North Dakota State Women Host Utah Valley State, Texas-Pan American This Weekend
2/12/2007 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
North Dakota State (10-10, 3-2 Division I Independent) is scheduled to close out its five-game homestand with a pair of contest at the Bison Sports Arena this weekend ... NDSU is 2-1 during the current homestand and 7-3 in Fargo this season ... The Bison have won three of its last four games ... North Dakota State is scheduled to host Utah Valley State (12-11, 2-3 Division I Independent) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15 ... The Wolverines snapped a seven-game losing streak on Feb. 1 against NJIT and defeated Texas-Pan American 75-54 at home on Feb. 10 ... Utah Valley State is 3-5 on the road this season ... North Dakota State is scheduled to host the University of Texas-Pan American (10-15, 3-3 Division Independent) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17 ... The Lady Broncs have lost three of their last four games ... UTPA is 4-11 away from Edinburg -- 4-8 on the road and 0-3 at neutral sites -- this season.
NDSU FINISHES 2007 SEASON ON THE ROAD: North Dakota State will close out the 2007 season with three road games at South Dakota State on Feb. 23 in Brookings, at New Jersey Tech on March 1 in Newark, N.J. and at IPFW on March 3.
THE SERIES:
This will be the third meeting between North Dakota State and Utah Valley State ... The series is tied 1-1 ... NDSU defeated the Wolverines 71-63 in Orem on Jan. 27 ... Lisa Bue led the Bison with 16 points, while Danni Heintzelman came off the bench to net a season-high 15 points ... Robyn Fairbanks led UVSC with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Rebekah Peterson went off for 23 points ... This will be the second meeting with the University of Texas-Pan American ... UTPA defeated the Bison 59-57 in Edinburg on a last-second shot by Cinthia Ramirez ... Brenda Slyt dropped in a career-high 23 points for NDSU ... LeKeisha Gray sparked the Lady Broncs with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.
SENIOR FAREWELL:
This weekend will be the final home appearance for a quartet of seniors -- 5-10 guard Katie Dahlen (Fargo, N.D.), 5-10 forward Kayla Dahlen (Fargo, N.D.), 5-8 guard Amanda Girodat (Kindred, N.D.) and 6-1 forward Danni Heintzelman (Alberta, Minn.) ... The foursome have seen the Bison move from NCAA Division II into Division I women's basketball ... They have combined to play in 371 games including 109 starting assignments.BISON FAST BREAK:
North Dakota State is at the .500 mark record-wise for the second time this season ... The Bison surpassed last year's win total of nine games, it's first full season at Division I ... NDSU hit over 50 percent from the field for the first time this season against IPFW (.583, 35-60) ... It was the best shooting performance over the last two seasons for the Bison.
RULEY RECORDS CAREER WIN NO. 650: North Dakota State's Hall of Fame women's basketball coach Amy Ruley reached another career milestone Feb. 10, when the NDSU defeated New Jersey Tech 81-49 at the Bison Sports Arena ... Ruley collected career win 650 against the visting Highlanders ... Ruley's career record is 650-186 in 28 seasons -- all in Fargo ... She became the 11th active Division I women's basketball coach to reach 650 wins.
BISON ON RADIO: KNDS-LPFM 105.9, Fargo ... Sports director Brad Jones provides the play-by-play on the NDSU student radio station for both games this weekend ... Pregame begins 15 minutes before tip-off ... The free webcast were available at www.thunderradio.fm.
WDAY 970 AM, Fargo ... Brad Anderson will handle the play-by-play of Saturday's game against Texas-Pan American ... Pregame starts 25 minutes prior to tip-off ... The game is available online by subscription at www.bisonzone.com.LIVE STATS: Live in-game statistics will be available on the Internet at www.GoBison.com. Click on the "Live Stats" link at the left side of the page for the schedule of events.
VIDEO WEBCAST: Live streaming video of the North Dakota State women's basketball games will be provided at www.GoBison.com ... Memberships to All Access can be purchased monthly for $7.95 ... The video Webcast will begin at 6:50 p.m. and will allow Bison fans around the world to see their team perform live from the Bison Sports Arena ... The live stream will be provided by NDSU athletic media relations and Fargodome video productions ... In addition to the game, the stream will include pregame footage and special features prior to the 7 p.m. tip-off.
