NDSU Women’s Basketball Holds Off North Dakota, 81-76

The North Dakota State women’s basketball team picked up its eighth straight win over North Dakota, 81-76, on Saturday afternoon at Scheels Center in front of 1,691 fans.

After trailing by as much as 11 points in the first half, NDSU (9-4, 3-0 Summit) battled back in the third quarter regaining the lead after Heaven Hamling drained a jumper to make the score 43-42 at the 7:30 mark. The Bison outscored the Fighting Hawks (9-4, 2-1 Summit) in the frame, 28-17, and led after three quarters of play, 60-55.

The Bison carried the momentum over into the final quarter as Hamling created a steal and finished with a layup to open up the largest lead of the game, 68-56, with 6:55 to play. North Dakota fought back trimming the deficit down to two, 76-74, with 1:01 on the clock after a layup from Nakiyah Hurst. Hamling and Behnke answered for NDSU closing the game out at the free throw line shooting a combined 5-of-6 to seal the 81-76 win.Hamling logged her fourth 20-point game of the season with a game-high 28 points. She connected on a career-high 14 free throws on 15 attempts, which is tied for the third-most in a single-game in NDSU history. Hamling also passed out a game-best six assists with six rebounds and four steals.

Taylor Brown narrowly missed a double-double with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Behnke also contributed 13 points and nine rebounds.  As a team, NDSU shot 37.3 percent (22-59) from the field and 89.2 percent (33-37) the free throw line. NDSU drained a season-high 33 free throws with seven different players contributing at least one. T

he Bison also netted 32 points in the paint and added 17 second chance points.NDSU, who is off to its first 3-0 start in Summit League play since the 2014-15 season, will be back in action at South Dakota State on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.

NDSU Athletics