Katie Lorenz hit a twisting, off-balance 15-foot jumper from just right of the foul line to lift North Dakota State University to a heart stopping 64-63 victory over South Dakota State University in a women's basketball game played Saturday, Feb. 26, before a sell out crowd of 6,052 at the Bison Sports Arena.

Lorenz, a 5-foot-9 junior from Langdon, N.D., took possession of the ball with 7.8-seconds left and made a variety of moves to shake free of South Dakota State defenders. She gained a little bit of daylight and put up her shot with under a second to play.

That play was typical in the game's final minute as the pair of first-year Division I independents squared off for the second time this season. The lead changed hands four times in the last 35-seconds and 12 times overall, and there were five ties.

South Dakota State's Megan Vogel hit two free throws with 33-seconds left to put the Jackrabbits ahead 61-60, but North Dakota State's Leah Klabo hit a baseline jumper as the Bison regained a 62-61 advantage at the 19-second mark. SDSU's Sarita DeBoer hit a jumper from the foul line with 8-seconds left to go up 63-62.

Neither team could hold a double-digit lead. South Dakota State led 26-15 on a DeBoer jumper with 8:57 left in the first half. The Bison battled back for a 35-32 halftime lead. North Dakota State's Lorenz hit a jumper and put  the Bison ahead 49-39 with 12:57 remaining in the second half.

South Dakota State's Vogel led all scorers with a game-high 21 points, while Heather Sieler netted 13 and DeBoer added 10. Shannon Schlagel pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds as the Jackrabbits held a 41-40 edge on the boards.

Lorenz led North Dakota State with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Six-foot freshman Brenda Slyt connected for a season-high 13 points including several key buckets during NDSU rallies. It was a busy night for the 6-4 Klabo, who scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds, blocked four shots and tied a career-high with four assists. Kayla Dahlen added 11 points.

North Dakota State hit 41.8 percent from the field including 6-of-10 from the three-point line compared to 34.9 percent for  the Jackrabbits. Neither team shot well from the foul line as SDSU hit 12-of-23 attempts for 52.2 percent and the Bison hit 12-of-19 for 63.2 percent.

The crowd of over 6,000 was the 19th largest in NDSU women's basketball history. The Bison close out the regular season at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 6 against Grand Canyon University.