Strong Three-Point Shooting Guides NDSU Over Women’s Basketball

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Massachusetts	17	17	20	16	70
North Dakota State	12	33	18	19	82

Massachusetts

North Dakota State

FARGO, N.D. – Genesis Rivera and Bre Hampton-Bey led University of Massachusetts women's basketball with 22 and 20 points, respectively, but the Minutewomen were unable to contain the strong three-point shooting of North Dakota State's Sarah Jacobson, falling 82-70 on Friday night at the Scheels Center.

The loss drops UMass to 2-1 on the season, while the Bison remain unbeaten at 3-0.

As a team, the Minutewomen shot 45.9 percent from the field (28-for-61), in comparison to North Dakota State's 46.8 percent (29-for-62) showing. Maggie Mulligan (12 points) led the Minutewomen with 10 rebounds and three assists, recording her 22nd career double-double, and Leah McDerment had a team-best three steals.

After opening with a 6-0 run and efficient rebounding the Maroon and White began to swing momentum in their favor. Nearly halfway through the period, Hampton-Bey came up with a beautiful strip of Jacobson, taking the ball away at midcourt and driving uncontested for an easy layup with 5:19 on the clock. UMass never trailed in that 10-minute span and closed it with a triple from Hampton-Bey.

The Bison dominated from three-point range in the second stanza, opening the quarter with 14 unanswered points including the last 12 from downtown. Jacobson was a perfect 5-for-5 on triples for NDSU, helping send the teams into halftime with the home squad boasting a 62.5 shooting percentage at that point beyond the arc.

Just before the break, Rivera sealed the half on a high note for the Minutewomen, collecting a rebound on a missed free throw and quickly bouncing a layup off the window at the buzzer to move the score to 45-34 in favor of NDSU.

In spite of being faced with a third quarter deficit of as many as 15 points, Massachusetts valiantly worked to chip away, getting as close as five with under eight minutes remaining in regulation. However, the Bison immediately followed with a 15-1 run to restore their double-digit separation and cement the night's result.

NDSU finished the night 16-of-32 (50 percent) from downtown, paced by Jacobson's 7-of-9 effort and a 5-for-12 line from Taylor Thunstedt. Although the Minutewomen dominated in the paint by a 44-18 margin, NDSU took advantage of 18 UMass turnovers and converted that figure into 20 points.

Jacobson herself was 8-of-14 shooting to finish the night with 25 points over 35 minutes.

Massachusetts concludes the weekend with a Sun., Nov. 19 game at the Univerasity of North Dakota. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern Time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

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Scoreboard