Jan. 26, 2012

North Dakota traveled to NJIT and picked up a 65-55 win, while defending GWC champion Chicago State protected the home court for a 69-42 win over Utah Valley.

North Dakota 65, NJIT 55

NEWARK, N.J. -- Led by double-figure efforts by Nicole Smart, Charnise Mothershed and Allyssa Wall, the University of North Dakota defeated NJIT, 65-55, at the Fleisher Athletic Center.

Rayven Johnson put in the first basket of the game for NJIT (8-12, 2-1 GWC) at 18:58, but a mere 11 seconds later, UND erased the deficit and then quickly moved into a 5-2 lead as Smart drained her first three of the evening. Those five points started an eventual 16-5 run for North Dakota, leading it to a 16-7 advantage just inside the 12-minute mark.

Smart posted all 10 of her first half points during that run as she netted two three-pointers and a pair of pull-up jumpers.

With the help of a pair of three-pointers from Sarah Olson on the opposite end, NJIT used a quick 10-4 clip to pull within three points at 20-17 with 9:30 remaining.

However, North Dakota came up with a big answer scoring 11 unanswered points to tak a 31-17 lead at the 5:31 mark.

The Highlanders out-scored North Dakota 7-2 in the final five minutes of play, but UND (10-10, 1-1 GWC) held onto the lead. The Green and White went into the locker room leading NJIT 33-24.

UND opened the second half with a 7-1 run to take its largest lead of the game, a 15-point advantage at 40-25, before the Highlanders answered with a 10-2 run to make it 47-40 with 8:01 remaining.

UND managed to keep the Highlanders at good distance until back-to-back baskets from Melanie Griffin cut UND's lead down to four (55-51). It was the closest NJIT had been to UND since 9:30 in the first half.

Sisters Charnay Mothershed and Charnise Mothershed teamed up to help re-extend the margin, but Highlanders did not go down without a fight. With 57 seconds left in the game, Nicole Maticka drained her second three-pointer of the night to bring NJIT back within five (60-55). However, with time running down, the Highlanders were unable to make the easy shots and were force to send UND to the line.

Smart led all players with 16 points, while Charnise Mothershed finished with 12 points, and Wall posted 10 points and nine rebounds for UND.

North Dakota finished 23-for-54 (42.6 percent) from the field, 6-for-12 (50 percent) at three-point range, and 13-for-23 (56.5 percent) at the free throw line. The Green and White converted NJIT's 21 turnovers into 15 points and scored 21 points on second chances.

Maticka was the only Highlander in double figures, scoring 13 points and also held the team lead in rebounding with eight.

UND's strong defense held its opponent to under 50 percent shooting from the field for the 20th straight game. The Highlanders finished 18-for-44 (40.9 percent) from the field, 6-for-15 (40 percent) behind the arc, and 13-for-19 (68.4 percent) at the charity stripe.

Chicago State 69, Utah Valley 42

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Janay Dockery tallied game highs of 26 points and five steals to lead Chicago State to a 69-42 win over visiting Utah Valley in Great West Conference women's basketball action at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center.

The Cougars (4-16, 2-1 GWC) broke an early 12-12 tie in the opening eight minutes with a 14-4 scoring run over a seven-minute span to claim a 26-12 advantage with 4:53 left in the first half behind eight points from Dockery.

After UVU (9-10, 1-1 GWC) sliced its deficit to 26-21 with 3:30 remaining in the stanza, CSU closed the half out with 10 unanswered points to head into intermission with a 36-21 lead.

The second half started with the Cougars on a 13-3 scoring drive to take their biggest leading margin of the game at the time with a 49-24 lead at the 14:48 mark after a layup from freshman Paris Williams, who scored eight points during the run. UVU would get no closer than 20 points the rest of the way.

Williams recorded her second consecutive double-double by posting 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Natalie Marlowe added 10 points and a game-leading nine assists.

Leading Utah Valley for the game was Sammie Jensen, who produced a double-double of 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting and a game-high 12 rebounds. Erika Newbold added six points and six rebounds for the Wolverines, who were limited to just 29 percent shooting for the game.