GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota women's basketball put on a strong showing in the first quarter and faced just a five-point deficit heading into the final 10 minutes, but St. Thomas turned up the heat to defeat the Fighting Hawks, 70-58, inside Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Saturday afternoon.
UND drops to 7-21 overall and 3-11 in conference action while the Tommies improve to 14-14 and 7-7.
As the lone Hawk in double figures,
Mackenzie Hughes scored 19 points alongside five assists to lead the offense.
Mikayla Aumer and
Sydney Piekny each dropped in nine points apiece as
Ava Miller finished with eight. Piekny led the rebounding with her five boards and
Mataeya Mathern tallied three steals.
North Dakota was 19-of-44 (43.2-percent) from the floor, 7-of-21 (33.3-percent) from behind the arc and 13-of-17 (76.5-percent) from the free throw line. The Hawks totaled 27 rebounds and 10 assists while forcing 14 turnovers for the Tommies.
St. Thomas took control early and jumped out to a 9-0 lead at the 6:40 mark of the first quarter. UND finally got on the board when Piekny knocked down a 3-pointer to stop the run and Demers soon added in a layup to tighten the game at 9-5.
Ava Miller struck from the paint as Piekny and Hughes knocked down a triple a piece to cap off a 13-3 UND run for the one-point advantage with 2:08 remaining. The Tommies took the lead with their jumper before another long ball off the hands of Aumer secured the 16-14 lead at the buzzer.
The second quarter began with another hot streak for the visitors, who rattled off a 10-2 run over the first four minutes to take the 24-18 lead. A later free throw from Aumer and a driving layup from Hughes got the deficit down to three with 2:43 remaining but five points in response from the Tommies pushed it back. Hughes knocked down another driving layup and pair of free throws to tighten the score at 31-27 at the half.
A completed three-point play from Hughes forced a 33-30 score early in the third quarter and a back-and-forth battle soon ensued. Strong shooting from behind the arc helped St. Thomas pushed the lead to double digits for the first time at the 2:29 mark at 50-40, but the visitors would not score again. Piekny drained another 3-pointer to cut it down once again and a pair of free throws from
Hanna Miller made it a 50-45 game heading into the final 10 minutes.
Another 12-2 run from St. Thomas opened up the fourth quarter at 62-47 in just under three minutes. A total of three free throws of
Skyler Volmer served as the only points for UND until Aumer struck from deep at the 3:24 mark, making it a 66-51 game. Volmer would hit two more from the charity stripe and Hughes knocked down a 3-point shot from the logo before
Hanna Miller connected on a late layup, but the score would go final at 70-58.
Post-Game Notes
- Mackenzie Hughes has finished in double figures for the eighth straight game
- She currently sits with 1979 career points between her time at Mayville State and North Dakota
- Sydney Piekny led the team in rebounding for the first time in her career
- The Tommies held the rebounding advantage 30-27
- There were six lead changes in Saturday's afternoon affair
- Four of NoDak's seven 3-pointers came in the first quarter
- North Dakota ran with its 11th different lineup this season
How It Happened
Q1: North Dakota 16, St. Thomas 14
Q2: North Dakota 27, St. Thomas 31
Q3: North Dakota 45, St. Thomas 50
Q4: North Dakota 58, St. Thomas 70
Up Next
The final home game of the season is up next for the North Dakota women's basketball team as the Fighting Hawks celebrate Senior Day against South Dakota on Wednesday, February 25 at 7 p.m. inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
For more information on North Dakota women's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media
@UNDwbasketball.
