Amy Mahlum continued to feast on Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition Wednesday night.
The University of North Dakota point guard scored 17 points to lead the No. 4-ranked Sioux to a 79-65 nonconference women's basketball victory over Minnesota State Moorhead.
The win, before 481 fans at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse, was North Dakota's 11th in a row to open the season and 18th straight against the Dragons since 1987.
"She's a veteran and she's seen it all," MSUM coach Karla Nelson said of Mahlum, who has averaged 13 points, 5 assists and almost two steals a game in three consecutive wins against NSIC foes. "It seemed like every time we made a run or every time we were close, she made a shot."
The 5-foot-2 senior from Spring Valley, Minn., entering the game averaging 6.8 points, poured in 14 to help the Sioux to a 42-39 halftime lead.
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MSUM paid extra attention to North Dakota post players Ashley Langen and Kierah Kimbrough to open the door for Mahlum to get wide open looks from the perimeter. She nailed 3 of 6 3-pointers in the first half.
"They were sometimes switching and sometimes not," Mahlum said of the Dragons' defense. "I think there was some miscommunication out there. But they were definitely dropping into the post."
MSUM, however, kept the game close by taking advantage of Sioux miscues. The Dragons scored 18 points off 12 UND turnovers to head into halftime with a three-point deficit.
MSUM, which shot 38 percent for the game, failed to capitalize on the same mistakes in the second half.
UND committed 13 turnovers in the second half, but compensated by outrebounding the Dragons 24-10.
The Sioux outscored MSUM 14-5 in the final seven minutes to seal the win. Mahlum hit her fourth 3-pointer of the night during the run to put UND ahead 73-63 with 3:35 remaining.
Carissa Jahner, a Fargo North graduate, finished with 14 points for the Sioux.
Allison Swenson led the Dragons with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
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"If we play this way against any team in the country, we have a chance to win every game," Nelson said. "We just gave them too many second chance opportunities. The final score was not the way the game was.
"It was very hard fought, but UND just had a little too much for us."
NORTH DAKOTA (11-0): Mahlum 6-13 1-2 17, Jahner 5-7 2-2 14, Maffin 3-6 3-3 9, Boese 5-10 2-3 13, Langen 6-12 0-0 12, Ledger 3-4 0-0 6, Beck 0-1 0-0 0, Bagaason 1-1 0-0 2, Kimbrough 3-5 0-2 6. Totals 32-59 8-12 79.
MSUM (4-4): Walden 2-10 0-0 4, Trautwein 2-9 2-4 6, Anderson 4-8 0-0 8, Swenson 6-13 2-2 14, Sexton 4-9 0-0 10, Notsch 0-0 0-0 0, Fremstad 0-2 2-2 2, Schanilec 5-8 2-2 12, Falzon 0-0 0-0 0, Houselog 2-3 0-0 4, Rettke 0-3 5-6 5. Totals 25-65 13-16 65.
Halftime: UND 42, MSUM 39. 3-point goals: UND 7-17 (Mahlum 4-10, Jahner 2-4, Boese 1-3), MSUM 2-10 (Walden 0-4, Anderson 0-2, Sexton 2-2, Schanilec 0-2). Total fouls: UND 15, MSUM 16. Rebounds: UND 44 (Langen 12), MSUM 24 (Swenson 10). Assists: UND 20 (Boese 6), MSUM 10 (Walden 4). Steals: UND 8 (Jahner 3), MSUM 10 (Notsch 3). Turnovers: UND 25 (Mahlum 6), MSUM 16 (Trautwein, Swenson 4). A-481.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Heath Hotzler at (701) 241-5562
