North Dakota State Outlasts Western Illinois 52-46

FARGO, N.D.--Whitney Trecker netted a career-high 13 points and North Dakota State University hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final two minutes to outlast Western Illinois University 52-46 in a Summit League women's basketball game played before 1,576 fans in the Bison Sports Arena. North Dakota State (6-7, 4-1 Summit) is scheduled to host IUPUI (7-7, 2-1 Summit) at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12. The Jaguars play at No. 23-ranked South Dakota State at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Bison overcame five turnovers in the final 1:55 of the contest as Inger Hodgson hit 3 of 4 free throws and Jill Zaruba nailed a pair from the foul line to keep the Westerwinds at a distance. NDSU had 19 miscues overall. Western Illinois (4-11, 2-2 Summit) cut the deficit to 48-45 with 1:31 remaining on a pair of Jordon O'Brien free throws. However, Zaruba made two free throws with 23 seconds left and Hodgson hit twice with 6 seconds remaining to seal the win. Hodgson, a 5-8 junior from Barneveld, Wis., led NDSU with a game-high 17 points and scored 12 in the second half. She hit 7 of 8 from the free throw line overall. North Dakota State led by as many as 17 points early in the second half were hurt by WIU's improved shooting, along with Nicole Vigil's knee injury at the 13:25 mark. The Bison roster was already at eight active players. The Westerwinds trailed 26-13 at halftime after hitting only 19.4 percent from the field. Western Illinois heated up quite a bit with a 42.3 percent showing in the second half. Katy Clark led Western Illinois with 13 points and hit a key three-pointer down the stretch. Katie Horsman scored all nine of her points in the second half. Clark also had a career-high five steals. Trecker, a 5-foot-9 sophomore from New Prague, Minn., provided a spark for the Bison which claimed its third straight Katherine Burgum Classic win. She hit a career best 5 of 9 from the field including a pair of three-pointers and pulled down six rebounds. Trecker and WIU's Clark were Classic Player of the Game selections. North Dakota State hit 41.5 percent from the field including 31.3 percent from three-point. The Bison made 65 percent from the foul line compared to 58.3 percent for Western Illinois. The Westerwinds held a 36-31 rebounding advantage led by Lyndi Thorman's seven boards. Jerri Penley led the Bison with nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Penley is tied for No. 3 all-time in blocked shots (158) at North Dakota State with Leah Klabo (2002-05).