The University of North Dakota’s Women’s basketball team defeated Weber State 76-54 on Saturday night, December 10th, at the Betty. The performance was dominant with UND coming into an early lead and holding on to it. Senior Kacie Borowicz, Summit’s League’s player of the week, led the team in points and was an absolute game changer up and down the court.  

Going into this game, University of North Dakota was on a three-game win streak and carrying a perfect 3-0 home record. Weber State came into this game 4-6 and without a single win on the road.  

From the first, North Dakota dominated holding Weber State to only six points. It took till the second quarter for Weber to even get into the double digits. The final score after the first half of the game was 38-19. In the third quarter, Weber State tried to rally back, but they were unable to overcome, and from there, UND returned to controlling the game and walked out of the Betty with a decisive victory.  

“I was happy with how the team handled especially the first half. Overall, it was a good game,” Head Coach Bernhard said post game. “On the defensive side, I thought we were really locked in and that was awesome to see.”  

The Hawks defense opted for a more pressure defense this game, which has been a common theme for this year’s team. “We felt like this was a team we could try and pressure, so we wanted to get up and test ourselves a bit…it was effective,” Bernhard said. Bernhard also emphasized that the decision to go for a high-pressure defense adds variation to their games and makes them more unpredictable to different opponents.  

“I think each game we bring something different on defense,” Borowicz said after the game. “We executed well.” Knowing their opponents as a reason for the defense’s success, Borowicz said “if they are likely to turn the ball over…you know, you can get up and pressure.”  

The only negative from this game was a slight defensive lapse in the third quarter. “The shooter hit a couple of threes, which you definitely did not want to see, and it felt like they got a couple too many offensive rebounds,” Bernhard said.  

“Winning third quarters has not been one of our best strengths but something we always focus on and try to come out of the locker room with a lot of energy,” Borowicz said. 

Bernhard talked about the focus being placed on effort throughout the week. “We have got to consistently be a harder working team than anyone we step on the floor with,” Bernhard said. When they play that way, they are an incredibly difficult team to beat. Especially with talent like Borowicz and other players stepping up with her.  

Borowicz says the biggest difference between the current team and the team last spring is the individual work that all the players put in over the off-season. “Everybody has gotten a lot better and that just makes us better as a whole. This summer, we did a lot of individual work, and then this fall, you bring the team together and just makes everybody stronger.”  

The Women’s Basketball play their next two games at home. A Monday night showdown against Mayville State, and then, they open conference play on the 19th against St. Thomas. The team looks to extend their win streak and maintain their perfect home record going into this stretch of games.  

 Maeve Hushman is a Dakota Student Sports Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].