FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State women's basketball team cruised past Chattanooga, 75-62, in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) on Thursday night in front of 1,490 fans inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.

With the win, the Bison improve 29-4 overall and advance to the second round hosting Columbia (21-8) on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Fans can purchase single-game tickets at GoBison.com/tickets or at the ticket office. The ticket office will be closed on Saturday.

Avery Koenen led the way logging her 21st double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Montevideo, Minn., native also increased her season rebound total to 359, which is the most in a single-season in NDSU history.

Jocelyn Schiller added 14 points with six rebounds, while Karrington Asp tallied 13 points with three rebounds off the bench. Marisa Frost rounded out the group posting 10 points with a team-best three steals.

As a team, the Bison shot 47.6 percent (30-63) from the field and 66.7 percent (12-18) from the free throw line. NDSU also netted 44 points in the paint and 19 points off of turnovers.

NDSU grabbed control of the contest closing the first quarter with seven straight points capped off by a layup from Abby Krzewinski to make the score 17-10. The Bison then put together a 12-0 run in the second quarter to grow their lead to 29-12 with a jumper from Asp at the 5:51 mark. NDSU went on to lead by double digits the rest of the way to secure the 75-62 victory.