Eds: APNewsNow. No. 17 DePaul 77, North Dakota State 65.

CHICAGO (AP) Dierdre Naughton scored 20 points and topped 1,000 points in her DePaul career and the 17th-ranked Blue Demons beat North Dakota State 77-65 on Sunday night.

The senior guard passed the milestone with a layup at the 17:15 mark of the first half. She now has 1,019 points for her three DePaul seasons and 1,438 points for a four-year career including freshman year at Wake Forest.

The Blue Demons (2-0) never trailed and opened a 20-point lead by half. But the Bison (1-1) fought back in the second half and cut the deficit to 72-65 as DePaul managed just one field goal over 5-minute span.

Jennifer Juergens had 17 points and reserve Anna Martin added 15 for the Blue Demons.

Janae Burich scored 13 points and Ashley Samuelseon added 11 for North Dakota State.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-15-09 2039CST | save this article / add to your favorites list