GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics)– Facing an old Big Sky rival, the University of North Dakota women’s basketball team (1-3) pushed past the Montana Bobcats (1-4) on Saturday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. This win marks head coach Mallory Bernhard‘s first as the official head coach of the Fighting Hawks.
On top of Bernhard’s first win, Kacie Borowicz had a record-breaking showing on her first outing of the regular season. The junior from Roseau, Minnesota shot 100% (20-20) from the line which beats the prior single game record for most free throws made in a game. The record was held by Whitney Meier who scored 17 against Barry (1990). Borowicz ended the game as the leader in points with 33.
UND had a slow start to the first quarter giving the Bobcats 14-0 start before responding with a jumper by Claire Orth. The Fighting Hawks went on a 7-0 run late in the first to get them within 7. Montana State responded with a few points of their own to extend the lead, but offensive plays from Borowicz and a buzzer beater three from Melissa Leet kept them in the game.
Heading into the second quarter with the Bobcats leading 22-20, Maggie Manson came up big with an early three to put the Hawks in the lead. UND’s defense led by DJ Davis held the Bobcats to only 13 points in the second quarter. This helped them maintain the advantage (45-35) as they headed into halftime.
Davis began the scoring for the Fighting Hawks in the second half with an early three to keep the momentum going. The Hawks faced some early turnovers in the third quarter to bring the Bobcats within three. Davis helped keep her team dialed in defensively. She was tasked with keeping Montana State’s leading scorer Darian White to minimal points.
“Coach challenged me before this game. She said all I had to do was keep her under 16 points, and I did that,” said Davis.
She played tough defense and forced Montana State to use another player to bring the ball down the court. Davis kept White to 11 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. White’s average heading into the game was 12.5 points per game.
“This was a great win for our team. Montana State is a good team and picked to do well in the Big Sky. I am very proud of this team for fighting back after being down 14 in the first quarter. They stuck with the game plan and responded the way we want them to,” shared Bernhard. “As effective as Kacie was for us offensively, DJ was there for us defensively along with several other players that stepped up in a major way. We still have plenty of things we need to work on, but it is good to see growth over the last couple of weeks and as we get back to full strength. I look forward to seeing this team continue to progress.”
North Dakota will travel to Vermont to play Bucknell in the Vermont Tourney on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m.
Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | 11/20/2021 5:52:00 PM | Candy Jimenez-Caballero, FightingHawks.com
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