CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The North Dakota State women's basketball team fell short at Northern Iowa, 79-70, on Tuesday night at McLeod Center.

NDSU (6-3) started off fast opening up a 19-15 lead after the first quarter. The Panthers (5-3) then stormed back outscoring the Bison, 30-11, in the second to steal a 45-30 lead at the intermission. Northern Iowa then began the second half building their largest lead of the night, 57-40, by the 3:20 mark of the third quarter. The Panthers led after three quarters of play, 63-48.

NDSU surged back in the fourth frame putting together an 11-3 run to cut the edge down to single digits, 73-65, after Elle Evans drained a layup. However, NDSU wasn't able to trim the deficit any further and went on to drop the contest, 79-70.

Emily Behnke paced the Bison producing her second straight double-double with a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds. Heaven Hamling added 14 points and went 6-of-6 from the free throw line, while Abby Schulte netted 11 points. Evans also reached double figures in scoring for the sixth straight game with 12 points and a season-high eight rebounds.

As a team, NDSU hauled in a season-high 48 rebounds with eight different players contributing at least two. The Bison shot 34.3 percent (24-70) from the field and 65.4 percent (17-26) from the free throw line.

NDSU will be back in action at Green Bay on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.