Big third quarter helps UND women's basketball to win over North Dakota State

GRAND FORKS UND womens basketball guard Jocelyn Schiller drove to the basket with 13 seconds left and the Fighting Hawks leading North Dakota State 60-58.

The 5-foot-7 Schiller, a Grand Forks native, stepped around 6-foot-2 Bison sophomore Avery Koenen and flung in a layup that extended UNDs lead to four in front of a crowd of 1,964 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Saturday night.

Nevaeh Ferrara Hornes two free throws as time expired clinched UNDs 65-60 win over the Bison, UNDs first over NDSU since Jan.

28, 2023.

This has obviously been one that's been tough for us to get, UND coach Mallory Bernhard said.

We know how good of a team NDSU is.

Theres no denying that.

They're incredibly talented, play incredibly disciplined and very well-coached.

That combination makes them incredibly tough.

Today was a lot about just playing together as a team.

The only way we were going to get this done today is by playing together.

I think we saw that in the second half, especially.

That second half, we started moving the ball.

Really feel like, as a team, we stepped up in a major way.

It's really fun to see our team flow the way they can flow when we start doing that.

Exciting game for us and and love to see that we can compete with really good teams in this league, but we can also come out on top.

Thats something that's eluded us a little bit.

UNDs 27-point third quarter helped the Hawks snap their six-game losing streak.

Kiera Pemberton, who ended with 22 points and eight rebounds, scored nine points in the first two minutes of the third quarter.

We were just talking (at halftime) and just saying how bad we want it, and we're going to show that, Pemberton said.

We just went out and did that.

My teammates found me when I was open, and they did a great job.

We all did a really good job today.

The Hawks shot 70% from the field, connected on 2-for-3 3-pointers and went 11-for-12 from the free throw line in the third.

Obviously really disappointed in the second half, Bison coach Jory Collins said.

I thought they played a great third quarter came out as the aggressor, got to the rim, got to the foul line.

We were OK offensively in the third, too, but multiple times, I thought Pemberton was really good getting downhill.

She made a couple of threes behind some screens.

Really got some momentum going their way, and we just struggled down the stretch.

Koenen ended with a career-high 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Bison, who have dropped their last two games.

Koenen is averaging 22.3 points over her last four games.

I've just been trying to play more with confidence, she said.

I know what our team needs.

Just trying to take over for the team and try to get wins.

Abby Krzewinski was the only other Bison to end in double figures, finishing with 12 points.

Miriley Simon got the start for NDSU with Abbie Draper out with an illness.

Draper, who didnt travel for Saturdays game, has started every game for the Bison this season.

She's sick, Collins said.

Shes been sick for a week.

She tried to play Wednesday and just couldn't be herself.

Were just trying to get her healthy here for the last couple of weeks and letting her have the weekend off.

Schiller added 14 points in the win, with eight coming in the third quarter.

Fatima Ibrahim ended with 12 points and five boards off the bench.

Walker Demers, who fouled out with 2 minutes, 15 seconds to go, added seven boards.

NDSU is now 11-2 over its last 13 games against the Hawks.

I was expecting it to be a dogfight, just like it was at our place, Collins said.

They have some really talented players, and they do a good job executing their stuff.

They've been up and down this year, probably consistency-wise, but I knew coming into the game this was going to be a really hotly contested contest, and it was exactly what you think it would be.

They just made a few more than we did down the stretch.

UND travels to Oral Roberts and Denver next weekend before ending the regular season at home against Omaha and Kansas City.

We have to build off of it, Bernhard said.

We can't let it be a one hit wonder out here.

We really have to keep improving.

This is the second game in a row we felt like first half, maybe we don't have the rhythm that we need to have.

Then the second half, all of a sudden we come out and we do have it.

It's about finding consistency for us and building off this.

Some of these are good for the confidence.

You have to know that you can close these things out, but we have to build off it..

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