North Dakota State Athletics
3-3
Denver
1-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 25 | 25 | 50 |
| North Dakota State | 24 | 38 | 62 |
Second Half Run, Free Throws Lift North Dakota State Women Past Denver 62-50
11/29/2009 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FARGO, N.D.--Jill Zaruba scored six of her season-high 12 points during an important stretch midway in the final half as North Dakota State University pulled away from Denver University for a 62-50 victory in a women's college basketball played before 743 spectators in the Bison Sports Arena on Sunday, Nov. 29.
North Dakota State (3-3), which has won two games in a row, is scheduled to open Summit League play on the road at IUPUI and Western Illinois next weekend.
Denver (1-3) led 25-24 at halftime, but the lead changed hands seven times and was tied on three occasions in the first eight minutes of the second half. Britteni Rice led the Pioneers with a game-high 16 points, Kaetlyn Murdoch netted 14 and Brianna Culberson added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Zaruba hit all six of her free throw attempts during a four-minute stretch. Her first two free tosses put NDSU ahead for good at 37-35 with 11:04 remaining. Inger Hodgson scored on a layup and two free throws, while Ashley Samuelson took advantage of an Abby Plucker assist in the 12-2 outburst.
Zaruba's last two free throw attempts put the Bison ahead 47-37 at the 6:57 mark. Zaruba hit 3 of 6 field goal attempts overall, grabbed five rebounds and added a blocked shot to go along with the 12 points before fouling out. She reached double-figures for the 12th time in her career.
The Pioneers could only close the deficit to seven points in the game's final six minutes as NDSU hit 11 of 12 free throws during that span. The Bison hit 19 of 20 free throws overall compared to 9 of 11 for Denver.
North Dakota State, which was hurt by turnovers at Minnesota on Tuesday, took advantage of 26 Denver turnovers that resulted in 25 points. The Pioneers hit 54.1 percent from the field compared to 34.5 percent for NDSU.
Hodgson finished with 13 points (including a pair of three-pointers), five assists and three steals for the Bison, while Samuelson had 10 points and four rebounds. The Bison held a 28-27 rebounding edge.
