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Mar. 1—FARGO — It felt like UND ran out of answers for North Dakota State in
Saturday afternoon's 95-70 loss
at Scheels Center.
The Fighting Hawks aren't alone. The Bison have lost just one Summit League game this season, and they've blown out their fare share of opponents.
Still, it never feels great to lose to a rival. Especially when said rival cuts down nets for a regular season title directly after the game.
With the regular season wrapped up, the Hawks now turn their attention to the postseason.
Here are five observations from the defeat.
Graduate guard Mackenzie Hughes was mostly relieved after hitting her career milestone against NDSU.
Hughes was fouled as she put a layup in past Bison star junior forward Avery Koenen with two seconds left in the second quarter. She scored her 2,000th career point on the ensuing free throw.
"I'm glad to get it over," Hughes said. "I knew going in that I was eight points away, so I'm kind of glad that pressure is gone. I don't have to worry about it now. ... Obviously, it's a great accomplishment. I wouldn't be able to do it without my teammates, my coaches."
Hughes scored 1,647 points over four seasons at Mayville State. She has scored 368 points as a Hawk.
Hughes shot 6-for-20 and scored a team-high 23 points against North Dakota State, bringing her career total up to 2,015.
UND officially locked up the No. 9 seed in the Summit League tournament with the loss to NDSU. The Hawks will take on eighth-seeded Omaha in the opening round of the tournament this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
"I'm super excited, it's a great opportunity," Hughes said. "It's obviously my first Summit tournnament, and I've heard great stories. I'm just excited to experience it. It's weird that it's coming to an end, but I'm excited."
UND is 1-1 against the Mavericks this season.
The Hawks notched a comfortable 75-54 home win over Omaha on Jan. 8. On Feb. 5, UND suffered a tight 58-54 loss to the Mavericks on the road.
"We get to keep playing," head coach Dennis Hutter said. "Any opportunity we get to play is an opportunity I'm excited about. ... I think the program is taking strides this year, and I'm not ready to be done, so I'm hoping we can make a little noise while we're down there."
Sophomore guard Mataeya Mathern isn't one of UND's top scoring threats, so she's gone a little under-the-radar this season. But Mathern, who made her second start this season against North Dakota State, has become a sneaky-important piece of the team.
Mathern shot 3-for-6 against the Bison and scored seven points while logging 27 minutes.
Mathern has playing 17 or more minutes in six consecutive games. From the season opener on Nov. 4 to Jan. 10, she averaged 7.2 minutes per game.
When asked what she's been doing to force her way into the lineup, Hutter had this to say: "Rebound, grit, toughness, effort, attitude. I mean, all that stuff, she just does all that. All the little things she does. And she's the ultimate team player. She cares about the team so much, so we put her into the (South Dakota) game on the road and kind of gave her an opportunity. I said, 'How much you play is up to you,' and she's taken it and ran with it, and she's gotten even more minutes to the point that she's starting now."
UND entered Saturday's game averaging 20 turnovers per game.
The Hawks finished with nine. The Bison finished with six.
UND had just three turnovers through the first two quarters and went to the locker room trailing by just one point.
Sure, it wasn't the only reason the Hawks were competing with the best team in the league. They also shot 6-for-16 from deep, a key piece of Hutter's ideal offense. But it certainly helped.
"We were taking care of the ball," Hutter said. "We were making shots, six threes, that helps. Only made three (3-pointers) in the second half. So we shot-made a little bit, took care of the ball. Probably didn't defend as well as we'd like — we fouled too much, we could have easily been up by four or six at that point. But defended well enough to be in the game. We talk about defending and rebounding, but I thought taking care of the ball and shot-making was (how) we were able to hang with them."
This may as well be a regularly scheduled takeaway at this point.
Sophomore Sydney Piekny wasn't quite as efficient against North Dakota State, but she still managed to hit a collection of 3-pointers.
Piekny was 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. She finished with 10 points, second only to Hughes' 23.
Piekny has now hit at least two 3-pointers in nine of her last 10 games. She's hit three or more in six of those.
