POCATELLO, Idaho -- The UND women’s basketball team played another close game Thursday night.
It once again came out on the right side.
Mia Loyd hit a jumper with 1:05 remaining to break a 57-57 tie and give North Dakota the lead for good in a 60-57 victory over Idaho State in Big Sky Conference play.
It marked the fifth win in a row for the Fighting Hawks, who moved to 10-11 overall and 6-4 overall. It has been a big turnaround after a 1-4 start in league play.
On Thursday, Leah Szabla led UND with 12 points, while Kelsey Knox added 10 and Sam Roscoe, Jill Morton and Makailah each chipped in nine points.
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The Fighting Hawks trailed the Bengals by three at halftime, but charged ahead in the third quarter, outscoring Idaho State 20-12.
Brook Blair led Idaho State with 14 points.
The game came down to the wire. With just over a minute left, Loyd hit a shot to give UND a 59-57 lead. UND regained possession of the ball and hit a free throw to make it a three-point game.
Idaho State had the ball with 10 seconds left and got a clean look at a 3-pointer, but the shot was off.
With the win, UND sweeps the series against Idaho State. It beat the Bengals 45-42 in an ugly game in the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Jan. 9, kicking off the current 6-1 run in Big Sky play.
During that time, UND also has a two-point win over Montana on a buzzer-beater, a seven-point win over Northern Arizona and a three-point win over Northern Colorado.
UND takes on Weber State at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Fighting Hawks lost to Weber State by six at home in January.
