Big Second Half Lifts South Dakota to 73-52 Win over NDSU - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

The University of South Dakota women's basketball team used a breakout second half to defeat North Dakota State 73-52 on Thursday, Jan. 3, in the Bison Sports Arena.

North Dakota State (4-10, 0-2 Summit) led 37-31 at halftime, but South Dakota opened the second half with a 14-0 run spanning seven minutes to take a lead it would not relinquish. USD outscored the Bison 42-15 over the final 20 minutes.

Senior Dani DeGagne tallied 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists to lead NDSU. Sophomore Jamie Van Kirk scored 14 points, and freshman Holly Johnson had six points and six rebounds.

South Dakota (7-8, 2-0 Summit) was led by Nicole Seekamp's 20 points. The Coyotes posted a 44-26 advantage on the glass and committed only 10 turnovers in the game.

NDSU shot 52 percent in the first half, but only 25 percent after halftime and 38.8 percent for the game.

NDSU senior Katie Birkel drained two early three-pointers to help the Bison to a 12-4 lead just over four minutes into the game. NDSU held the lead for the remainder of the first half, going up by as many as 13 points at 34-21 on a trey by senior Britney Gaines with 3:20 left before halftime.

The Coyotes trimmed their deficit to six points at the break and used a 14-0 run to build a 45-37 lead with 13 minutes to play. Over the next three minutes, NDSU responded with a 9-2 run of its own, capped by a Van Kirk jumper to cut the margin to one at 47-46 with under 10 minutes remaining.

The Bison were never able to regain the lead, and USD closed the contest with a 20-2 run over the final six minutes.

North Dakota State will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 5, when the Bison host Kansas City at 7 p.m. in the Bison Sports Arena.