BISMARCK, N.D. – Not all games are lost in the fourth quarter, as Bismarck State's women found out on Monday when No. 25 North Dakota State College of Science raced out to a 32-16 lead after one quarter, then survived a furious fourth-quarter rally to beat the Mystics 88-87 at the Armor

Three Mystics (6-5 Mon-Dak, 9-8 overall) cracked the 20-point mark, led by Sydney Gustavsson's 34 points on 13-for-20 shooting. Katherine Fox added 24 points and Ashton Kinnebrew 20. Despite all that firepower, the Mystics came up one point short of capping a dramatic comeback when Gustavsson's game-winning attempt from the baseline was blocked with less than a second left on the clock.

The Mon-Dak Conference-leading and defending Region XIII champion Wildcats (10-1 Mon-Dak, 17-3 overall) won their sixth straight game despite being outscored 34-16 in the final quarter. They led by as many as 20 points. Freshman Quinn Neppl led the Wildcats with 25 points, 16 points above her season average of 8.8 points. Mon-Dak scoring leader Ivy Fox added 20 points.

Fox added 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double. 

It figured to be a high-scoring game as four of the top five scorers in the conference were only the floor: Ivy Fox (19.2), Gustavsson (18.3), Kinnebrew (17.5) and Grace Masaaquoi (16.1). Massaquoi scored just eight points, while the Mystics made just 6 of 27 shots from 3-point range (22%).

BSC plays at United Tribes on Thursday and is home against Miles Community College on Jan. 30 and Dawson Community College on Feb. 6.

Full statistics (https://bscmystics.com/sports/wbkb/2022-23/boxscores/20230123_o46w.xml?view=boxscore)    
Click here for the Mon-Dak Conference (www.mondakconference.com/sports/mbkb/index)