of-17 (76.5-percent) from the free throw line while tallying 29 total rebounds.
 
The visiting Bison kicked off the Sunday matinee in fast fashion with the first 10 points of the game through the first 4:15 of competition. Miller broke the drought with a long shot from the 3-point line to trigger a 7-0 run in response. After an exchange of layups, Hughes knocked down another triple to make it a 16-13 game with 33 seconds remaining until a pair of free throws put NDSU ahead 18-13 after the first 10 minutes.
 
NDSU began the second quarter with another run, pushing the spread to 12 points at 25-13 with 7:33 remaining. Three Hawks teamed up to cut the differential in half and a later six straight points from Hughes kept UND within six at 30-24. But the visitors connected on two separate three-point plays alongside a 3-point shot to force a 39-26 halftime score.
 
Hughes drove in for the first bucket of the second half at 8:42 in the third quarter, but North Dakota would not score again for over four minutes. NDSU rattled off a 21-2 run to open up a 30-point lead and fended off later UND buckets to hold on for the 64-36 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
A 10-2 run from the visitors pushed things to a 74-38 game in the first three minutes of the quarter and, despite the best effort from Hughes and Demers on top of a late bucket from Miranda VanderWal, secured the 87-51 loss for UND.
 
Post-Game Notes 

• Mackenzie Hughes finished in double figures for the seventh straight game this season
• It was also her 15^th double-figure game of the season
• She now sits with 1960 career points across her time at Mayville State and North Dakota
• Walker Demers recorded her 13^th double-figure game of the season
• Sunday also marked Ava Miller's 14^th time leading UND in rebounding
• NDSU held the rebounding advantage 40-29

  
How It Happened 
Q1: North Dakota 13, North Dakota State 18
Q2: North Dakota 26, North Dakota State 39
Q3: North Dakota 36, North Dakota State 64
Q4: North Dakota 51, South Dakota State 87
 
Up Next
North Dakota women's basketball continues its homestand with a Saturday afternoon game against St. Thomas on February 21 with a tip set for 1 p.m. inside Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.  

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