Southern Utah dug a hole early as the team opened the first half down 14-3, ten minutes into the game.  The Bison lead grew to as much as 24 (32-8) with less than four minutes to play in the opening stanza before the Thunderbirds closed out the half with a 10-7 run.  NDSU took a 39-18 advantage into the intermission, scoring close to half of its points on SUU turnovers, collecting 15 points on 13 turnovers.

In the second half, the Thunderbirds began to chip away at the Bison lead as a Caitlyn Sears layup capped a 15-7 run to cut the game to within 13, 46-33, midway through the final half.  However, Southern Utah wasn't able to sustain the run down the stretch as 11 more turnovers led to 20 points for North Dakota State.  In the end, NDSU captured the 73-44 victory at the final whistle.

Sears led the Thunderbirds with ten points while Chanel Thorley pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds, including a game-high four offensive rebounds.  North Dakota State featured a pair of double-digit scorers as Inger Hodgson led the way with 13 points, followed by Katie Birkel with 11.

Southern Utah finished the game shooting 29.3 percent from the field to North Dakota State's 42.2 percent, but out rebounded the Bison 46 to 40.

The Thunderbirds will remain on the road for their next game when the team travels to South Dakota State on Monday night.  Tip-off in Brookings is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (MT) with live stats and live video anticipated to be available via www.suutbirds.com.