Bison Women Never Trail in Win Against Omaha

The North Dakota State women’s basketball team (9-10, 5-2 Summit League) never trailed in a 77-60 victory at Omaha (6-12, 1-5 Summit League) on Thursday, Jan. 22, inside Sapp Fieldhouse.

With the win, the Bison improve to 9-10 overall and 5-2 in Summit League play, while Omaha dips to 6-12 overall and 1-5 in league play.

Brooke LeMar<http://gobison.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5829> led three Bison in double figures with a game-high 26 points on 11-for-20 shooting, and Taylor Thunstedt<http://gobison.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5869> matched her career-high for the second consecutive game with 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Liz Keena<http://gobison.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5828> rounded out the Bison in double figures, scoring 10 points.

Marena Whittle<http://gobison.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5832> led NDSU in rebounding, snagging nine boards, while Thunstedt recorded a new career-high for rebounds with six.

The Bison went 31-for-74 from the field for 42 percent and 8-for-18 from three-point range for 44 percent in the game. NDSU made 7-of-11 attempts at the free-throw line for 64 percent.

NDSU edged Omaha on the boards, 41-40, and posted 14 assists with only 10 turnovers in the contest. The Bison tallied 24 points off 24 Maverick turnovers, and outscored UNO in the paint, 34-28.

NDSU used a 16-0 run from 18:12 to 9:23 in the first half to take a 20-4 lead after being tied 4-4.

Kahla Becken<http://gobison.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5824> converted a free-throw and LeMar drilled a trey to break the stalemate and put NDSU up 8-4 with 16:39 to go in the stanza. Holly Johnson<http://gobison.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5827> continued the surge with a layup at the 15:49 mark, and LeMar connected for another three with a little over 14 minutes remaining to increase the Bison advantage to 13-4. Thunstedt made a jumper and a trey, and LeMar connected on a layup to build the NDSU lead to 20-4.

Omaha never got closer than nine the remainder of the game.

The Mavs shot 42 percent from the floor in the contest, going 23-for-55, and 5-for-17 from beyond-the-arc for 29 percent. Omaha made nine of 14 free-throws for 64 percent.

Mikaela Shaw paced Omaha with a double-double, netting 19 points and snagging 10 rebounds.

North Dakota State returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 24, at Western Illinois. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. inside Western Hall in Macomb, Ill.

Courtesy NDSU