Bison Top Fighting Hawks in Summit League Opener, 67-61

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics) - Three Bison hit double figures in scoring as North Dakota State picked up a 67-61 win over North Dakota to open Summit League play on Wednesday night at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Heaven Hamling led the way for the Bison notching her seventh straight double-digit scoring performance with a team-high 17 points. She also added six rebounds, four assists and two steals to her stat line. Ryan Cobbins chipped in 15 points, while Kadie Deaton rounded out the top performers with 12 points.

NDSU (5-6, 1-0 Summit) shot 40.6 percent (28-69) from the field with eight different players reaching the scoring column. The Bison also scored a game-high 17 points off of turnovers to go along with 18 points in the paint. NDSU totaled six turnovers in comparison to UND’s (6-6, 0-1 Summit) 16.

Neither team was able to pull way in a fast-paced first half as NDSU took a two-point edge in the locker room, 33-31. Hamling paced the Bison with seven points, while Cobbins added in six at the break. NDSU was able go get some momentum closing the third quarter with nine unanswered points to open up a 51-45 advantage.

The Fighting Hawks made one final surge cutting the deficit down to two, 63-61, with 1:33 remaining. The Bison then came out of a timeout and Hamling was able to find Emily Dietz in the lane for a layup to push the lead back up to five, 66-61, with 39 seconds to play. NDSU held off UND the rest of the way to secure its sixth straight win over the Fighting Hawks, 67-61.

NDSU will continue its road swing at South Dakota State (6-7, 2-0 Summit League) on Thursday, Dec. 30. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Frost Arena.

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