Continue reading...
Saturday afternoon's 95-70 loss
at Scheels Center.
The Fighting Hawks aren't alone. The Bison have lost just one Summit League game this season, and they've blown out their fare share of opponents.
Still, it never feels great to lose to a rival. Especially when said rival cuts down nets for a regular season title directly after the game.
With the regular season wrapped up, the Hawks now turn their attention to the postseason.
Here are five observations from the defeat.
Graduate guard Mackenzie Hughes was mostly relieved after hitting her career milestone against NDSU.
Hughes was fouled as she put a layup in past Bison star junior forward Avery Koenen with two seconds left in the second quarter. She scored her 2,000th career point on the ensuing free throw.
"I'm glad to get it over," Hughes said. "I knew going in that I was eight points away, so I'm kind of glad that pressure is gone. I don't have to worry about it now. ... Obviously, it's a great accomplishment. I wouldn't be able to do it without my teammates, my coaches."
Hughes scored 1,647 points over four seasons at Mayville State. She has scored 368 points as a Hawk.
Hughes shot 6-for-20 and scored a team-high 23 points against North Dakota State, bringing her career total up to 2,015.
UND officially locked up the No. 9 seed in the Summit League tournament with the loss to NDSU. The Hawks will take on eighth-seeded Omaha in the opening round of the tournament this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
"I'm super excited, it's a great opportunity," Hughes said. "It's obviously my first Summit tournnament, and I've heard great stories. I'm just excited to experience it. It's weird that it's coming to an end, but I'm excited."
UND is 1-1 against the Mavericks this season.
The Hawks notched a comfortable 75-54 home win over Omaha on Jan. 8. On Feb. 5, UND suffered a tight 58-54 loss to the Mavericks on the road.
"We get to keep playing," head coach Dennis Hutter said. "Any opportunity we get to play is an opportunity I'm excited about. ... I think the program is taking strides this year, and I'm not ready to be done, so I'm hoping we can make a little noise while we're down there."
Sophomore guard Mataeya Mathern isn't one of UND's top scoring threats, so she's gone a little under-the-radar this season. But Mathern, who made her second start this season against North Dakota State, has become a sneaky-important piece of the team.
Mathern shot 3-for-6 against the Bison and scored seven points while logging 27 minutes.
Mathern has playing 17 or more minutes in six consecutive games. From the season opener on Nov. 4 to Jan. 10, she averaged 7.2 minutes per game.
When asked what she's been doing to force her way into the lineup, Hutter had this to say: "Rebound, grit, toughness, effort, attitude. I mean, all that stuff, she just does all that. All the little things she does. And she's the ultimate team player. She cares about the team so much, so we put her into the (South Dakota) game on the road and kind of gave her an opportunity. I said, 'How much you play is up to you,' and she's taken it and ran with it, and she's gotten even more minutes to the point that she's starting now."
UND entered Saturday's game averaging 20 turnovers per game.
The Hawks finished with nine. The Bison finished with six.
UND had just three turnovers through the first two quarters and went to the locker room trailing by just one point.
Sure, it wasn't the only reason the Hawks were competing with the best team in the league. They also shot 6-for-16 from deep, a key piece of Hutter's ideal offense. But it certainly helped.
"We were taking care of the ball," Hutter said. "We were making shots, six threes, that helps. Only made three (3-pointers) in the second half. So we shot-made a little bit, took care of the ball. Probably didn't defend as well as we'd like — we fouled too much, we could have easily been up by four or six at that point. But defended well enough to be in the game. We talk about defending and rebounding, but I thought taking care of the ball and shot-making was (how) we were able to hang with them."
This may as well be a regularly scheduled takeaway at this point.
Sophomore Sydney Piekny wasn't quite as efficient against North Dakota State, but she still managed to hit a collection of 3-pointers.
Piekny was 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. She finished with 10 points, second only to Hughes' 23.
Piekny has now hit at least two 3-pointers in nine of her last 10 games. She's hit three or more in six of those.
Continue reading...
