North Dakota State
8-8, 6-2Summit
Southern Utah
6-12, 2-5Summit
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 32 | 43 | 75 |
| Southern Utah | 31 | 36 | 67 |
1/20/2009 1:15:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CEDAR CITY, Utah--Inger Hodgson tied a career-high with five three-pointers and five assists and North Dakota State University shot 58.3 percent from the field in the second half as the Bison defeated Southern Utah University 75-67 in a Summit League women's basketball game played Monday, Jan. 19, before 498 fans in the Centrum.
North Dakota State (8-8, 6-2 Summit), which has won four of its last five games, remained in third place in the Summit League standings behind No. 21-ranked South Dakota State (18-2, 7-1 Summit) and Oakland (14-4, 6-1). The Thunderbirds have lost five of their last six games.
The Bison play at South Dakota State at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, in Brookings, S.D. The game will be televised locally on KXJB-TV (Channel 4, CBS).
Hodgson netted 19 points to lead a group of four players in double-figures as the Bison broke free from a 40-40 deadlock early in the second half and gradually pulled away with an impressive 27-13 run over an eight-minute span.
NDSU finished with 70-plus points for only the fifth time this season and the first since defeating Oral Roberts 76-57 in Fargo on Dec. 8.
Southern Utah (6-12, 2-5 Summit) had tied the game at 40-all with 14:30 left on Anne Westwood-Higbee's layup. Westwood connected on 10 of 15 field goal attempts and led the Thunderbirds a game-high 23 points.
While Higbee presented the Bison problems, North Dakota State employed a balanced offense that used alert efforts from a number of different players including Katie Birkel, Ashley Samuelson, Whitney Trecker and Hodgson, who scored in a variety of ways.
North Dakota State hit 47.5 percent from the field overall including 8 of 15 from the three-point line for 53.3 percent. Southern Utah made 43.5 percent from the field including 26.7 percent from the three-point arc. The Thunderbirds held a 36-33 edge on the glass.
Birkel scored 17 points, Trecker finished with 14 points including 7 of 8 from the free throw line, and Samuelson added 11 points. Trecker reached double-figures in scoring for the third time in four games and notched a career best seven rebounds.
Southern Utah came out firing and hit eight of its first 14 shots. Higbee's layup with 12:15 left in the opening period put the Thunderbirds up 18-9.
However, North Dakota State went on an 11-0 run and took a 20-18 lead on Jill Zaruba's free throw line jumper. A Hodgson three-pointer, Samuelson drive and Birkel baseline jumper highlighted the run.
The Thunderbirds regrouped and regained the lead but the Bison closed strong. Trecker hit one of two free throws and Samuelson recorded an offensive rebound bucket to give NDSU a 32-31 halftime lead.
