North Dakota State Athletics
9-5, 4-0Summit
Centenary
1-14, 0-4Summit
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centenary | 25 | 25 | 50 |
| North Dakota State | 42 | 43 | 85 |
North Dakota State Races Past Centenary 85-50
1/4/2010 11:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FARGO, N.D.--North Dakota State University hit over 50 percent from the field for the first time this year as the Bison raced past Centenary College 85-50 in a Summit League women's basketball game played Monday, Jan. 4, before 802 fans in the Bison Sports Arena.
North Dakota State (9-5, 4-0 Summit) has won four in a row and eight of its last 10 games to take the early lead in league standings. NDSU is scheduled to play against UMKC (5-9, 2-1 Summit) at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, in Kansas City, and against Southern Utah (3-11, 1-2 Summit) at 8 p.m. (Central) Monday, Jan. 11, in Cedar City. UMKC defeated Southern Utah 71-58 on Monday in KC.
The Bison scored 13 answered points over the game's opening four minutes and never looked back. Jill Zaruba converted a pair of Inger Hodgson passes for layups, Hodgson hit a three-pointer and turned in a conventional three-point play, and Whitney Trecker drilled a long range jumper during that stretch.
Centenary (1-14, 0-4 Summit) broke the drought with a Bethany Joseph three-pointer with 15:38 left, but couldn't come closer than 10 points the remainder of the contest. Ashley Jackson led the Ladies with 14 points, while Joseph added 11. The Bison led 42-25 at halftime.
North Dakota State connected on a season-high 51.7 percent from the field compared to 35.4 percent for Centenary. The previous best for the Bison was 48 percent against Ball State on Nov. 27. The 85 points was a season best for NDSU topping the previous high of 69 at IUPUI on Dec. 5.
While Hodgson scored 11 of her game-high 17 and Trecker netted eight of her 10 points in the first half, Katie Birkel and Hannah Linz caught fire in different ways in the second.
During one stretch, Birkel came up with a pair of steals and scored seven straight points to push the lead over 20. Birkel had 16 points, matched her career-high with five steals and added three assists. Meanwhile, Linz matched a personal best with four three-pointers to finish with a season-high 14 points.
North Dakota State turned 23 Centenary turnovers into 32 points and also held a 42-26 rebounding edge. Ashley Samuelson led the Bison with seven rebounds, while Anne Farrell pulled down a game-high eight boards for the Ladies.
