Women's Basketball Report - January 25
North Dakota 84, Minnesota State 76
Mankato, Minn. -- Thursday was a night to remember for Heather Johnson of the Minnesota State. The sophomore guard not only sunk a career-high 29 points, hitting 6-of-9 three-pointers, but she also made the first start of her Maverick career.
But Johnson's effort couldn't stop North Dakota from earning its 23rd-straight North Central Conference victory as it rolled to an 84-76 win in Taylor Center.
UND earned 26 second-chance points to the Mavericks' seven and out-rebounded MSU 36-24. Two UND players scored over 20 points - center Ashley Langen and guard Karla Beck - and the team hit 89 percent (16-18) of its free throws.
Right from the start, the Mavericks, who have now lost their last four-straight games, struggled to keep up with North Dakota's fast transitions. MSU - which typically scores a majority of its points off the fast break - recorded only two fast break points, while UND scored 12 on the game.
Johnson led all scores with her 29 points, which included a 9-of-13 effort from the field and 5-of-6 free throws. Joanne Noreen and Alex Andrews finished with 10 points each. As a team, MSU finished 27-of-57 from the field for a 47 percent effort.
Beck posted 26 points (9-12) for North Dakota, while Langen erupted for her seventh double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Forward Kierah Kimbrough added 13 points (5-10) in the win. The team shot 53 percent from the floor on the game, sinking 31-of-58 shots.
Minnesota Duluth 76, South Dakota 71
Duluth, Minn. - A late rally by South Dakotacame up short as Minnesota-Duluth captured a 76-71 North Central Conference victory on Thursday night in Duluth, Minn.
South Dakota was led in scoring by Ashley Robinette with 20 points. Jeana Hoffman added 14 points, including 4-of-10 from three-point range.
The Coyotes hit 50 percent from the field on 26-of-52 shooting, including 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from three-point range. USD was 11-of-14 from the free throw line for 78.6 percent.
Katie Winkelman paced UMD with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds. Katy Freeman added 15 points and Justine Axtell had 14 points. UMD hit 44.2 percent from the field on 23-of-52 shooting. The Bulldogs made 4-of-14 from three-point range for 28.6 percent and 26-of-34 from the foul line for 76.5 percent. UMD held a 34-29 rebound advantage.
The Coyotes cut a nine-point deficit (70-61) to three points (74-71) with eight seconds to play but UMD's Allison Paully sank a pair of free throws to quell USD's rally.
The Bulldogs jumped to a 15-2 lead as USD was unable to score until 12:38 remained in the first half. The Coyotes pulled with 19-9 at the 10:15 mark when Jenna Hoffman hit a basket. Later, Yoerger scored inside at the 4:42 mark to reduce the deficit to 25-17. The Bulldogs were able to maintain the advantage and took a 31-24 lead at the halftime break.
The Coyotes roared out of the halftime break on a 11-4 run and Robinette's three-point basket tied the game at 35-35 at the 15:57 mark. However, the Coyotes were unable to take the lead and UMD answered with a 22-15 run over the next seven minutes to take a 57-50 lead with 8:34 to play in the game. From there, USD played catchup the rest of the game. A basket by Jenna Hoffman, who scored eight points and had five rebounds, kept the margin at seven points (64-57) with 5:07 to play. Two foul shots by Winkelman provided UMD with a 70-61 lead with 2:33 left in the game. With 50 seconds left, Jasmine Mosley scored a basket to cut the deficit to 74-69. Then, Robinette scored inside with seven seconds to play as USD trimmed the margin to three points at 74-71. However, Paully hit two free throws and USD ran out of time.
Nebraska-Omaha 79, Augustana 71
Omaha, Neb. -- Nebraska-Omaha's first North Central Conference win was a big one, as the Mavericks upset Augustana, 79-71, ending the Vikings' 20-game winning streak, at Sapp Fieldhouse.
Ashley Freerksen scored a career-high 25 points, adding seven rebounds and three assists. She went 8-for-15 shooting, including four 3-pointers and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Her two free shots with 11 seconds left iced the game. Cayla Hargrove turned an 18-point, nine-rebound performance.
The Vikings were led by Ali Adamson with 21 points, adding six assists and five rebounds.
Augustana got off to a quick start, taking a 9-4 lead in the first minute and a half. But UNO scored seven straight points after that, including a three-point play from Freerksen. Chelsea DeVille tied the game up at 11-11, as DeVille went on to score 15 on the night.
Freerksen answered back with two more free throws to give the Mavericks back the lead - a lead they would never relinquish.
UNO went on to stretch the lead to 14 points with 2:39 remaining the first half, eventually taking an eight-point lead, 42-34, into halftime. Karen Thies led the Mavs with 11 points at the break, with three 3-pointers, as the team shot 45.5 percent.
The Vikings showed why they're the No. 8 team in
the nation, rolling off a 17-10 run to open the second half and
draw within a single point, 52-51. Steadily the Mavericks worked to
build the lead back up, getting big rebounds from Freerksen and
Hargrove, and a strong defensive effort from Thies, Alyssa Green
and Lacey Geitzenauer, staving off an Augustana rally.