GRAND FORKS, N.D.--Eighteen proved to be the magic number for the third-ranked Fighting Sioux women’s basketball team.

Sophomore guard Alys Seay (Grand Forks) scored a career-high 18 points, senior center Ashley Langen (Kennedy, Minn.) added 18 points and 18 rebounds, and the Sioux used an early 18-4 run to build the cushion they needed in an 84-69 win over Minnesota State tonight at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

It was UND’s 24th straight win over the Mavericks.

Three weeks after gutting out a tightly-contested 69-62 win in Mankato, UND got rolling early on offense and built a 27-9 lead with seven and a half minutes to play in the first half. Six different Sioux players hit the scoresheet in the opening 12 minutes, establishing a sizeable lead that would come in handy in the second half.

Junior Danye Guinn (St. Francis, Minn.) hit a jumper with 18 seconds left in the half to put the Sioux up 42-28, and UND kept right on gunning coming out of the locker room. Seay connected on a pair of slashing drives one minute apart, then hauled in an offensive rebound and converted the put-back for a 53-32 Sioux lead just under four minutes into the half.

UND, on the strength of its depth and rebounding, was able to stretch the lead to as many as 25 points midway through the half. When junior Kierah Kimbrough (Greenbush, Minn.) knocked down a mid-range jumper with 10:12 left, UND led 66-41 and appeared to be on the brink of a blowout win.

But the Mavericks held the Sioux off the scoresheet for the next four and a half minutes and attempted to claw their way back into the game with an 11-0 run, keyed by back-to-back three-pointers by Tiffany Moe.

With just over five minutes remaining, UND’s once-formidable lead was down to 13 points after another Moe jumper made it 69-56.

But the Sioux survived MSU’s late push, with Seay, Kimbrough and Langen all taking turns making critical baskets.

Seay and Langen were joined in double figures by Kimbrough (15 points) and Guinn (12), as the Sioux shot 52.7 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range.

UND also held a 48-32 edge in rebounding and survived 24 turnovers.

Moe led all players with 20 points, but committed eight of MSU’s 19 turnovers.

The Sioux, now 19-1 overall and 4-1 in the North Central Conference, will host No. 20 Augustana on Saturday at The Betty. Game time is set for 2 p.m.

Notes: Langen eclipsed both the 1,000-rebound and 1,900-point milestones for her career. Her double-double was her eighth in the last 10 games and third in four conference games ... Kimbrough moved past Mandy Arndston (1997-01) for 17th on UND’s all-time scoring list ... Senior Karla Beck (Jr., Munich, N.D.) had four assists and eclipsed the 300 milestone for her career.

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