UND finally broke their five-game losing streak. The Fighting Hawks had to overcome their weak shooting performance in the second quarter to beat Omaha, 71-67. 

UND’s efforts to take care of the ball better and not commit several turnovers showed against the Mavericks.

UND only turned the ball over in the final five minutes of the opening frame. The Hawks played well together and dished out six assists on all six of their field goals in the first quarter. The University of Omaha held a one-point advantage over UND after one, 17-16.

The Hawks started the second quarter strong making six of their first ten shots but then went cold only making 1-of-18 after that; that point came from a Julia Fleecs layup. The Mavericks held a 5-point lead at the halftime break, 30-25.

UND was led in scoring by Megan Zander and Fleecs, they each tallied 22 points, respectively. Fleecs lead the Hawks at the halftime with 14 points. Zander scored 9 of her 22 points in the third quarter. She also went 10-for-14 from the free throw line, which is her new career high. This was Zander’s second 20-point game. Melissa Leet also contributed eight points and seven rebounds for UND. The Hawks shot 75% at the charity strip.  UND had 14 assists on 21 field goals.  

In the third quarter Fleecs scored six points for the hawks, to help them dig their way back within, three before starting the final frame, 42 – 45.

Both teams would go back and forth tying the game with and trading leads, there were nine lead changes and four scoring ties during the fourth quarter, but the Hawks pulled through and dug deep and played with grit to earn the win. Leet put the Hawks on top, 60-59, hitting a jumper with 2:28 left in the game. UND’s lone senior, Alaina Jarnot, kept her composure and went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line to expand their lead to three.

“You got to have some grit this time of year,” said Head Coach Travis Brewster in the postgame, “I told the team flat out: it’s not anything pretty, grit is all about what you want to do and how you want to go about it. You have to do it together and that’s what we have to keep doing.”

This was UND’s 14- straight win over Omaha.  UND is 15-13 overall, and 6-9 in the Summit. Omaha fell to 7-21 overall and 2-13 in the Summit.