K-HEART SPORTS – MONDAY – 12/04/23
BOTTINEAU, N.D. (MSU) – Minot State women’s hockey got it done in the Lumberdome, completing the weekend sweep of Dakota College at Bottineau. Furthermore, the 4-1 win on Sunday put the Beavers’ record back to even at .500. After grabbing the opening goal, a strong second period propelled Minot State to the top, as the No. 8 Beavers (9-9-0) scored three goals in the middle frame. The Lumberjacks (4-6-0) would get one late to break the shutout. Special teams continued to make an impact on the weekend. The power play struck pay dirt once again, and the Beaver penalty killers were perfect by fending off seven Lumberjack power-play opportunities. Minot State collects their second straight weekend sweep after defeating Dakota College at Bottineau 4-1 in the Lumberdome. This was the last time both teams would meet during the regular season. Kicking off scoring for the afternoon was Krissy Rink. It was her fourth of the year with Makenna Beard getting the helper. Moving towards the second period, Paige Ackerman capitalized on the power play with another assist from Beard. Paige Kozak made it 3-0 from Mia Mckee. Kozak returned the favor as she set up Mia Mckee for her fourth tally to wrap up the scoring from Minot State. DCB would go on to score late in the third to avoid being shut out. Chloe Sorenson was given a shot to backstop the Beavers and was excellent, making 28 saves on 29 Bottineau shots. The Beavers have once again extended their winning streak, this time to four games. They pull themselves up to .500 before heading back on the road to Jamestown next weekend for another two-game sequence. Minot State is perfect on the regular season versus Dakota College at Bottineau, finishing with a 2-0-0 record.
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MSU MENS WRESTLING
MOORHEAD, Minn. (MSU) – Minot State’s Ryan Hrcka led the way for Minot State as he claimed the title at 157 pounds at the Dragon Open hosted by Minnesota State Moorhead on Sunday. Hrcka won three straight matches in the white division for the title, earning an 11-4 decision over MSU Moorhead’s Cody Wienen, an 11-1 major decision Kristian Orloff from Minnesota North-Itasca, then a 2-0 decision over Augustana’s Logan Butzon in the title match. While Hrcka led the way, Marcus Allen was third at 184 pounds in the white division going 2-1 with a pin, Mario Esposito was fifth at 184 pounds in the white division, Dylan McDonald was fifth at 125 pounds in the red division going 4-2 with three wins by pin, and Isaac Ortega and Shane Hansen each were sixth in the red division at 149 and 197, respectively, with Hansen picking up a win by pin in his bracket. The tournament wrapped up a busy weekend for the Beavers who wrap up the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule on Saturday hosting in-state rival the University of Mary at 6:30 p.m. at the MSU Dome, the conclusion of a Beaver-Marauder tripleheader that starts with the Minot State men’s and women’s basketball teams hosting Mary at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
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UND MENS BASKETBALL
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (UND) – The North Dakota men’s basketball team finished its two-game road swing in the Los Angeles area on Sunday evening, falling 68-62 to UC Riverside. B.J. Omot paced the Fighting Hawks with 19 points, with Eli King reaching double figures for the second consecutive game with 13. Amar Kuljuhovic also reached double figures with 12 and led the team with six rebounds. Deng Mayar led with two blocks, while Omot and Treysen Eaglestaff tied with three assists. Tsotne Tsartsidze got both of the team’s two steals. Jumpers from Omot and Kuljuhovic gave the green and white an early 4-2 lead, and the first half was tightly contested throughout. Down 15-9 later in the half, Kuljuhovic made threes on back-to-back possessions to knot it up and then Omot hit a foul shot to go back up at 16-15. In the final minutes of the half, Omot hit a layup to put UND up 24-23, which was the last lead UND would hold in the game. UCR took a 31-26 lead into intermission. Omot made it a four point game after a three-point play on a dunk, but momentum swung back to UCR—who went up double digits. NoDak chipped away as the half went on, climbing back within single digits at 50-41 with a three from Eaglestaff. King followed with a three, and then Eaglestaff made a layup to make it a four point game at 50-46. But UND could not take back the lead at any point in the half—the closest they came was three points at 65-62 with 12 seconds to go, but UCR scored the final three points to finish the game. North Dakota will return home for two games—this Saturday against Portland University and then Waldorf (Iowa) the following Tuesday.