BISON BASKETBALL SHOW: The Bison Basketball Show hosted by former NDSU standout Ross Manson with women's basketball coach Amy Ruley and men's basketball coach Tim Miles will air 10:30 p.m. on WDAY-TV (ABC, Channel 6, Fargo) ... The show will air every Sunday until the end of the season ... The Bison Basketball Show will also air at 11 p.m. Sundays in Grand Forks on WDAZ-TV, and on KBMY-TV in Bismarck and KMCY-TV in Minot on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ... Fans can email NDSU head women's basketball coach Amy Ruley a question by going to the women's basketball page on www.GoBison.com and clicking on the "Ask the Coach" icon with Coach Ruley's photo ... The coach will answer one question during the Bison Basketball Show until the end of the season.
BISON FEEDBACK: North Dakota State women's basketball coach Amy Ruley and men's basketball coach Tim Miles will field questions during the season on Wednesday evenings from 6:45-7:30 p.m. on Bison Feedback hosted by WDAY 970-Radio Sports Director Scott Miller.
THE "G" FORCE: Five-eight senior Amanda Girodat (Kindred, N.D.) had an impact since her return to the North Dakota State lineup 14 games ago ... The Bison are 8-6 during that stretch after opening the year 2-4... Girodat, who has overcome two major knee injuries and surgeries, is averaging 4.3 assists, 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 30 minutes per game ... She is No. 1 among Division I independents in assists (4.29 apg) entering the Utah Valley State contest.
PENLEY THE ERASER: North Dakota State's 6-foot-2 sophomore center Jerri Penley has recorded 42 blocked shots in 20 games for an average of 2.10 this season ... Penley is No. 1 among Division I independents and No. 39 in the NCAA Division I statistics ... Penley also leads NDSU in rebounding (5.9 rpg) ... The Bison are No. 33 nationally in blocked shots (4.9 bpg).
THE LAST TIME OUT:
Eleven of 14 players scored led by Amanda Girodat's career-high 15 points as North Dakota State defeated New Jersey Tech 81-49 in a Division I independent women's basketball game played Feb. 10, before 1,010 fans at the Bison Sports Arena.The victory was No. 650 for NDSU Hall of Fame women's basketball coach Amy Ruley, who became the 11th active Division I women's basketball coach to reach the career milestone. She has compiled a 650-186 record in 28 seasons -- all in Fargo. The Bison are currently in the fourth of a five-year reclassification from Division II to Division I. Ruley directed the program to five NCAA Division II national titles from 1991-1996. Girodat, a senior from Kindred, N.D., continued her hot hand and topped her career best scoring total for the second straight game. Over the past two games, Girodat has connected on 10-of-13 field goals including all five three-point attempts and 2-of-3 free throws.
Brenda Slyt scored all 13 of her points in the first half as North Dakota State built a 42-22 halftime lead. Emily Moran?s 13 points rounded out the NDSU double-figure attack.
Colleen Vogel led New Jersey Tech with 13 points, while Taiwo Oyelola added 11 points and seven rebounds. The Highlanders (3-20), who have lost 11 in a row, were hurt by 22 turnovers that led to 24 NDSU points.
North Dakota State connected on 45.3 percent from the field including 58.3 percent from the three-point arc. NJIT hit just 30.8 percent from the field and only 1-of-12 three-pointers. The Bison held a 44-36 rebound advantage led by the career-high five rebounds from the 5-foot-7 Moran.
NDSU's biggest lead was 37 points, 76-39, with 4:38 left on a Jill Zaruba jumper inside off a pass from Inger Hodgson.
DAHLEN, SLYT ON THE MARK:
Six-foot junior Brenda Slyt (Climax, Minn.) and 5-10 senior Kayla Dahlen (Fargo, N.D.) have been on the mark from the free throw line ... Slyt made 27 free throws in a row from the first half against Montana State (11-25-06) to the second of two free throws against Wisconsin-Green Bay (1-10-07) ... The school record for consecutive free throws made is 28 set by Katie Lorenz (March 3, 2003 to Dec. 19, 2003) ... Slyt has hit 37 of 44 attempts for 84.1 percent this season ... Kayla Dahlen is 37 of 44 from the foul line for 84.1 percent ... Dahlen and Slyt are tied for third in the Division I Independent women's basketball statistics.BISON CAPTURE WINGATE INN THANKSGIVING CLASSIC TITLE: Jerri Penley recorded a career-high 16 points and nine rebounds as North Dakota State defeated host Montana State 74-62 in the Wingate Inn Thanksgiving Classic championship game Nov. 25, before a crowd of 987 at the Worthington Arena.
