North Dakota State Women’s Basketball Falls In Nail-Biter
A Late Rally By The Bison Wasn't Enough As Wisconsin Won By A Point
FARGO, N.D. – A shot in the final seconds couldn’t fall for the North Dakota State women’s basketball team Sunday afternoon, as the Wisconsin Badgers beat the Bison 64-63 at the Scheels Center.
The loss drops the Bison to 1-9 on the year, while Wisconsin improved to 6-3. NDSU will have the week off before facing Mayville State (9-1) on Dec. 15. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Scheels Center.
Michelle Gaislerova led all scorers with a season-high 21 points, as she surpassed 800 points for her career. It was the eighth 20-plus point game of Gaislerova’s career, as she moved into fifth in school history with her 142nd career 3-pointer. Sofija Zivaljevic added 13 points, while Emily Dietz dropped in eight. Kendra van Leeuwen led the Badgers with 13 points. Dietz finished with a game-high 10 rebounds, while Rylee Nudell and Gaislerova had six and five respectively. Zivaljevic had four assists, while Dietz tied a career-high with three.
NDSU was 26-of-65 (40%) from the floor and 5-of-19 (26.3%) from 3-point range. The Badgers were 24-of-60 (40%) from the field and 7-of-25 (28%) from downtown. Wisconsin was 9-of-13 (69.2%) at the free throw line, while the Bison were perfect on all six trips to the charity stripe. NDSU held advantages in points off turnovers (13-8), points in the paint (34-32) and bench points (26-17). The Bison had a 43-36 advantage on the glass.
The Bison raced out to a 12-5 lead in the first 5:55, but the Badgers closed the first quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 15-14 lead. NDSU led 25-23 with 4:02 left in the first half, but the Badgers closed the half on an 8-2 run to take a 31-27 lead at the break. Wisconsin pushed the lead to eight in the first three minutes of the second half. Down by eight with 5:57 to play in the third quarter, Zivaljevic and Gaislerova combined to go for a 14-3 run, as a Gaislerova trey gave NDSU a 45-42 lead with 2:32 left in the quarter. The Badgers answered with a 19-4 run over a 5:55 span, taking a 61-49 lead with 6:37 to play. NDSU wouldn’t go away, closing the game on a 14-3 run to get within one at 64-63. The Bison had a shot in the final possession that didn’t fall.
