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GRAND FORKS — The University of North Dakota women’s basketball team put together one of its best defensive performances of the season in a 69-53 victory over Western Illinois on Tuesday night from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Fighting Hawks (9-3, 2-0 Summit League) held the Leathernecks (5-8, 0-2 Summit League) without a point in the second quarter and kept the visitors scoreless for over 11 minutes in the contest. It marks the first time in program history that UND has shutout an opponent in a quarter and the 11 total points in the first half by Western Illinois are the fewest allowed by North Dakota in the opening 20 minutes in program history.
Kacie Borowicz once again paced the offensive effort for the hosts, pouring in 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting to record her third straight game with 20-plus points and her seventh 20-point game of the season. The senior also grabbed a season-high eight rebounds to tie for the team lead while also dishing out a game-high five assists in 32 minutes of action.
Freshman Nakiyah Hurst had one of her best games of her young career, scoring a career-high 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting while also grabbing seven rebounds for her second straight game with at least seven boards. Claire Orth was the final Fighting Hawk in double figures with 13 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals in 30 minutes of action.
Coming off a game yesterday, both sides got off to a bit of a slow start on the offensive end, but North Dakota started to piece it together as the opening stanza wore on. Borowicz and Hurst combined for a quick six points to help the Hawks end the first quarter with a 14-11 lead after 10 minutes.
The second quarter saw NoDak flex its defensive muscles, holding the Leathernecks to 0-for-14 from the field, 0-of-4 from the line and forced eight turnovers to pitch a shutout and finish the frame with a 21-0 scoring advantage to take a 35-11 lead at the halftime break.
UND extended the lead to a game-high 26 early the third quarter and never allowed the advantage to shrink below double figures to close out the victory and secure the sweep to being conference play.
North Dakota will enjoy a break for the holidays before a trip down I-29 to battle North Dakota State on Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. from Fargo.
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