GRAND FORKS, N.D.—South Dakota held the Fighting Hawks to 21 second-half points to earn a 69-53 road win on Thursday night inside the Betty Engelstad Arena.
 
It was a balanced lineup for South Dakota (16-7, 5-3 Summit) with three players scoring double-figures and six of 10 players contributing six or more points.
 
Junior guard Kendall Holmes scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds to pace the Coyotes for the second time in the last three games. Junior guard Grace Larkins added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. Fourth-year sophomore Natalie Mazurek joined them in double-digit scoring with all 11 points coming in the first half on 4-of-4 shooting.
 
North Dakota (7-14, 3-5) was led by preseason Summit League Player of the Year Kacie Borowicz's 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting. Borowicz had a double-double with 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Mikayla Aumer added 15 points off the bench, scoring 12 of those points during UND's second-quarter run.
 
Neither team got into a rhythm on offense during the first quarter with South Dakota holding a 13-7 advantage after the first quarter. The Coyotes extended their lead to 26-13 midway through the second quarter following Mazurek's second of three 3-point buckets.
 
The Fighting Hawks went on a 12-2 run to end the first half and close the Coyotes' lead down to two, 34-32. Borowicz kicked off the run with back-to-back buckets. She scored 11 of her 19 points in the second quarter.
 
After battling in the early minutes of the third quarter, back-to-back 3-pointers from junior guard Alexi Hempe and Holmes pushed USD's lead to 43-34
 
Borowicz helped UND close the gap to five, 55-50, in the fourth quarter before the Coyotes put it away. Larkins had back-to-back driving layups before the media timeout to make it a nine-point game. Senior guard Nicole Avila-Ambrosi helped put the game away by knocking down a 3-pointer in the final minutes, giving the Coyotes a 13-point advantage.
 
Sophomore forward Carley Duffney scored six of her eight points in the second half. Avila-Ambrosi finished with seven points and Hempe had six.
 
South Dakota made 41 percent (25-of-61) from the field and 31 percent (9-of-29) from behind the arc. North Dakota shot 30.8 percent (20-of-65) from the floor and 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from deep. The Fighting Hawks went 0-for-10 from 3-point range in the second half.
 
The Coyotes return home to host South Dakota State for the second round of the Interstate Series at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, South Dakota.