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UND WOMENS BASKETBALL
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND) – The North Dakota women’s basketball team dominated the glass in Sunday’s 64-56 win over Eastern Michigan, outrebounding the Eagles 52-31. The Fighting Hawks 34 defensive rebounds and 52 total boards were both season highs. After posting a career high 26 points Tuesday night, Kiyah Hurst followed that performance up with a double-double against the Eagles. Hurst led the Hawks with 20 points and hauled in 10 boards, including three offensive rebounds. Holding a 32-22 lead at halftime, North Dakota soared in the opening minutes of the third quarter knocking down four straight three-pointers to grab its largest lead of the night, 44-24. Hurst connected on the first and third triple of the run, while Owen knocked down the other two threes. A bucket from Hurst, assisted by Sammiyah Hoskin, was answered by an Eagle layup at the end of the quarter with the Hawks taking a 56-40 lead into the final 10 minutes. EMU began to chip away at the Hawks lead in the fourth quarter, pulling within single-digits 58-51 with 5:42 remaining. A layup from Kiera Pemberton ended a 11-2 EMU run and gave the Hawks a 60-51 lead with 4:12 on the clock. Following a Pemberton basket with just over three minutes left in the game, both offenses would go cold, as neither team recorded a point to close out the 64-56 UND win. The Fighting Hawks crashed the offensive boards in the opening period with 10 offensive rebounds to EMU’s five defensive boards as they built up a 19-12 advantage. The Hawks cashed in on the extra possessions, scoring 12 second chance points with eight points in the paint. Miranda VanderWal secured four offensive boards and scored six points, while Sammiyah Hoskin had three offensive boards. Eastern Michigan kept the Hawks off the glass in the second period, limiting UND to just one offensive rebound. A 10-2 run late in the second quarter gave the Hawks their largest lead of the first half, 32-20. The Hawks rebounded by committee in the first half with five players securing three or more rebounds. Hurst paced NoDak in the opening 20 minutes with 10 points. The Fighting Hawks will travel to Charleston, Ill. Thursday for their next game against Eastern Illinois.
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NDSU WOMENS BASKETBALL
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU) – The North Dakota State women’s basketball team grinded out a 91-68 win over Mayville State on Sunday afternoon at Scheels Center. Taryn Hamling led the way for the Bison (4-4) with a team-high 18 points after knocking down a game-high six triples on 11 attempts. Avery Koenen registered her first career double-double with a game-best 15 rebounds and season-high 13 points. Elle Evans also handed out a game-high six assists and reached double digits for the fourth straight game in scoring with 15 points. As team, NDSU shot 45.9 percent (34-74) from the field and 38.2 percent (13-34) from three with five players posting double figures in scoring. Taryn Hamling (18), Evans (15), Koenen (13), Miriley Simon (13) and Heaven Hamling (12) all reached double digits. The Bison also hauled in a season-best 55 rebounds with nine different players collecting at least one. It marked the most rebounds in a single-game since NDSU posted 63 at Western Illinois on Jan. 2, 2020. After both teams worked through the first half that saw 11 tie scores, NDSU erupted in the fourth quarter outscoring Mayville State, 30-18, and shot 52.9 percent from the field. The Bison put together a key 8-0 run at the midway point of the fourth quarter capped off a by a layup from Abby Krzewinski to make the score 79-62 with 4:07 to play. Mayville State wasn’t able to cut the deficit down any further as NDSU picked up the 91-68 victory. NDSU will be back in action at Drake on Friday. Tip-off is set for 11:00 a.m.
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WILD-BLACKHAWKS
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Marco Rossi scored twice and Mats Zuccarello had a goal and two assists for the Minnesota Wild in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Matt Boldy also scored for Minnesota, which has won three in a row after firing coach Dean Evason and replacing him with John Hynes. The Wild had scored 13 goals and lost seven straight games, leading to Evason’s dismissal. In the three games since, Minnesota has outscored opponents 13-3. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots for the Wild, who have won 10 in a row against Chicago. The Blackhawks lost their third game in a row overall, with Petr Mrazek making 30 saves. Taylor Raddysh scored in the third period for Chicago, which has been outscored 13-2 during its losing streak. The Wild start a four-game road trip on Tuesday at Calgary.