FARGO, N.D. – Avery Koenen posted her first double-double of the season to help guide the North Dakota State women’s basketball team past Eastern Illinois, 65-56, on Sunday afternoon at Scheels Center.
Koenen netted a team-high 15 points and pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds to go along with a team-high four steals and three assists. Abby Schulte also hit double digits in the scoring column with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Molly Lenz added in eight points of her own.
As a team, the Bison (1-1) shot 76.0 percent (19-25) from the free throw line. Schulte led the way shooting 8-of-10 from the line and Marisa Frost also netted four on four attempts. NDSU shot 39.6 percent (21-53) from the field and scored 18 points off of turnovers.
NDSU got off to a fast start running out to a 12-0 lead following a layup from Abbie Draper at the 6:07 mark of the first quarter. Eastern Illinois (0-2) then battled its way back to lock the contest, 28-28, with a triple from Tiny Lewis with 16 seconds to play in the half. NDSU led at the intermission, 29-28, after Koenen delivered a free throw.
The two teams traded possessions throughout the second half until Lewis drained another triple for the Panthers to make the score 56-54 with 3:59 to play. Koenen answered for the Bison with a triple of her own to push the lead to five, 59-54, with 2:24 on the clock. NDSU then put the contest out of reach with jumper from Koenen and three free throws from Schulte to increase the edge to 64-56 with 31 seconds remaining. The Bison went on to hold off the Panthers the rest of the way to secure the win, 65-56.
NDSU will be back in action hosting Jamestown on Friday. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m., at Scheels Center.
https://gobison.com/news/2024/11/10/womens-basketball-koenen-helps-lift-ndsu-womens-basketball-past-eastern-illinois-65-56.aspx