FARGO, N.D. - Northern Illinois closed regulation on a 9-2 run to force overtime, as the Huskies defeated the North Dakota State women's basketball team 74-68 Sunday afternoon at the Scheels Center. The Huskies entered the game ranked 20th in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25.
The Bison dropped to 0-2 on the year, while the Huskies moved to 1-1. NDSU will face Valparaiso (0-1) Friday night at the Scheels Center, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. The Crusaders opened the season Sunday afternoon with an 89-38 loss at Ohio State.
Emily Dietz led the Bison with her second career double-double, turning in a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds. It was a career-high in rebounds and her third career game scoring 20 or more points.
Michelle Gaislerova added 14 points, while
Ryan Cobbins had 11 points. It was the second-straight game in double figures for Cobbins and the 41
st career double digit effort for Gaislerova. Courtney Woods led the Huskies with 20 points, going 11-of-12 at the free throw line.
The Bison jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first 5:25 of the game and didn't trail until 2:55 to play in overtime. NDSU led the game for 38:49, while holding its largest lead of the game at 19-10 with 2:28 left in the opening quarter after a 3-pointer by Gaislerova. NDSU led 62-55 with 4:38 to play after a 3-pointer by
Cirkeline Rimdal before the Huskies closed regulation on the 9-2 run. Dietz gave NDSU a 66-64 lead to start overtime before Northern Illinois went on a 10-2 run to close the overtime period.
Raquel Terrer van Gool had a season-high eight rebounds, while
Sofija Zivaljevic added five boards. Zivaljevic had a career-high six assists, while
Nicole Scales added a season-high three assists. Cobbins finished with a season-high three steals.
NDSU was 27-of-73 (37%) from the floor and 8-of-31 (25.8%) from 3-point range. The Huskies were 26-of-63 (41.3%) from the field and 5-of-17 (29.4%) from downtown. Northern Illinois was 17-of-24 (70.8%) at the free throw line, while NDSU was 6-of-11 (54.5%) at the charity stripe. NDSU was 1-of-8 from the field in overtime, while the Huskies were 4-of-6.
