VERMILLION, S.D. -- The South Dakota women's basketball team (14-11, 2-8 NCC) dropped a hard-fought 78-73 decision to 15th-ranked North Dakota (20-5, 8-2 NCC) on Saturday before a state-wide televised audience at the DakotaDome before 3,038 in attendance.

With the win, UND ended a four-game losing skid to South Dakota at the DakotaDome and retained the NCC lead.

South Dakota placed four players in double figures and received career-first double double from reserve forward Erica Schroeder of Miller, S.D. In her best performance as a Coyote, Schroeder had 11 points, 10 points and six assists along with two blocks and a steal. The Coyotes were led in scoring by Jenni Flynn of South Sioux City, Neb., who had 16 points, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. She also extended her school-record free throw streak to 32 in-a-row. Flynn was 6-of-9 from the field. Junior point guard Meghan Woster of Sioux Falls, S.D., had 14 points and six rebounds to go with two steals. She was 8-of-8 from the foul line. Also reaching double digits was Brittany Bessert of Fort Collins, Colo., with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.

North Dakota was led by a career-high 31 points from Chelsea Hausauer, who was averaging eight points a game on the season. Both Kristi Boese and Ashley Langen had 12 points for UND, which also got 11 points from Amy Mahlum.

Neither team led by more than seven points in the game, which was a tight battle throughout the evening.

After UND grabed an 8-5 lead (18:03), the Coyotes had a 7-3 run, grabbing a 15-11 lead with 14:09 to play on a lay-up by Flynn. Woster made a lay-up and converted the foul shot after being fouled to give USD a 19-14 lead at the 13:18 mark. UND responded with a 9-0 run, capped by a three-pointer by Boese to take a 27-22 lead at the 8:36 mark of the first half. USD then reversed the trend with a 14-4 run to grab a 36-31 lead with 3:11 to play after Woster made a pair of free throws. Then, UND outscored USD, 7-1, to close the half for a 38-37 UND lead at the break.

USD, which hit 35.7 percent from the field in the first, half was led in scoring by Woster with 10 points. USD hit 5-of-10 three-point field goals and was 12-of-15 for 80 percent from the foul line.

UND was led by Hausauer's 16 first-half points. North Dakota hit 37.8 percent from the field on 14-of-37 shooting. UND was 4-of-9 from three-point range and hit all six of its free throws.

The second half was played by both teams very much like the first half. A three-pointer by Flynn gave USD a 40-38 lead with 19:54 left in the game.

North Dakota responded with a 9-2 run to take a 47-42 lead with 17:02 to play on a jumper by Hausauer. The Coyotes fought back to take a 50-49 lead when Bessert scored inside at the 13:57 mark. Two foul shots by Bessert extended USD's lead to 52-49 at the 13:10 mark. A lay-up by Woster built USD's lead to 56-52 with 11:24 to play. North Dakota used a 9-0 run to take a 61-56 lead after a basket by Val Sannes at the 7:47 mark.

Vanessa Yanez of Wagner, S.D., who scored eight points on the night, hit a three-point field goal to cut the lead to 61-59 at the 7:21 mark. It started 7-0 run that gave USD a 65-61 lead with 4:17 left in the game.

Once again, UND responded with a 9-0 run to take a 70-65 lead with 2:02 to play. A three-pointer by Boese gave UND the five-point lead, which was too much for USD too overcome. The Coyotes battled and drew within 72-70 at the 1:08 mark on a pair of foul shots by Woster. Hausauer hit her biggest shot of the game on UND's next possession as North Dakota had a 74-70 lead with 48 seconds to play. However, Flynn hit a deep three-point field goal to cut the lead to 74-73. Then Mahlum converted a pair of free throws for a 76-73 lead with 28 seconds to play. USD missed a pair of short jumpers in the lane and Boese's pair of free throws with 14 seconds to play iced the game for the nationally-ranked UND squad.

Overall, USD hit 22-of-58 field goals for 37.9 percent, including 8-of-18 from three-point range for 44.4 percent. A key factor for USD was its free throw shooting as the Coyotes knocked down 21-of-24 free throws for 87.5 percent. UND made 28-of-67 field goals for 41.8 percent, including 7-of-15 from three-point range. UND was 15-of-21 from the foul line for 71.4 percent. North Dakota also won the rebound battle, 47-34.

Next for South Dakota is a road game with Augustana at the Sioux Falls Arena on Thursday at 6 p.m.