WALTHAM, Mass.--Brandee Gibbs scored a career-high 21 points to lead North Dakota State to a 72-64 road victory over NCAA Division II's 6th-ranked Bentley College on Sunday, Jan. 2, in a non-conference women's basketball game at the Dana Athletic Center.

North Dakota State improves to 12-0 on the year and is off to its best start since the 1994-95 season when the Bison went undefeated en route to the program's fourth of five NCAA Division II titles. NDSU, which is in its second of a five-year transition to Division I, defeated Bentley for the ninth time in 10 meetings.

The Falcons (11-3) closed to within 63-61 with under a minute to play, but Katie Lorenz hit a jumper with 50-seconds left to extend the lead to four at 65-61. Lorenz joined teammates Amanda Krenz and Lacey Johnson to hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to widen the margin.

Shevon Gibbons led Bentley College with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Shannon Kirwan sparked the Falcons in the second half and finished with 16 points. Gibbons became the 25th Falcons' player to reach 1,000 points in a career during the contest

Gibbs, a 6-foot-4 junior from Hanover, Minn., connected on 10-of-16 from the field, grabbed seven rebounds and came up with two steals. The Bison also received 12 points and nine rebounds from Leah Klabo, while Lorenz contributed 10 points, six assists and three steals. NDSU led 35-30 at halftime.

North Dakota State held a slim 38-37 advantage in rebounding, while shooting 43 percent from the field compared to 42 percent for the Falcons. Bentley committed 20 turnovers, while the Bison had 16.

North Dakota State is scheduled to play at Saint Anselm College, N.H. (3-5), also members of the Northeast-10 Conference, at 6 p.m. (CST) Monday, Jan. 3.