NDSU WBB Falls in Final Minutes to Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Panthers beat the Bison 57-55

FARGO, N.D. – (NDSU Athletics) A balanced attack from Milwaukee led to a 57-55 Panther win over the North Dakota State women’s basketball team Sunday afternoon at the Scheels Center.

An early 9-4 run with all the points coming from Michelle Gaislerova and Emily Dietz gave the Bison a 12-7 lead with 6:01 to play in the quarter. Milwaukee ended the frame on an 8-4 run, as NDSU led 16-15 after the first quarter.

Milwaukee opened the second quarter on a 10-4 run, taking a 25-20 lead with 5:08 left in the half. A 3-pointer by Rylee Nudell and a layup from Marina Fernandez tied the game, but the Panthers answered by hitting the last two buckets of the half, taking a 29-25 lead at the half.

The Panthers extended their lead to seven, the largest of the game, with an early and-one from Bre Cera. NDSU answered with eight-straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Nudell and Tyrah Spencer, as the Bison led 33-32 with 5:33 left in the third quarter. Neither team scored in the final 3:50 of the third quarter, as Danneka Voegeli’s layup with 3:51 left cut the Panther lead to 36-35 going into the fourth quarter.

A jumper by Gaislerova gave NDSU a 37-36 lead with 8:44 to play, but the Panthers went on an 8-2 run after the basket to take the lead for good. The Bison had the lead to two twice in the final 1:45, but couldn’t get any closer as the Panthers won 57-55.

The Bison were 22-of-59 (37.3%) from the floor and 7-of-20 (35%) from downtown. Milwaukee was 20-of-54 (37%) from the field and 7-of-22 (31.8%) from beyond the arc. NDSU was perfect on all four trips to the free throw line, while Milwaukee was 10-of-11 (90.9%) at the charity stripe. The Panthers had a 24-14 advantage in the paint and 32-2 advantage in bench scoring.

Nudell finished with a game-high 16 points with a career-best four 3-pointers. She went over 500 career points with her fifth double-digit scoring performance of the season. Gaislerova scored 13 points, as she reached double-digits for the ninth time this season and 10th-straight game dating back to last season, while Dietz added 10 points. Cera and Lizzie Odegard led the Panthers with nine points apiece. Fernandez led the Bison with a career-high 10 rebounds, while Gaislerova and Spencer each had five boards. Dietz had a career-high three assists, while Spencer tied a career-high with three blocked shots. Fernandez led the Bison with a career-high four steals, while Nudell tied her career high with two steals.

NDSU will have the week off for finals before returning to action next Sunday, Dec. 16, at Valparaiso.