When it appeared UND had sealed a victory in the final minutes, Sioux coach Gene Roebuck substituted for Kayla Bagaason to allow the crowd an opportunity to applaud the senior who earlier in the game surpassed the 1,000 point mark for her career.
The gesture was meant to honor Bagaason's career as a whole, although the senior guard might have deserved an ovation for her performance on Saturday alone.
Bagaason scored a game-high 22 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the 3-point line as UND beat Utah Valley 68-57 in Great West Conference play at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
"When you get a cushion, you want to make sure the fans acknowledge something special like that," Roebuck said. "Anytime you get to 1,000 points, you're doing some things right."
Bagaason, a fifth-year senior, hit two free throws midway through the second half to become UND's 28th member of the 1,000-point club.
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"(Bagaason) is the heart and soul of this team," UND junior Mallory Youngblut said. "When you walk into a gym and see her shoot, you just know she's a killer shooter. Everything she does is smooth."
Against Utah Valley, the Sioux jumped out to a comfortable halftime lead thanks to the on-target shooting of Bagaason and guard Jossy Bergan.
As a team, the Sioux were 7-for-12 from beyond the arc in the first half. Bagaason was 4-for-5, while Bergan was 2-for-3.
The Sioux were on the mark early. Bergan and Bagaason hit treys on back-to-back possessions to give the Sioux a 16-6 lead with 14:22 left in the opening half.
"I think we came out with the aggression we wanted," Bagaason said. "It helps to be on home court. We love the Betty, and we love shooting here."
Bagaason's 10-foot jumper gave the Sioux a 36-22 halftime.
UND would build its lead to as much as 19 points -- on two Youngblut free throws for a 45-26 edge with 16:28 remaining.
"We were coming off a couple of wins, and I think we just kept things going," said Youngblut, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. "And Baggy was hitting shots left and right."
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UND, which improved to 11-13 overall and 6-1 in the Great West, needed the big cushion because it struggled in the game's final 15 minutes.
The Wolverines cut the lead to 10 with just more than three minutes remaining. Utah Valley got back in the game behind the 3-point shooting of Kayla Burningham, who was 6-for-7 from the 3-point line for 18 points. Burningham entered the game averaging just 5.2 points per game.
The Sioux, however, snapped out of the funk. UND broke a five-and-a-half minute stretch without a basket with a Corey Lof hoop in the post to push the lead back to 12 with 2:18 left.
"(Bagaason) shot the ball extremely well, but let's be real; this was not one of our better games," Roebuck said. "It wasn't a very enthusiastic game on our part and at times we were a bit too flatfooted. I think tonight we were out-worked by Utah Valley and that's how they hung in there.
"We made some plays at the end. We won the game at home, but we are going to have to play a lot better on Tuesday."
The Sioux host New Jersey Institute of Technology on Tuesday at noon.
