SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The top-seeded North Dakota State women's basketball team edged fifth-seeded St. Thomas, 63-51, in the semifinal round of the Summit League Tournament at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Bison (28-3, 15-1 Summit) advance to the championship round for the second time in program history and first since 2024. NDSU earned its 28th win of the season, which is the most since the 1999-00 season. The Bison will face the winner of second-seeded South Dakota State and third-seeded South Dakota on Sunday at 3:00 p.m., on CBS Sports Network.

Avery Koenen led the way with a career-high 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. The Montevideo, Minn., native added a game-high eight rebounds and tied a career-best four steals. Her 31 points were the most-ever by a Bison player in the Summit League Tournament.

Molly Lenz added nine points with two rebounds and Marisa Frost tallied eight points with three rebounds, while Abby Krzewinski grabbed seven rebounds with six points.

As a team, the Bison shot 46.0 percent (23-50) from the field and 87.5 percent (14-16) from the free throw line. NDSU also scored 36 points in the paint and 25 points off of turnovers.

After neither team led by more than eight points through the first three quarters, NDSU started the fourth frame with a momentum-shifting 8-0 run capped off by a jumper from Lenz to push the lead to 50-37 with 8:45 to play. The Bison then opened up their largest lead of the contest with back-to-back layups from Karrington Asp to make the score 59-45 at the 4:09 mark. NDSU went on to hold off St. Thomas the rest of the way for the 63-51 victory.