Bison Women Push Past North Dakota 92-82

The North Dakota State women's basketball team used a 10-1 run in the final 2:23 Sunday afternoon, as the Bison beat rival North Dakota 92-82 at the Scheels Center.

NDSU improved to 4-13 on the year and 1-4 in Summit League play with the victory, while North Dakota dropped to 12-7 overall and 3-3 in league play. NDSU will face defending Summit League Champion South Dakota State on Friday night. The Jackrabbits (14-7, 6-1 Summit) had a seven-game winning streak snapped on Sunday, when 21st-ranked South Dakota defeated the Jackrabbits 83-48. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night in Brookings.

Michelle Gaislerova and Ryan Cobbins led the Bison with a season-high 22 points apiece. It was the 11th career 20-plus point game for Gaislerova, while she moved into a tie for third in school history with 156 career 3-pointers. Sofija Zivaljevic had 15 points, while Rylee Nudell had 11. Zivaljevic was 11-for-11 at the free throw line, becoming the 16th player in school history to be perfect at the line with over 10 attempts in a game. Julia Fleecs led the Fighting Hawks with 18 points. Nudell had a game-high 11 points and a season-high four assists, as she notched her second career double-double. Zivaljevic had six rebounds, while Cobbins added three steals.

The Bison were 27-of-54 from the field and 6-of-16 (37.5%) from 3-point range. North Dakota was 23-of-61 (37.7%) from the floor and 7-of-19 (36.8%) from downtown. Both teams frequented the free throw line, with the Bison going 32-of-38 (84.2%) and the Fighting Hawks going 29-of-33 (87.9%). NDSU was just 1-of-6 from the floor in the fourth quarter, but went 15-of-18 at the free throw line.

NDSU jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first minute of the game. A late 9-2 run gave NDSU a 23-19 lead after the first quarter. North Dakota took its first lead of the game with 8:21 to play in the first half, but held the lead for just 1:07. The Bison used an 18-6 run over a 4:57 span in the second quarter to take a 49-41 lead at the break. NDSU's largest lead came at 62-49 with 4:44 to play in the third quarter after a free throw from Olivia Skibiel. The Bison led by 10 with 9:30 to play before the Fighting Hawks went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 77-76 with 7:16 to play. NDSU led 82-81 following a 3-pointer by Lilly Keplin with 4:58 to play. That would be the final basket of the game for North Dakota, as the Bison closed the game on a 10-1 run, getting only a layup from Emily Dietz with 1:19 to play in the game with the rest of the points coming at the free throw line.