North Dakota State Athletics
13-11
New Jersey Tech
4-23
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 30 | 43 | 73 |
| New Jersey Tech | 27 | 27 | 54 |
North Dakota State Women Overcome Slow Start to Defeat New Jersey Tech 73-54
3/1/2007 11:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEWARK, N.J.--North Dakota State overcame a sluggish first half to defeat pesky New Jersey Tech 73-54 in a Division I independent women's basketball game played Thursday, March 1, at the Fleisher Athletic Center. The win assured the Bison their 26th winning season under the direction of Amy Ruley during her 28-year career.
NDSU (13-11) closes out the regular season at noon Saturday, March 3, at IPFW (12-16) in the Hilliard Gates Center. South Dakota State defeated IPFW 70-58 on Thursday night. The Bison improved to 6-3 against Division I independents with the win over NJIT after going 1-6 last season.
"We just didn't start the game with any intensity and let New Jersey Tech control the tempo," said Ruley.
"I felt in the second half, we were able to get back to fundamentals and pick up the tempo. We did just enough to pull away from them."
North Dakota State did build a 42-34 lead early in the second half with 16:25 left on a Brenda Slyt three-pointer, but the Highlanders (4-23) kept things interesting on an accurate touch from three-point arc. NJIT connected on 8-of-19 three-pointers for 42.9 percent after entering the game hitting 24.9 percent on the season.
New Jersey Tech closed the gap to 47-46 at the 11:45 mark on a Kelly Crowe free throw. Crowe led the Highlanders with 17 points including a 3-of-6 effort from behind the arc.
The Bison went on a 7-0 run to build a 54-46 lead with 9:06 left on a Jenna Lemnus free throw. Danni Heintzelman, Kayla Dahlen and Slyt also contributed during the stretch that allowed NDSU to regain control the game.
Slyt scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second half and led a group of three NDSU players in double-figures. Slyt connected on 6-of-11 from the field including 3-of-6 three pointers.
NJIT led for most of the first half as players like Vogel and Crowe, who hit key three-pointers in the opening period. The Highlanders biggest lead was four points, 17-13, on Vogel's three-pointer with 10:18 remaining. Vogel scored 13 poins and was also 3-of-6 from the three-point line.
North Dakota State was hurt by 10 first-half turnovers and a four-minute scoring drought. However, NJIT couldn't pull away as the Bison controlled the boards and came up with timely blocked shots and steals.
Jerri Penley kept Bison close in the first half and scored nine of her career-high 17 points in the first half including a 5-of-6 effort from the free throw line. Penley hit all five field goal attempts and 7-of-11 from the foul line. Emily Moran finished with 10 points.
Slyt took a pass from Amanda Girodat hit a layup and a free throw with 27 seconds left to put NDSU ahead 30-27 at halftime.
North Dakota State hit 45 percent from the field compared to 37 percent for the Highlanders. The Bison hit 18-of-27 from the free throw line, while NJIT was 6-of-11. NDSU doubled up on the hosts in rebounds 48-24, led by the seven from Lemnus and Girodat, and the six board from Slyt and Dahlen.
