CHICAGO, Ill.--No. 17/25-ranked DePaul University held off a late rally by North Dakota State University to post a 77-65 victory in a women's college basketball game played before a crowd of 1,711 in McGrath Arena Sunday, Nov. 15.

North Dakota State (1-1) is scheduled to host the University of Wyoming (2-0) at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at the Bison Sports Arena.

DePaul (2-0) led 45-25 at halftime, but came up with key rebounds and free throws to keep the Bison at a distance down the stretch.

NDSU cut the 20-point deficit to seven points several times in the second half, the last coming with 1:15 left on an Ashley Samuelson layup make the score 72-65. Samuelson finished with 11 points and four assists, while Abby Plucker had 10 points and eight rebounds.

`We were getting nice shots in the first half but they just weren't falling,'' Bison coach Carolyn DeHoff said. ``Our kids buckled down and they responded in the second half. They came out and shot the ball better and obviously defended them better.''

Six-five freshman Janae Burich sparked the North Dakota State rally. Burich led the Bison with 11 of team-high 13 points in the second half. She connected on 5 of 8 from the field, and added four rebounds and two blocked shots.

Deirdre Naughton led the Blue Demons with 20 points and also went over 1,000 points in her career in the first half. Naughton scored 14 of her game-high total in the second half including 7 of 8 from the foul line. Jennifer Juergens scored 17 points, while Anna Martin netted 15 including a trio of three-pointers.

DePaul connected on 47.2 percent from the field in the opening half compared to 34.5 percent for NDSU to build a 45-25 lead. Felicia Chester pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the Blue Demons who held a 41-37 advantage on the glass.

Led by Martin's trio, DePaul hit 7 of 20 from three-point stripe compared to 3 of 15 for NDSU. The Blue Demons made 18 of 23 free throws to 16 of 21 for the Bison.