On Sunday afternoon at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, SD, the sixth-seeded North Dakota State women’s basketball team fell to third-seeded Kansas City, 81-74.

With a team-best and career-high 21 points, Abby Schulte led the Bison (11-18). She made 6-of-11 field goals and 7-of-8 free throw attempts. Heaven Hamling had a career-high seven assists and a team-high eight rebounds to go along with her 16 points. With 14 points and five rebounds, Emily Dietz also reached double digits in scoring.

NDSU made 43.5 percent (27-62) of their field goals and 41.2 percent (7-17) of their three-point attempts.

After the Bison took a 42-28 advantage into halftime, the Roos (23-7) surged back in the third quarter, outscoring the Bison 26-15 to narrow the deficit to three points, 57-54, after three quarters. With 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Roos took the lead, 75-72, as Naomie Alnatas hit a three-pointer. “Alnatas is a great player, but I thought a lot of those things should have been in our control,” said NDSU head coach Jory Collins. Kansas City then closed out the game with six free throws to secure the 81-74 victory.

Emily Dietz and Reneya Hopkins, both seniors, wore the Bison jersey for the final time. Dietz logged 736 minutes and 240 points in the 21-22 season, averaging 8.3 points per game. Dietz has appeared in more games than any other woman in Bison basketball history. An impressive feat when you consider the history of success in this program. Hopkins played 537 minutes this season, scoring 206 points, averaging 7.9 points.

Heaven Hamling, Ryan Cobbins, and Abby Schulte, who were key contributors this season, will be back for the Bison next season. All three have started for the Bison and have combined to score 51 percent of the team’s points. “It didn’t happen the way I wanted it to happen, but you have to live with it and move on,” Hamling said during the post-game press conference.