SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marshall Bjorklund scored 26 points Wednesday night to lead North Dakota State to a road upset over Notre Dame, 73-69, in the third round of the Gotham Classic at Purcell Pavilion.
In Brookings, S.D., Megan Waytashek and Steph Paluch scored 18 points apiece as South Dakota State defeated No. 12 Penn State 83-79 despite squandering a 20-point halftime lead.
The Dakota schools were members of NCAA Division II until the middle of the previous decade, and while both have made appearances in the NCAA Division I basketball tournament, Wednesday's victories came over teams that are frequently among the nation's elite.
Both teams have a Minnesota influence: SDSU has eight Minnesotans on its roster; NDSU has five Minnesota players.
In NDSU's victory, Lawrence Alexander added 16 points and 14 rebounds to help the Bison (7-3) earn their fifth straight win. Pat Connaughton scored 21 to lead Notre Dame (7-3).
Jerian Grant hit a pair of free throws to get the Irish within one point, 67-66, after Bjorklund fouled out with 42.1 seconds left, but Taylor Braun knocked down a pair from the line, then stole the ball as the Irish pressed for a shot. He fed the ball ahead to Kory Brown, who slammed it in with 16 seconds left to seal the victory. Braun finished with 13 points.
Connaughton scored a pair of breakaway baskets 5 minutes into the second half to give the Irish their first lead since 7:12 of the first half.
The second, a one-handed slam after Garrick Sherman tipped the ball away from Bjorklund on the other end, brought the Notre Dame crowd to life for the first time since the opening tip and capped a 9-2 run.