FARGO, N.D. – Senior guard Brooke LeMar scored a game-high 22 points and freshman guard Taylor Thunstedt added a career-high 15 points helping the North Dakota State women's basketball team (5-8, 1-0 Summit League) claim a 77-64 win over the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles (6-8, 0-1 Summit League) to tip-off Summit League play on Friday, Jan. 2, at Scheels Arena. The win snapped a five-game losing streak to Oral Roberts that dated back to the 2009-10 season.

LeMar (Canyon Country, Calif.) dished out a game-and season-high eight assists and committed no turnovers to go along with her game-high 22 points. Thunstedt (Spicer, Minn.) went 6-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from three in the game for her career-best 15. Junior forwards Holly Johnson (Minot, N.D.) and Marena Whittle (Vermont South, Victoria, Australia) also scored in double figures for North Dakota State, tallying 12 points each. Johnson controlled the glass in the contest for the Bison, pulling down a team-high eight boards, while Whittle added seven, respectively.

The Bison shot a season-best 48 percent from the field, going 31-for-64, and were 8-for-22 from three-point range for 36 percent. NDSU went 7-for-10 from the free-throw line for 70 percent and dished out a season-high 19 assists while turning the ball over just five times, a season-low.

Oral Roberts was led in scoring by freshman guard Jordan Doyle (Broken Arrow, Okla.) with a career-high 15 points on 7-for-17 shooting, and redshirt-senior center Vicky McIntyre (Omaha, Neb.) paced ORU on the boards with a game-high 14 rebounds.

ORU shot a season-low 41 percent in the contest, making 25 of 61 attempts, and were 2-for-5 from beyond-the-arc for 40 percent. The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Bison, 39-34.

With the Bison trailing 19-17 with 9:00 to go in the first half, Johnson connected on a jumper 26 seconds later, tying the game at 19. The bucket ignited an 8-1 run that gave North Dakota State a 27-20 edge after another jumper from Johnson with 5:58 on the clock. NDSU never relinquished the lead the remainder of the contest, leading by as much as 15 in the second half on its way to the 77-64 victory.

North Dakota State is scheduled to return to action Sunday, Jan. 4, at 1 p.m. against Summit League rival South Dakota State. The contest will be televised live on MidcoSN, ESPN3 and ESPN Full Court.