FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Fresh off snapping a four-game losing streak Monday night, North Dakota State's women's basketball players got even more good news when they heard nationally-ranked South Dakota State got beat.
With their 63-59 win over Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne before 143 Gates Center fans, the Bison now sit in a three-way tie for first place in the Summit League after 21st-ranked SDSU lost at Oakland
67-51.
"This really gives our kids confidence and that's what we need right now," said Bison head coach Carolyn DeHoff, whose team is down to eight active players and has been without leading scorer Abby Plucker for the last two games.
The Bison overcame two second-half scoring droughts to hang on for their first win since the Dec. 8 76-57 home win over Oral Roberts. Junior guard Inger Hodgson tied her career high with five 3-pointers and scored 21 points while senior center Jerri Penley pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds.
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"This is a huge win," Hodgson said.
Hodgson's fourth 3-pointer gave the Bison a 35-21 lead early in the second half. Her fifth 3-pointer gave the Bison a 51-40 lead with 6:40 remaining. That helped snap a seven-minute scoring drought.
"I was just in a rhythm tonight and my teammates were finding me," Hodgson said.
"Our team needs to thrive on that," DeHoff said of Hodgson, expected to pick up the scoring load with the absence of Plucker.
"She can really set the tone on how we're going to play."
IPFW, which shot only 19 percent in the first half, came storming back with a 10-0 run. Sparked by Chelsey Jackson's 19 points and Jordan Zuppe's 18 points, IPFW cut the Bison lead to 51-50 with 2:40 remaining.
That's when Nicole Vigil sank a free throw to snap a 4 minute and 27 second scoring drought. Freshman Katie Birkel hit a driving shot from the free throw lane to make it 54-50. With 1:34 remaining, Jill Zaruba sank two free throws to give the Bison a 56-50 lead.
"That's just players making plays ... that was good to see," DeHoff said.
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In the final 48 seconds, the Bison made 7 of 12 free throws to preserve the much-needed win. Whitney Trecker made three of the final four free throws as the Bison ended up making 23 of 33 free throws for the game.
The Bison also pulled down a season-high 52 rebounds - with 34 coming in the first half when both teams shot poorly.
"There were two things we wanted to improve upon from the other night," DeHoff said, referring to Saturday's 61-47 loss at Oakland. "And rebounding was one of them."
Turnovers was the other. The Bison still committed 16 turnovers, but did not turn the ball over during the final eight minutes.
IPFW, suffering its fifth straight loss, falls to 1-3 in the Summit and 2-11 overall.
Meanwhile, the Bison improve to 3-1 in the Summit - good for a share of first place with Oakland and South Dakota State.
"Unbelievable," DeHoff said. "This was a big night."
NDSU (3-1 Summit, 5-7 overall): Birkel 3-11 3-4 9, Hodgson 7-12 2-4 21, Penley 1-7 5-7 7, Zaruba 0-6 7-8 7, Trecker 2-3 4-6 9, Vigil 2-9 2-4 6, Samuelson 1-3 0-0 2, Smith 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 17-53 (FG), 23-33 (FT).
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IPFW (1-3 Summit, 2-11 overall): Haluska 3-6 4-4 11, Reed 1-6 0-1 3, O'Connell 0-5 0-0 0, Zuppe 5-15 6-6 18, Jackson 6-18 5-7 19, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Moen 1-1 0-0 2, Ivanova 2-6 2-2 6, Boese 0-0 0-0 0, Gerhardt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-59 (FG), 17-20 (FT).
Halftime: NDSU 27, IPFW 16. 3-point goals: NDSU 6-17 (Hodgson 5-7, Trecker 1-2), IPFW 6-23 (Haluska 1-3, Reed 1-3, Zuppe 2-8, Jackson 2-5). Total fouls: NDSU 21, IPFW 23. Fouled out: Zaruba, Haluska. Rebounds: NDSU 52 (Penley 17, Zaruba 10), IPFW 32 (Haluska 6, O'Connell 6). Assists: NDSU 9 (Birkel 5), IPFW 6 (Jackson 3). Steals: NDSU 2 (Hodgson 1, Zaruba 1), IPFW 8 (Haluska 2, Reed 2, Zuppe 2). Turnovers: NDSU 16 (Birkel 3, Hodgson 3, Penley 3), IPFW 5 (O'Connell 2). A - 143.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Kevin Schnepf at (701) 241-5549. Schnepf's NDSU media blog can be found at www.areavoices.com
