SIOUX FALLS, S.D.- The Western Illinois women's basketball team was unable to hold on to a 17-point second half lead as it fell to North Dakota State, 46-43, in The Summit League quarterfinal round at The Sioux Falls Arena.

Senior Nicole Myers hit a lay-up with 16:07 left in the second half to put the Westerwinds (9-21) up 17 points at 31-14. Western held the Bison (16-12) scoreless until the 15:53 mark when Jerri Penley picked up a basket from a lay-up in the paint.

Ashley Samuelson connected on a three-point play with 14:42 left to cut the Westerwinds advantage to 12 points at 31-19. A three-pointer from freshman Anneloes Kodde pushed the lead back to 15 points at 36-21 with 10:52 left in the game.

North Dakota State would respond by scoring the next seven points to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the 4:03 mark in the first half. The run was capped of by a deep three-pointer from Katie Birkel with 7:52 left to play.

Senior Amanda Walker hit a driving right-handed lay-up to push the lead back to double digits at 38-28 with 6:43 left to play. The Bison would answer with a 11-1 run to tie the game at 39-39 with 2:46 remaining on the clock.

After a scoreless minute and a half, Birkel hit another three to give North Dakota State the lead at 42-39 with 1:16 left in the game.

A pair of free throws from Walker made it a one-point game at 42-41, but the Bison hit four-of-six free throws down the stretch to clinch the 46-43 comeback victory.

A Birkel three-pointer opened the scoring in the first half before the Westerwinds scored six straight points on two jumpers from sophomore Ashley Lord and a running lay-up from sophomore Anne Borgertpoepping.

After North Dakota State scored the next six points of the game, a three-ball from Kodde tied the game at 9-9 with 12:05 left in the first half.

Western went on a 9-0 run that included three straight points from sophomore Lindsey Wutt and back-to-back three's from junior Jordon O'Brien and Walker, giving the Westerwinds an 18-9 advantage with 6:34 left before halftime.

Western finished the half on a 6-2 run with another set of back-to-back three-pointers from O'Brien and Walker gave the Westerwinds a 24-10 lead going into the break.

Walker led the team in scoring with 15 points which included three buckets from beyond the arc. O'Brien and Kodde each added six points by hitting a pair of three's while Lord grabbed a team-high five rebounds.

Birkel led the Bison with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. Samuelson recorded a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Penley had eight points and didn't miss any shot she took going 2-of-2 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the free throw line while also pulling down nine boards.

Walker, Myers and fellow senior Rasheena Salter played in the final games of their career as the loss brought the 2008-09 season to a close.

Postgame Notes
? Borgetpoepping tied a career high in asssits with five.

? Walker attempted 16 field goals, the most she has taken this season.

? Walker extended her consecutive free throws made streak to 37 with a pair of free throws in the second half. The streak will end at 37 and be the second longest in school history.

Postgame Quotes

Head coach Leslie Crane
Opening statement
"Unfortunately the thing that has happened to us most of this year, occurred again today. We were not able to put the ball in the basket. We defended them very well ? holding them to 46 points ? and we out-rebounded them but making points has been tough for us."

On the team's defensive performance
"We played some great pressure defense tonight. We held a division one basketball team to 14 points in the first half, which is phenomenal. It dropped off just a bit in the second half but it was still a good defensive showing. I couldn't be anymore pleased with the effort our team made on the defensive side of the ball."

On losing the big lead
"We have young players; really we have just two players who played a lot last year. You could see that tonight. It is difficult not to rush things. I mean, they are young. We tried to do what we could as a coaching staff and calm them down but it was tough to do."

"It is all about momentum. We did a really good job on Inger Hodgson, who is a great shooter. I thought we played outstanding defensively. It just seemed that our offensive execution wasn't there, especially in the second half. When (Katie) Birkel hit that big shot, everything changed for us. We went into a panic mode."

Senior Amanda Walker
On losing a big lead
"I think we got worried when they started to come back in the second half. We pushed our shots and rushed (our play) too much. You look up at the scoreboard and you see the lead going to eight, then to six...They just kept chipping away at our lead and we kind of panicked. We could see the lead dwindling and we just couldn't stop it."

Sophomore Ashley Lord
On NDSU's rally
"I think we really noticed and felt they were coming back on us when number 10 (Birkel) hit that big three. We couldn't stop them. When we were up by 10 it seemed like we were down by 10."