FARGO, N.D. – Four Bison reached double figures in scoring as the North Dakota State women's basketball team topped Northern Arizona, 99-73, in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge to wrap up non-conference play on Saturday afternoon at Scheels Center.
Elle Evans led the way for the Bison (7-7, 1-0 Summit) with a career-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from three.
Heaven Hamling added in 19 points with six rebounds, while
Abbie Draper chipped in 16 points of her own with six rebounds.
Abby Schulte rounded out the group with a season-high 14 points to go along with five assists.
As a team, NDSU shot a season-best 55.9 percent (33-59) from field and a season-high 54.5 percent (12-22) from three. The Bison had nine different players reach the scoring column and netted 90 or more points for the fourth time this season.
After grabbing a 38-37 lead at the intermission, NDSU got off to a fast start in the second half assembling a momentum-shifting 14-0 run to open up a 54-39 advantage after Hamling connected on a fastbreak layup at the 6:36 mark. Evans, who netted 14 points in the third quarter and shot 5-of-5 from the field and 3-of-3 from downtown, drained NDSU's seventh triple of the frame to make the score 74-57 with 1:42 on the clock.
The Bison carried the energy into the fourth quarter putting together 10 straight points after Draper knocked down a jumper to stretch the lead to 88-58 with 7:51 to play. NDSU went on to close out the remaining time to earn the 99-73 victory.
NDSU will continue its homestand hosting Kansas City on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m., at Scheels Center.