The Bison broke a 14-game losing streak on the road. NDSU's last road win was at Montana State-Billings on Feb. 12, 2005.
Penley led a group of three players in double-figures. Classic MVP Lisa Bue scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists against the Bobcats (2-3). Bue and Penley were joined on the all-tournament team by junior Brenda Slyt, who dropped in 15 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field.
WORKING OVERTIME: The 73-70 double-overtime loss to East Carolina University on Dec. 2 matched the longest in NDSU women's basketball history ... North Dakota State defeated Northern Colorado 100-97 on Jan. 3, 2000, in Greeley, Colo. ... The Bison drop to 13-11 in overtime games including the 55-50 setback to Northern Arizona on Nov. 19 this season.
NDSU IN THE DIVISION I INDEPENDENT STATISTICS: North Dakota State had several athletes listed among the Division I Independent individual stat leaders thru games played Feb. 10. Individually, Lisa Bue is tied for No. 6 in scoring (14.2 ppg), No. 8 in field goal shooting (.419, 108-258) and No. 9 in blocked shots (0.90 bpg); Brenda Slyt is tied for No. 3 in free throw shooting (.841, 37-44), No. 6 in field goal shooting (.434, 95-219) and No. 10 in scoring (12.1 ppg); Jerri Penley is No. 1 in blocked shots (2.10 bpg) and No. 8 in rebounding (5.9 rpg); Kayla Dahlen is tie for No. 3 in free throw shooting (.841, 37-44); Amanda Girodat is No. 1 in assists (4.29 apg), and Jenna Lemnus is No. 8 in blocked shots (0.95 bpg) Collectively, NDSU is No. 1 in blocked shots (4.90 bpg).h
FIVE NDSU PLAYERS NAMED TO DIVISION I INDEPENDENT ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Eleven repeat selections highlight the 32-member 2006-07 Division I Independent Women's Basketball All-Academic team released Feb. 1 ... Making their second appearance on the all-academic team were Lisa Bue, Katie Dahlen, Kayla Dahlen and Danni Heintzelman of North Dakota State ... Amanda Girodat of NDSU was named for the first time ... Ten of the 11 Division I Independent schools have at least one representative on the all-academic team. The Division I Independent Women's Basketball All-Academic team was selected by sports information directors at member institutions. Nominations from each school were accepted for student-athletes who had at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA, had reached at least a sophomore athletic standing and were a starter or key reserve for the team.
THE RULEY FILE: Amy Ruley is in her 28th year as head coach of the Bison. Ruley has compiled a record of 650-186, good for a .778 winning percentage ... Ruley was named as the head coach on the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball 25th Anniversary team ... NDSU's fourth straight NCAA title in 1996 was selected as one of the "25 Defining Moments in NCAA History" ... She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in June, 2004, and the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in November, 2004 ... Ruley was a contributing writer for the book, "She Can Coach -- Tools for Success from 20 top Women Coaches" ... The NDSU coach authored an article dealing with "Networking" ... Coaches from all levels and representing 13 different sports are featured in the book edited by Dr. Cecile Reynaud ... Ruley recorded the 600th win in her career when NDSU defeated Augustana (78-73) on Feb. 14, 2004 ... At that time, she was the second active Division II women's basketball coach to reach 600 wins and the 14th at any NCAA Division (I, II or III) ... Ruley was inducted into the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in June, 2000, and was listed No. 8 on the "50 Greatest Sports Figures in North Dakota" as selected by the staff of Sports Illustrated in January 2000 ... Ruley received the inaugural C. Vivian Stringer Women's Coaching Award by the United States Sports Academy in 2002, and also received the Fargo Optimist Club's 2002 Friend of the Youth Award for her work with the youth in the Fargo-Moorhead community ... The 1993 WBCA Division II Coach of the Year, she directed the Bison to 25 straight winning seasons (1980-05), twenty 20-win seasons and 18 NCAA playoff berths ... NDSU has made nine NCAA Final Four appearances including five national titles in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 ... The Bison also won or shared 10 NCC titles.
THE RECLASSIFICATION:
North Dakota State is in its fourth year of a five-year NCAA reclassification from Division II to Division I ... The Bison will not be eligible for NCAA playoffs until the 2008-09 season in any sport except wrestling and women's volleyball, which became tournament eligible in 2006-07 ... NDSU's football program competes at the Division I-AA level and is a charter member of the Great West Football Conference (formed in 2004) ... NDSU will join the Mid-Continent Conference in 2007-08.
