UND Women Fall In Season Opener

The Fighting Hawks dropped their first game of the 2020-21 schedule on Sunday afternoon at The Betty

GRAND FORKS, ND – (UND Athletics) The North Dakota women’s basketball team rallied behind its Interim Head Coach Mallory Bernhard in the Fighting Hawks 2020-21 debut, closing a 19-point second half deficit to three possessions as UND (0-1) fell to BIG EAST foe Marquette (1-0) at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, 90-82. The grit was more impressive as UND only dressed eight players in the contest.

“We some challenges right from the get-go and we definitely had some things we had to be adaptable with,” said Bernhard in the postgame press-conference describing the unique atmosphere with no fans and a limited roster. “But I’m going to be honest, I’m really proud of the way our team responded to these things. They’ve been resilient through all the things we’ve gone through so far.”

The Fighting Hawks and Golden Eagles took flight from the field as both teams shot over 45-percent in the season-opener with UND hitting 12-of-24 shots behind the three-point arc. Five Fighting Hawks reached double figures, paced by Julia Fleecs’ game-high 23 points. Jaclyn Jarnot tallied her fourth career double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds while Mikayla Reinke and Maggie Manson both recorded career-highs with 13 and 17 points, respectively.

North Dakota’s spirit shined bright on the opening tipoff as junior transfer Makayla Wallace recorded a steal and fast break layup after Marquette won the toss-up and led to a 7-2 run to open the game for the Fighting Hawks.

While Marquette closed the opening quarter with a 24-15 lead and built a 15 point edge in the final four minutes of the first half, a 10-3 run by UND in that span lifted the Fighting Hawks to within eight points through 20 minutes, 48-40. Manson’s three-pointers at the 2:37 and 2:03 marks forced MU to use a timeout to parry the UND offensive comeback.

Fleecs scored 16 points in the opening half, including 11 in the first quarter. Marquette showed impressive versatility as eight of its players scored in the first half, led by Selena Lott’s 12.

While the Golden Eagles controlled the tempo at the start of the second half to gain its 19-point advantage, UND continued to match their scoring efforts in the remaining 6:36 of the third quarter. The Fighting Hawks made their final push in the fourth, outscoring Marquette 28-19 and capping it off with a 9-0 run in the final minutes.

The University of North Dakota will return to action next weekend in Big Sky country to take on Montana State and Montana on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7, respectively.

GAME NOTES:
North Dakota’s 12-for-24 performance behind the three-point line was its best performance since going 11-for-20 (.550) at South Carolina State on Nov. 29, 2019 … UND was perfect at the free throw line (14-for-14) … The Fighting Hawks dressed eight players in the game … Mikayla Reinke had not scored in double figures since her freshman year at Idaho (Dec. 28, 2017) … Maggie Manson’s 17-point afternoon was her fourth career game in double figures … Along with a double-double, Jaclyn Jarnot also blocked a career-high three shots … Marquette was the first-ever BIG EAST opponent to play at The Betty Engelstad Sioux Center; UND is 0-2 against The BIG EAST … Center Aly VanLoo nailed the first three-pointer of her career … Marquette’s Selena Lott led the team with 20 points.

Courtesy: UND Athletics