GRAND FORKS — It took roughly two and a half minutes for Avery Koenen to set the tone Sunday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

The 6-foot-3 junior forward made a layup and a jumper on North Dakota State’s first two possessions. Sophomore guard Sydney Piekny drove to the rim for a layup in an attempt to score UND’s first points of the game.

Koenen blocked it.

The Fighting Hawks gathered the rebound and graduate guard Mackenzie Hughes made her own attempt at a layup.

Koenen blocked it again.

Thirty-six seconds later, she put in a layup of her own.

Koenen did not cool off as the game progressed. She finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks as the Bison routed the Hawks, 87-51.

“She’s a very good player,” UND head coach Dennis Hutter said. “Athletic, both shoulders, both hands, finishes well, shoots free throws well, plays hard, competes, does a very good job. She’s a very hard guard.”

North Dakota State’s 36-point win was the largest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry, according to the Hawks’

record book.

The largest margin of victory belonged to UND before Sunday’s loss. It was set in a 90-58 win on March 10, 1990.

“It’s important to our alums, it’s important to our community, it’s important to NDSU that we represent ourselves really well in this game,” Bison head coach Jory Collins said. “I’ve been fortunate everywhere that I’ve been to have a real rival, in-state rival, and have embraced that and enjoyed what that brings, the good times and the bad ones. It really is fun, I think it’s great for the state of North Dakota as well, so proud that we came out on the good end today.”

Eric Hylden / GF Herald

The 23-2 overall Bison, who have not lost a game since Nov. 16 and lead the Summit League with a 12-0 record, took off in the third quarter.

North Dakota State entered the second half with a 39-26 lead and quickly rattled off a 15-2 run. The Bison outscored the Hawks 25-10 in the third.

“It was important to come out strong,” Koenen said. “Maybe we weren’t finishing well in the first half and I think that we came out stronger in the second half, and asserted ourselves right away and it just carried on the rest of the game.”

Redshirt sophomore guard Jocelyn Schiller nailed a 3-pointer during North Dakota State’s third-period surge.

She shot 4-for-11 and scored 14 points, second only to Koenen.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Schiller. The Grand Forks Red River graduate spent her freshman season playing for the Hawks before transferring to NDSU.

“It was a little weird coming back,” Schiller said. “As soon as the game started, I kind of forgot about everything and was just excited to play with this team. … It’s a rivalry either way I think, so everyone was pumped to come into this game, and so was I.”

Eric Hylden / GF Herald

Advertisement

UND struggled to keep up with the Bison’s offense. The Hawks shot 32.7% from the field and 4-for-22 from 3-point range.

The offensive load was carried by a pair of upperclassmen.

Hughes shot 5-for-13 and led the way with 22 points. Senior center Walker Demers scored 15 points and shot 6-for-12.

UND’s bench provided just five points.

The Hawks, hot off the heels of a 94-48 road loss to South Dakota State on Thursday, fell to 7-20 overall and 3-10 in conference play.

They’re entering the home stretch of the regular season with just three games remaining.

“I told our team this week, you get a great opportunity,” Hutter said. “If you have any aspirations and any dreams of finishing at the top of this league, you’re going to find out this week exactly what you have to do and how you have to play, and how you have to go about it. And the fact that you’re going to play the top two teams right now, one that’s won it consistently over the years and one that’s playing at an extremely high level.

“So I do think we have some kids that are trying to figure it out. We’re playing some young kids I think that are garnering some pretty good minutes and maybe getting some tread on their tires a little bit. But I just wish we’d learn how to compete for 40 minutes. I just don’t think we know how to do that yet.”

Eric Hylden / GF Herald

Advertisement

Alex Faber is a sports reporter for the Grand Forks Herald. A Michigan transplant, he graduated from Michigan State University in 2024 with a degree in journalism and minors in history and environmental studies.