Late Run Pushes NDSU Women’s Basketball Past St. Thomas, 81-74

FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State women’s basketball team held off St. Thomas, 81-74, on Saturday afternoon inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.

After entering the fourth quarter tied, 54-54, NDSU (15-7, 7-2 Summit) assembled a momentum-shifting 12-0 run spanning just over three minutes in the fourth quarter to open up a 66-56 lead with a triple from Molly Lenz with 5:43 to play. The Tommies (11-11, 3-6 Summit) made one final push trimming the edge back down to four, 72-68, with 2:01 remaining. However, the Bison then closed the game out draining nine free throws over the final 1:27 to secure the 81-74 victory.

Avery Koenen led the way with her third 20-point game of the season with a team-best 22 points to go along with a game-high seven rebounds. Lenz notched a career-high 19 points on 4-of-4 shooting from three, while Marisa Frost also netted 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field.

As a team, NDSU shot 49.0 percent (25-51) from the field and 92.6 percent (25-27) from the free throw line. The Bison scored 30 points in the paint and the bench netted 21 points.

NDSU will continue its homestand hosting South Dakota on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m., inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.