FARGO, N.D. – Four Bison scored in double figures to help the North Dakota State University women's basketball team (6-8, 2-0 Summit League) upset reigning Summit League regular season champion and mid-major No. 9 ranked South Dakota State (10-5, 1-1 Summit League), 83-78, at Scheels Arena on Sunday, Jan. 4.

The victory was the first for NDSU over SDSU since the 2010-11 season and the first win over the Jackrabbits in Fargo since 2004-05. 

Senior guard Brooke LeMar (Canyon Country, Calif.) paced all scorers in the contest, netting 30 points on 11-for-20 shooting, including a 3-for-6 mark from three-point range and a 5-for-7 performance at the free-throw line. Junior forward Holly Johnson (Minot, N.D.) added 16 points, with 12 occurring in the second half, and went a game-best 10-for-10 at the foul line, while fellow junior forward Marena Whittle (Vermont South, Victoria, Australia) pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and netted 10 points. Senior forward Liz Keena (Hastings, Minn.) rounded out the Bison in double figures, scoring 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting.

For the game, North Dakota State shot 47 percent (18-for-33) from the floor, 39 percent (5-for-13) from beyond-the-arc and 83 percent (20-of-24) from the free-throw line. NDSU dished out 16 assists and committed 12 turnovers and scored 21 points off 16 Jackrabbit turnovers.

Senior forward Megan Waytashek (Lino Lakes, Minn.) led four South Dakota State Jacks in double figures with 20 points, while senior forward Mariah Clarin (Princeton, Minn.) controlled the glass for SDSU with nine boards.

The Bison fought-off a pair of second half South Dakota State runs to preserve the victory.

The Jacks trimmed a 57-50 Bison lead to 57-56 after Jackrabbit freshman guard Macy Miller (Mitchell, S.D.) converted a layup with 11:05 to go in the second stanza, but NDSU answered and pushed the lead to 62-56 after a jumper from sophomore forward Emily Spier (Buffalo, Minn.) capped-off a 5-0 Bison run with 8:59 to go in the half.

NDSU got the lead back up to a dozen, 74-62, after Keena converted a jumper at the 4:08 mark, but South Dakota State answered and cut the Bison lead back to one with 27 seconds to go in the stanza after a three from Waytashek.

LeMar and Johnson sealed the win for the Bison though, going a combined 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final seconds of the game.

South Dakota State went 43 percent from the field (43 percent), 42 percent (5-for-12) from three and 75 percent (21-of-28) from the charity stripe in the game.
 
After falling behind 2-0 early in the first half, the Bison utilized an 11-3 run to take an 11-5 advantage after Johnson converted a pair of foul shots with 16:50 to go in the stanza. NDSU then used an 18-4 spurt from 14:32 to 9:49 to balloon its lead to 34-12 after LeMar drilled a jump shot, capping off seven straight points from the senior.

The Jackrabbits fought back though, and trimmed the Bison lead to 37-24 after Clarin was fouled on a made jump shot and converted the bonus free-throw with 5:05 to go in the half. Clarin's three points capped-off a 12-3 Jackrabbit run.

North Dakota State is scheduled to wrap-up a three-game homestand on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. inside the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse against IUPUI.