FARGO-Searching for its first conference win of the season, the North Dakota State women's basketball team held a seven-point lead at halftime Thursday night against Western Illinois.
But the Leathernecks responded. Having tied the game through three quarters, Western Illinois scored 36 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 94-82 win against the Bison in Summit League play at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
"We were so close, and that fourth quarter was absolutely, ridiculously embarrassing," NDSU guard Taylor Thunstedt said.
The teams traded buckets in the first quarter, with no team leading by more than four points.
With the teams tied 20-20 in the second quarter, the Bison went on an 8-0 run, capped by an Emily Spier jumper in the paint.
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At the half, the Bison led 38-31.
"I thought we were the aggressors and very much in control the first half, and I thought we came out the beginning of the third quarter the same," NDSU head coach Maren Walseth said.
The fourth quarter was a struggle for the Bison. The Leathernecks came out with a full-court press. They also went on a 12-0 run that the Bison (5-15, 0-7) could never recover from.
"That's not us, and we are a lot better team than what we showed in the second half," Thunstedt said. "At the half, coach told us to come out strong and keep doing what we were doing. I thought we had a pretty good first half and came out strong in the second. But the end of the third quarter and fourth, I don't know what happened."
Thunstedt scored 23 points and was 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. Emily Clemens had a game-high 27 points for the Leathernecks (11-8, 4-2).
"Every day we are trying to build to get a little bit better," Walseth said. "The conversation we will have is what can we learn from this game that we can use and put into play for our next game on Saturday."
WI 16 31 58 94
NDSU 18 38 58 82
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WIU: Skotowski 1-4 2-2 5, Reichelt 6-13 0-0 14, Boyle 2-4 0-0 5, Maher 5-11 3-4 16, Clemens 8-12 9-11 27, Patrick 0-2 0-0 0, Farrow 5-10 0-0 13, McClintock 1-2 0-0 2, Higginbotham 5-11 1-1 12. Totals 33-69 15-18 94.
NDSU: Spier 7-11 3-6 17, Jones 2-5 3-4 7, Yaggie 3-6 5-7 12, Thunstedt 7-18 7-8 23, Whittle 6-13 2-2 16, Wiebe 1-1 0-0 2, Childers 1-7 3-3 5. Totals 27-61 23-30 82.
3-point goals: WIU 13-34 (Farrow 3-8, Maher 3-7, Reichelt 2-5, Clemens 2-5, Skotowski 1-4, Higginbotham 1-3, Boyle 1-2), NDSU 5-13 (Thunstedt 2-7, Whittle 2-2, Yaggie 1-3). Total fouls: WI 23, NDSU 16. Fouled out: Reichelt, Higginbotham. Rebounds: WI 30 (Reichelt 7), NDSU 46 (Whittle 14). Assists: WI 20 (Maher, Clemens 7), NDSU 15 (Yaggie 5). Steals: WI 10 (Clemens 4), NDSU 4 (Childers 2). Turnovers: WI 5, NDSU 16. A: 523.
