MISSOULA, Mont. – Elle Evans knocked down a layup and two free throws with under a minute to play to help lift the North Dakota State women's basketball team to a 65-63 win at Montana on Monday night at Dahlberg Arena.

Heaven Hamling paced the Bison (1-0) with a team-high 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. She also added a game-high six assists with a game-best five steals and four rebounds. Abbie Draper reached double digits in her NDSU debut with 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from three. Evans rounded out the top performers with 10 points in her Bison debut.

As a team, NDSU shot 40.6 percent from the field (26-64) and 33.3 percent from three (7-21). The Bison hauled in 40 rebounds, including 31 on the defensive end. NDSU also netted 36 points in the paint and the bench added in 21.

The Bison will open their home schedule on Thursday night hosting Mayville State. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. at Scheels Center.