Women’s Basketball Defeats USD and Holds off UND

The NDSU Women’s Basketball took down both South Dakota and North Dakota this past week as they improved to 14-6 overall and 6-1 in the conference, where they currently sit in second place.

The Bison rode a career high night from Abbie Draper on Wednesday as they took down South Dakota in a wire-to-wire win by a final score of 72-53 at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.

Draper recorded 29 points on 12 made field goals, both career highs for the senior from Waverly, Iowa. She also added in 12 board to go with one assist and one block, her second double-double of the year and third of her career.

Marisa Frost added 11 points off the bench, and sophomore forward Avery Koenen was good for 10 to go along with six boards and three assists. Grace Larkins was the leading scorer for the Coyotes with 23 along with seven rebounds.

The Bison shot 49.1% (27-55) from the field and 77.8% (14-18) from the free throw line in the win. The Bison had the advantage in turnovers (9-12), points in the paint (44-34), second chance points (13-5), fast break points (7-0), and bench points (18-10).

NDSU used a hot start from Draper, scoring 11 of the team’s first 13 points, as they got out to an early 13-7 lead just over four minutes in. The advantage then jumped out to 19-9 from an Avery Koenen jump shot with just over left minutes left in the opening quarter.

The Coyotes were able to get within six near the end of the third quarter as they made it 40-34, but a quick 7-2 Bison run capped by a Molly Lenz three pointer switched the momentum arrow back in NDSUs favor. Any comeback attempt from the Coyotes fell short as the Bison were able close it out.

The second game of the week for the Bison was a nailbiter, as they were able to take down University of North Dakota by a final score of 70-66.

Avery Koenen led the way for the Bison, dropping 21 points on 7-14 shooting from the field and going 7-10 from the line. Abbie Draper was good for 12 points along with grabbing 9 rebounds, and freshman Marisa Frost had 11. Jocelyn Schiller was the leading scorer for the Fighting Hawks, with 20 on 7-14 from the field. Fatima Ibrahim was a force in the paint for the Hawks, recording 10 points to go along with nine blocks and seven rebounds.

NDSU was able to once again win the points in the paint battle (44-34), points off turnovers (20-16), and bench points (19-16).

The first half was a tale of two quarters, as the Bison started hot jumping out to a 12-4 lead following an Abby Schulte jumper with just under five minutes to go in the first quarter. An Abbie Draper tip-in extended the lead to 21-11 with just over a minute to play in the quarter.

UND came out hot in the second, outscoring the Bison 20-9 in the quarter and heading into the break with a 33-30 lead, including a 13-3 run over the last 5 minutes of the half.

The rest of the contest was a back-and-forth affair, with no team getting out to a lead larger than seven in the second half. NDSU had the lead 66-62 with just over two minutes left, but a pair of Jocelyn Schiller free throws cut the lead to two. An Avery Koenen jumper once again extended the lead to four, but UND was able to make it 68-66 with 35 seconds to go.

A Marisa Frost turnover meant UND had a potential game tying or winning shot, but Frost made up for it by taking an errant Hawk out of bounds pass the other way and knocking down two free throws to ice.

NDSU will look to keep the momentum going as they head to Brookings to take on the conference leading Jackrabbits this Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Leave a Reply