GRAND FORKS, N.D. - In it first road game of the season, the University of North Dakota had a difficult time controlling both the game and the ball as it fell to Wisconsin 68-43 at the Kohl Center in front of a crowd of 4,389.

The Badgers (1-0), who scored nearly half of their points off of Fighting Sioux turnovers, finished with three players in double-figures. Tara Steinbauer finished with the team's first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Alyssa Karel led all players with 15 points and Rae Lin D'Alie finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

North Dakota (0-2) was led by senior guard Kayla Bagaason (Clearbrook, Minn.) who finished with 11 points on 4-for-11 (.364) shooting from the field. Senior Jossy Bergan (Valley City, N.D.) was 3-for-9 (.333) from the three-point line for nine points and junior guard Mallory Youngblut (Davenport, Iowa) finished with eight points and a career-high 16 rebounds.

The Sioux were out-shot percentagewise at the free throw line 61.1 (11-for-18) to 43.5 (10-for-23), but were more effective at the three-point line with a 43.8 (7-for-16) shooting percentage compared to Wisconsin's 33.3 (7-for-21) percent.

The Badgers opened their season and the game with a three-pointer by D'Alie at 18:52 and with the help of a pair of three's by Karel, they moved into an 11-2 lead just four and a half minutes into the game.

Youngblut answered with the three of her own to cut the lead to 11-5, but Wisconsin was able to score four more points before Bagaason could hit from behind the arc again for UND at 13:44.

Over the next nine minutes, the Sioux would have to rely on points from the charity stripe as they were silence from the field. Senior forward Whitney Ledger (Bismarck, N.D.) broke the silence with a layup at 4:20 to bring the score to 31-16.

In the final minutes of the half, North Dakota picked up a bit of momentum as back-to-back steals resulted in scores. With a last-second three-pointer from Bergan, the Sioux went into the locker-room trailing the Badgers, 38-23.

Back out of the break, Wisconsin moved into a 19-point lead with a free throw by Lin Zastrow and a three-pointer by D'Alie. The teams traded baskets through the next five minutes until a three-pointer from Jade Davis at 13:36 gave the Badgers their biggest lead of the game, a 50-30 advantage.

Just outside the nine-minute mark, North Dakota trailed 56-30.

The Sioux cut the lead back down to 21 points, but a quick 6-0 by the Badgers led them to a game-high 27-point lead with less than three and a half minutes remaining.

Bergan and Bagaason hit from behind the arc in the final minutes, but it wasn't enough as Wisconsin won its season opener and the series opener against the Fighting Sioux 68-43.

North Dakota will return home on Wednesday, Nov. 18 to take on the Cowgirls of Wyoming. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

- Go Sioux -