UND loses 71-50 to North Texas in the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic

Hattiesburg, Miss. (UND Athletics) – The North Dakota women’s basketball team dropped a 71-50 decision to North Texas Saturday morning on the final day of the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic.

The Fighting Hawks scored the first three points of the game but managed just six points in the first quarter, while the Mean Green exploded for 25 points. UNT capitalized on NoDak mistakes with 10 points off six turnovers in the opening 10 minutes. North Texas built its lead up by going a perfect 4-for-4 from the three-point line in the first and held UND to 2-of-12 shooting.

After chipping away at the Mean Green lead in the third quarter, the Hawks opened the fourth with a 9-2 run to pull within six, 50-44. DJ Davis and Kiyah Hurst connected on back-to-back treys to cap off the NoDak run. However, North Texas closed out the win by holding UND to six points over the final five minutes.

Hurst totaled 12 points, three rebounds and two steals to pace the Fighting Hawks. In total, 10 Hawks scored in the contest.

The UND offense began to pick up their pace in the second quarter behind the play of Hurst and Kiera Pemberton. Hurst scored eight points in the quarter and took advantage of her trips to the charity strip, going 4-for-5 on free throws. Pemberton connected on both of her field goals and added 5 points. NoDak’s defense tightened up in the quarter, holding North Texas to a .300 shooting percentage and 0-for-8 from deep. However, the Mean Green crashed the glass with six offensive rebounds in the period.

Following a fast break bucket from Jayla Owen with 1:47 left in the third, the Fighting Hawks cut the deficit to 10 after a 7-0 run. It was the closest the Hawks had been to the Mean Green lead since 2:57 in the first quarter.

North Dakota returns to the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center Tuesday for a meeting with Minot State at 5:00 p.m.