FARGO, N.D. – (NDSU Athletics) Heaven Hamling dropped a game-high 18 points as the North Dakota State women’s basketball team came up short against South Dakota State, 65-58, on Thursday night at Scheels Center in front of 1,683 fans.

After trailing by one point at the half, 27-26, NDSU (11-9, 5-2 Summit) put together a 7-3 run early in the third frame to lock the contest, 36-36, following a free throw from Abbie Draper at the 6:32 mark. The Jackrabbits (16-5, 8-0 Summit) responded with seven straight points regain the edge, 43-36, after Brooklyn Meyer delivered a pair of free throws with 3:26 on the clock.

NDSU battled back in the fourth quarter with an 11-3 run of its own to cut the deficit down to two, 55-53, following two free throws from Hamling with 3:20 to play. After Tori Nelson drained a layup for the Jackrabbits, Elle Evans answered for the Bison with four straight points at the free throw line to lock the contest, 57-57, with 1:40 remaining. However, the Jackrabbits closed out the remaining time on an 8-1 run to seal the 65-58 win.

Hamling led the way for the Bison with a game-high 18 points to go along with six rebounds. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native also reached the 1,500-career points mark and ranks seventh on the Bison all-time scoring list with 1,507 points at NDSU. Elle Evans tallied double digits in scoring for the seventh straight game with 17 points and six rebounds. Draper also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and added six points.

As a team, the Bison shot 35.3 percent (18-51) from the field. NDSU also shot 69.2 percent (18-26) from the free throw line, including going 11-of-12 from the stripe in the fourth quarter.

NDSU will be back in action at North Dakota on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.

Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | 2/1/2024 10:29:00 PM