DENVER, Colo. - Ashley Langen scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead No. 2-ranked North Dakota to an 82-59 victory over Metro State at the Best Western Central Classic women's basketball tournament Saturday, December 31.

Langen made 11-of-13 from the field and also had two steals in 29 minutes. Kristi Boese added 15 points for the Fighting Sioux as North Dakota shot 50.8 percent (32-for-63) from the field for the game. Paige Powers led the Roadrunners as she tied her career high with 24 points. Rianna Harris added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Metro State committed 22 turnovers, compared to 13 for the Fighting Sioux.

"I thought we were a little bit overwhelmed early," said Roadrunner head coach Dave Murphy. "This was a valuable lesson and hopefully we'll bring it into our conference game on Thursday."

North Dakota got out of the gate quickly, scoring the game's first 10 points and 14 of the first 16 overall. The Roadrunners rallied to cut the lead to eight, 30-22, with 7:22 to play in the half, but North Dakota went on an 8-0 run to push it back up to 16, 38-22, with 4:37 remaining. The Fighting Sioux led by 18 at the half, 47-29. Langen had 15 points at the break, while North Dakota shot 51.4 percent (18-for-35) from the field and outscored the Roadrunners in the paint, 18-2, in the first 20 minutes.

"We had some unforced turnovers and missed some open shots," said Murphy. "But they're big, strong and intimidating."

North Dakota opened the second half on a 5-2 run to open up a 21-point lead, 52-31, but Metro State whittled the lead to 15, 52-37, with 17 minutes to play. After North Dakota scored four straight points, the Roadrunners again trailed by 15, 58-43, with 11:11 to go but could not close the gap. The Fighting Sioux scored 22 points off Metro State turnovers and had 17 steals for the game. They outrebounded the Roadrunners by five (38-33), but they made just 1-for-9 from three-point land during the second 20 minutes of action.

With the win, North Dakota improves to 16-0 overall, while Metro State falls to 7-4 on the season.

(Source Metro State Sports Information)