Following a tough loss at the season opener against Drake last week, North Dakota State was able to get their first win of the season Sunday afternoon at the Scheels Center against Eastern Illinois. This was the first ever meeting between the two teams.
Sophomore Avery Koenen recorded her first double-double against the Panthers, while also making a team-high 15 points, 11 rebounds, and four steals. Koenen and senior Abbie Draper tied with three assists. Senior Abby Schulte, who is now in her fifth season with the Bison, collected double digits with 12 points while earning seven rebounds. She also shot 8-10 from the line. Freshman Marisa Frost went on to make all four of her attempts from the line and newcomer Molly Lenz from Illinois State added eight points.
The Bison started things off strong in the first half with a 12-0 lead after Draper scored a layup with six minutes left of the first quarter. Eastern Illinois went on to perform a comeback, bringing the contest to a tie game of 28-28 with six seconds left in the first half. That ended up being the only time the game was tied at any point. Koenen then put in a free throw to have the scoreboard show 29-28 at halftime, never letting Eastern Illinois have the lead when going into the second half. EIU scored 14 points in the second quarter, leaving the Bison to only score eight.
North Dakota State and Eastern Illinois traded possessions throughout the second half until Panthers’ Tiny Lewis drained another triple, after making one in the first half, to make the score 56-54 with just under four minutes left to play.
Koenen responded for the Bison with a three of her own to make the score 59-54, with 2:24 on the clock. NDSU then helped secure the win with a basket from Koenen and three free throws from Schulte to extend the lead to 64-56 with 31 seconds remaining. North Dakota State was able to hold off EIU for the remainder of the fourth quarter to secure the win, 65-56.
NDSU shot 76 percent (19-25) from the free throw line, 39.6 percent at the field, and 23.5 percent from the three-point line. They scored 18 of those points off turnovers, while the Panthers scored 20. EIU also made 50% of their three-point attempts (5-10). NDSU led the game for 39:36, while EIU left the SHAC empty-handed with no time in the lead.
Coming up, NDSU will be back in the Scheels Center this Friday for a tip-off at 7 p.m., competing against Jamestown. Be sure to head out to the SHAC and support the Bison!