GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Interstat) — The Saint Thomas women’s basketball team secured a 70-58 road victory over North Dakota in a Summit League contest Saturday at Engelstad Arena. The Tommies built a steady lead, holding a 31-27 advantage at halftime before pulling away in the second half. Faith Feuerbach led all scorers with 21 points for Saint Thomas. Jada Hood added a near double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Mackenzie Hughes paced North Dakota with 19 points. The Fighting Hawks struggled to contain Saint Thomas’s offensive rhythm, particularly from beyond the arc. With the win, Saint Thomas improved to 14-12 overall. North Dakota fell to 7-21. Attendance was 1,519.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Interstat) — The Saint Thomas Tommies used a balanced offensive attack and a disruptive defensive effort to secure a 70-58 victory over the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in a Summit League women’s basketball game Saturday at Engelstad Arena. In a game defined by runs, the Tommies methodically built and maintained a double-digit lead for much of the contest, improving to 14-12 overall. North Dakota, struggling through a difficult season, fell to 7-21. The most important sequence of the game unfolded late in the second quarter, turning a narrow contest into one the Tommies would control the rest of the way. Leading 23-20 with under six minutes remaining in the half, Saint Thomas ignited a decisive 9-0 run. The surge began with a Faith Feuerbach 3-pointer, assisted by Jada Hood. After a North Dakota turnover, Mikayla Werner converted a layup. The Tommies then capitalized on Fighting Hawks mistakes, as Hood stole the ball and was fouled, sinking two free throws to cap the run and extend the lead to 32-20. North Dakota could not recover from that stretch. The Fighting Hawks managed only one field goal in the final 5:51 of the second quarter, a layup by Mackenzie Hughes, and entered halftime trailing 31-27. Saint Thomas carried that momentum into the third quarter, opening the period with a quick basket from Werner and steadily pushing the advantage. The Tommies’ lead ballooned to as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter before settling on the final margin. Saint Thomas was led by a standout performance from Faith Feuerbach, who scored a game-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Mikayla Werner added 17 points and five rebounds, while Jada Hood filled the stat sheet with nine points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Alyssa Sand contributed seven points, seven rebounds and three assists. For North Dakota, Mackenzie Hughes shouldered the offensive load, finishing with 19 points and five assists. Sydney Piekny added nine points and five rebounds, and Mikayla Aumer chipped in nine points. The Tommies’ defense was the foundation of the victory. They forced 18 North Dakota turnovers, converting them into 10 steals. Saint Thomas also won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Fighting Hawks 36-26 and grabbing 10 offensive boards. Offensively, the Tommies were efficient, shooting 48.2% from the field (27 of 56) and 87.5% from the free-throw line. Their ball movement, resulting in 10 assists, consistently found open shooters. North Dakota shot a respectable 43.2% from the field but attempted 12 fewer shots than Saint Thomas, a direct result of the turnover disparity and rebounding deficit. The Fighting Hawks stayed within range at the free-throw line, making 13 of 17 attempts, but could not string together enough stops to mount a sustained comeback in the second half. The game was a Summit League matchup witnessed by 1,519 fans. Saint Thomas now looks ahead to a home game against Missouri-Kansas City on Wednesday. North Dakota will host South Dakota on Thursday. According to National Statistical’s ELO system, Saint Thomas entered the game with a 64.80 percent probability to win, a projection they fulfilled with a performance built on defensive pressure and timely scoring runs. The victory completed a regular-season sweep for the Tommies, who also defeated North Dakota 72-54 on Jan. 24.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Interstat) — A surging Saint Thomas (Minn.) team looks to continue its climb in the Summit League standings when it visits struggling North Dakota on Saturday at Engelstad Arena. The Tommies (13-12, 5-5 Summit) have won three straight, including a dominant 73-43 victory over Omaha on Feb. 14, and sit in the middle of the conference pack. The Fighting Hawks (7-20, 2-8), meanwhile, are mired near the bottom, having lost four of their last five, most recently a 87-51 defeat to North Dakota State. This matchup is a rematch from Jan. 24, when Saint Thomas handled North Dakota 72-54 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Tommies’ forward Alyssa Sand recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in that contest. Sand enters this game as Saint Thomas’s key player, averaging 12.5 points over her last six games and coming off a 12-point, 7-rebound, 4-assist performance against Omaha. North Dakota will counter with guard Mackenzie Hughes, its leading offensive threat. Hughes scored 22 points in the loss to NDSU and has averaged 16.7 points over her last seven outings. However, she was held to just six points in the January loss to the Tommies. The game pits two teams on opposite trajectories. Saint Thomas has found its rhythm in February, winning four of five games this month with an average margin of victory of 14 points in those wins. North Dakota has struggled defensively, allowing an average of 84.5 points in its last two losses. A Tommies victory would secure the season sweep and solidify their position for the upcoming conference tournament. For the Fighting Hawks, it represents a critical opportunity to halt their slide and gain momentum before hosting South Dakota next week. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST Saturday at Engelstad Arena.