BROOKINGS, S.D. -- The North Dakota State women's basketball team fell short at South Dakota State, 89-74, on Saturday afternoon in the final game at Frost Arena in front of 3,768 fans.
The Bison secured the second seed in the Summit League Tournament for the second straight season and finished regular season play with a 19-10 (13-3 Summit) overall record. The Summit League Tournament is scheduled for March 8-12 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Heaven Hamling paced the Bison with 23 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three. It marked her fifth 20-point game of the season. Elle Evans also added in 19 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three, while Abbie Draper grabbed a team-high seven rebounds with four points.
As a team, the Bison shot 44.8 percent (26-58) from the field and 50.0 percent (12-24) from three. NDSU also connected on 10-of-13 free throws.
After neither team led by more than nine points in the first half, South Dakota State (19-10, 13-3 Summit) finished the third quarter on a momentum-shifting 7-0 run capped off by a triple from Ellie Colbeck to make the score 67-58. The Jackrabbits then slowly pulled away in the fourth quarter stretching their edge into double digits, 83-72, following a jumper from Paige Meyer with 2:19 to play. NDSU wasn't able to get anything going the rest of the way and dropped the contest, 89-74.