FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State women's basketball team came up short against Gonzaga, 81-66, in the home opener on Friday night inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in front of 1,906 fans.

Avery Koenen led the way with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds. Jocelyn Schiller added 14 points with three rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Marisa Frost contributed 11 points with four assists and two rebounds.

As a team, the Bison (1-1) shot 40.7 percent (22-54) from the field and 67.9 percent (19-28) from the free throw line. NDSU scored 32 points in the paint and 23 points off of turnovers.

The Bulldogs (1-0) used a key 10-2 run to close the second quarter to push their lead to 34-26 at the half. Gonzaga then carried the momentum into the third quarter assembling nine straight points to increase its edge to 43-28 with a free throw from Zeryhia Aokuso at the 7:27 mark. The Bison made one final push in the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run of their own to cut the deficit down to 73-61 after Molly Lenz drained a jumper with 2:45 to play. However, the Bulldogs closed out the remaining time to pick up the 81-66 win.

NDSU will be back in action hosting Concordia-Moorhead on Monday. Tip-off is set for 11:00 a.m., at Scheels Center.