North Dakota State Athletics
15-0
Cincinnati
5-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 30 | 45 | 75 |
| Cincinnati | 29 | 38 | 67 |
Lorenz Career-High 30 Points Sparks North Dakota State Women's 75-67 Victory At Cincinnati
1/12/2005 11:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CINCINNATI, Ohio--Katie Lorenz netted a career-high 30 points to spark North Dakota State University to a 75-67 win over the University of Cincinnati in a non-conference women's basketball game played Wednesday, Jan. 12, before a crowd of 257 at the Third Fifth Arena at Shoemaker Center.
It was North Dakota State's first win over a NCAA Division I team since the 1985-86 season when the Bison defeated Montana State. It was the last season NDSU played a Division I school in women's basketball. North Dakota State is in the second of a five-year transition to Division I.
"This was an important win, from the standpoint that it was our first Division I opponent as a Division I school. I thought our kids showed a lot of resiliency coming after slow starts in both halves," said NDSU Hall of Fame women's basketball coach Amy Ruley. The Bison didn't score until the 15:17 mark of the first half, but trailed just 5-0.
"Katie (Lorenz) was really on tonight and showed a lot of heart playing with a knee that bruised up like a baseball."
Lorenz, a 5-foot-8 junior from Langdon, N.D., had her best shooting night of the season and hit a variety of shots to finish 9-of-13 from the field including a school record 5-of-5 effort from the three-point stripe. The previous NDSU three-point percentage record was 83.3 percent (5-6) by former All-American Pat Smykowski vs. South Dakota (1-29-88). She also hit all seven of her free throw attempts. Lorenz led a group of three players in double-figures as Amanda Krenz and Brandee Gibbs each finished with 10 points.
"We can take a lot from this win. They were quick and pressured us quite a bit, but we kept taking it to them," said Lorenz, who added three rebounds, two steals and a pair of assists.
North Dakota State led 30-29 at halftime, but the Bearcats (5-10) of Conference USA scored the first four points of the second half. The teams went back and forth before Brandee Gibbs hit a layup to give the Bison the lead for good at 40-38 and start a 12-5 NDSU run. Lorenz scored eight of her 23 second-half points during the rally, while Kayla Dahlen also drove to the basket twice.
The Bison committed only four turnovers in the second half as Krenz, Lorenz, Lacey Johnson and Leah Klabo each came up with alert defensive plays. NDSU shot 54.2 percent from the field in the second half and 51.2 percent for the game. North Dakota State hit 24-of-31 free throws for 77.4 percent compared to a 5-of-10 showing by Cincinnati. Both teams finished with 31 rebounds as Johnson topped NDSU with six.
Cincinnati had four players in double-figures led by the team-high 15 points by Karen Twehues. Anne Stephens netted 14, Bellva May scored 13, and Ashley Brown finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
North Dakota State is scheduled to host Valley City State (8-8) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15, at the Bison Sports Arena. It is the first home game for NDSU since Dec. 15.
