On Senior Day at Scheels Center, the North Dakota State women’s basketball team outscored North Dakota 24-12 in the fourth quarter to record an 81-64 victory.
Heaven Hamling had her first career double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds in 40 minutes. With a career-high 20 points and a career-best seven rebounds, Reneya Hopkins recorded her sixth straight double-digit scoring effort. Abby Schulte finished with a career-high 18 points and a career-high seven rebounds. All starters were in double figures.
NDSU (11-17, 7-11 Summit) shot 46.3% from the field (25-54) and 87.9% from the free-throw line (29-33). In addition, the Bison scored 42 points in the paint and 13 points on second chances. It was the fourth time this season that NDSU has scored 80 points or more.
With 8:28 left in the game, UND (15-14, 9-9 Summit) pulled within one, 59-58, after a tense opening three quarters in which neither team led by more than seven. Following a layup by Hamling at the 4:48 mark, the Bison responded with a momentum-swinging 8-0 run to take a 67-58 lead. NDSU didn’t stop there, winning its sixth straight game over the Fighting Hawks, 81-64.
In her post-game interview, sophomore Heaven Hamling praised outgoing seniors, Emily Dietz and Reneya Hopkins. “That was just awesome. Dietz has obviously been in the program five years now and it hasn’t always been the best for her,” Hamling said. “It’s been a lot of ups and downs and a lot of emotions. So, to just give her and Reneya [Hopkins] a good win and both of them in double figures on Senior Night and to just celebrate them…”
Head coach Jory Collins says he is proud of his team and thought that was one of their better games of the season. “Well, yeah, I mean obviously you want to play well heading into the tournament. It’s a new season, new opportunity, but to be able to beat our rival and do it on Senior Day and playing well will just make practice this week go well. We’ll have a lot of juice and energy this week.”
The Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will host the Summit League Women’s Basketball Championship from March 5-8. The Bison will face the Kansas City Roos at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 5 in the first round.