Bison Women’s Basketball Falls at Fort Wayne Saturday, 57-51

Saturday, February 8

Fort Wayne, Ind.

1 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

6-18, 2-7SL

Fort Wayne

12-11, 5-4SL

Team	1	2	F
North Dakota State	26	25	51
Fort Wayne	30	27	57

Photo by: Richard Svaleson

Bison Women’s Basketball Falls at Fort Wayne Saturday, 57-51

2/8/2014 3:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The North Dakota State women's basketball team (6-18, 2-7 Summit) fell to the Fort Wayne Mastodons (12-11, 5-4 Summit) Saturday, Feb. 8, inside the Gates Sports Center, 57-51.

Liz Keena led three Bison in double figures, scoring 12 points while Bree Whatman tallied 11. Marena Whittle posted a double-double, netting 10 points with 10 rebounds. Amanda Hyde paced the Mastodons with a game-high 19 points.

With 11:40 to go in the second-half the Bison trailed Fort Wayne 39-32 until Keena drilled a jump shot, spurring a 7-0 NDSU run capped-off by a Brooke LeMar layup to knot the game at 39.

The Bison briefly took a 42-40 lead after Whatman hit a three with 7:28 to go in the stanza, but the Mastodons answered, using a 6-0 run to regain a 46-42 advantage with 3:56 remaining. NDSU pulled within two of the Fort Wayne lead after a Whittle layup with 2:04 on the clock, but the Mastodons were able to hang on for the win.

The Bison struggled shooting the basketball in the contest, going just 20-for-67 from the field for 30 percent. Fort Wayne wasn't much better, going 20-for-52 from the field for 39 percent.

NDSU jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the first-half after Whatman converted a jump shot and three-pointer only to see Fort Wayne use a 6-0 run to gain a 20-13 advantage over the Bison with 4:49 remaining in half.

The Bison trailed by as much as eight but were able to cut the Mastodon lead in half going into halftime, 30-26, after Keena made a jumper and LeMar converted a pair of free throws the final minute of the stanza.

Keena led NDSU in the first-half with eight points.

With the loss, the Bison fall to 6-18 overall and 2-7 in Summit League play while Fort Wayne moves to 12-11 on the season and 5-4 in league play.

The Bison return to action Thursday, Feb. 13, when they host Western Illinois in league action inside the Bison Sports Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. with airtime on 740 "The Fan" slated for 6:40 p.m.