North Dakota Women’s Basketball started off its regular season Sunday afternoon against Iowa State, but it couldn’t catch up to the Cyclones, falling 84-55 and again to Northern Iowa 61-56 on Tuesday.

UND led 13-12 midway through the first half, but ISU answered with a 13-2 run and later outscored UND 20-3, spanning from the end of the first half and into the opening minutes of third quarter.

Iowa State held the momentum the majority of the game, but the Green and White did not give up the fight, battling to get within three points on several occasions.

However, the Cyclones scored 12 of the final 15 points to pull away and clench their 71st consecutive non-conference home win.

Although it was a tough loss to take at the start of the season, much can be learned from this game for UND.

“It was a good learning experience for us,” UND coach Travis Brewster said. “If you look at where we’re at versus this time last year, it’s a drastic difference. We need to figure out how to get more scoring from our posts and take advantage of our height.”

UND stayed on the road after playing in Ames, Iowa, and headed to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to take on Northern Iowa.

Northern Iowa 

Tuesday evening, host Northern Iowa hung on for a 61-56 non-conference win over North Dakota.

Despite leading by nine at halftime, UND’s lead slipped away when it went on a six-minute scoring drought early in the second half that helped Northern Iowa rally and pull ahead.

“It was a game of runs and I thought we played hard,” Brewster said. “It’s tough on the road and it was a good environment and they hit some key shots.”

UND held UNI without a point until the 15:12 mark as the Panthers missed nine of their first 10 shots, starting the game on the wrong foot. These misfires gave UND an opportunity to get points early.

UNI closed to within four on a couple different occasions in the opening frame, but UND scored the final five points of the half to take a 33-24 lead at the intermission. The Green and White seemed to be controlling the game and were not expecting the momentum swing coming into the second half.

After UND broke its scoring drought, the lead would change hands six times in the second half. A drive by UND freshman guard, Lead Szabla made it 56-54 in the final minute. But a final lead came on the next trip when UNI’s Jen Keitel swooshed a three to give the Panthers a one-point lead.

UNI closed it out with two free throws to seal the deal in the final seconds, 61-56.

North Dakota heads home hoping to pick up a win after two tough road losses. The Green and White will face rival South Dakota on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Allison Moore is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].