Bison Women's Basketball Heads West for DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic

Friday, Nov. 29: North Dakota State Bison (1-4) vs. Montana Grizzlies (2-0)

Gersten Pavilion (4,156) | Los Angeles | 3 p.m. CT / 1 p.m. PT
**DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Loyola-Marymount University**

Saturday, Nov. 30: North Dakota State vs. Loyola-Marymount or UC Irvine
Gersten Pavilion (4,156) | Los Angeles | TBA
**DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Loyola-Marymount University**

NDSU to Participate in DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic Hosted by Loyola-Marymount
NDSU women's basketball will look to snap a four game losing streak when they travel to Los Angeles to take part in the DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic Friday, Nov. 29, and Saturday, Nov. 30. The Bison will take on Montana Friday at 3 p.m. CT / 1 p.m. PT before battling either Loyola-Marymount or UC Irvine Saturday at a to be determined time.

Series History

Montana - Friday's game against the Grizzlies will be the second meeting all-time in the series. Montana leads the series 1-0 after defeating the Bison back in 1977, 58-49, in Bozeman, Mont.
Loyola-Marymount - If the Bison and Lions meet Saturday, it will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
UC Irvine - If NDSU and UC Irvine meet Saturday, it will also be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Scouting the Opponents

Montana - The Griz enter the week with an overall record of 2-0, defeating MSU Northern and Portland. They are receiving votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll released Tuesday, Nov. 26. Montana is paced by three players averaging double figures. Torry Hill leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.5 points, while Kellie Cole averages 13 points. Alycia Sims rounds out the Grizzlies in double figures, averaging 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. As a team, Montana averages 72 points per game while limiting its opponents to 55 per game. The Griz are out-rebounding their opponents, on average, 46 to 37.5 and is forcing 18.5 turnovers while only turning the ball over 11.5 times in two games.
Loyola-Marymount - LMU enters the week at 1-4 overall, losing to New Mexico, Utah State, Oregon State and Long Beach State, while defeating New Mexico State. The Lions are led by Hazel Remirez, averaging 13.6 points per game. Mackenzie Kerins is the leading rebounder for LMU, averaging 7.5 boards. As a team, the Lions average 68.4 points per game while allowing 80.2 per game from their opponents. LMU is out-rebounding its opponents, 46 to 45.6. The Lions average 21.2 turnovers while their opponents average 19.2 miscues.
UC Irvine - The Anteaters enter the weekend at 3-2 overall, defeating South Dakota, Nevada and Denver while falling to Pepperdine and Idaho. UC Irvine is led offensively by three players in double figures. Camille Buckley leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16 points and 10.2 boards. Jennifer Tsurumoto is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13 points and Madison McKenney is third, averaging 10.8 points, respectively. As a team, the Anteaters average 70.8 points while allowing 70.6 points. UC Irvine is being out-rebounded, on average, 47.4 to 45.

NDSU Drops 76-64 Decision at Milwaukee Saturday, Nov. 23
        The North Dakota State women's basketball team (1-4) fell to the Milwaukee Panthers (1-2) inside the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee Saturday, Nov. 23, 76-64.
        The Bison were paced in scoring by Brooke LeMar with a game-high 25 points, marking her second consecutive game scoring more than 20 points. She was the only Bison to reach double figures in the game and was also the leading NDSU rebounder, snagging nine boards.
        NDSU went 24-for-73 (33 percent) from the field and was 6-for-21 (29 percent) from three in the contest. The Bison made 10-of-12 free throws for 83 percent.
        Milwaukee was led in scoring by Avyanna Young with 22 points while Ashley Green had a double-double for the Panthers with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
        The Panthers were 26-for-59 (44 percent) from the field and 4-for-17 (24 percent) from beyond the arc in the game. Milwaukee was 20-for-30 (67 percent) from the charity stripe.
        Both the Bison and Panthers collected 43 rebounds in the game.

LeMar Named Summit League Player of the Week
        North Dakota State women's basketball junior guard Brooke LeMar was named The Summit League Player of the Week after leading the Bison in both of their games last week against Northern Iowa and Milwaukee. It's her first career Player of the Week honor.
        In Wednesday's game against UNI, the junior recorded 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting while dishing out eight assists.
        Saturday, at Milwaukee, LeMar nearly recorded a double-double, scoring 25 points and snagging nine rebounds. She also had five assists in the contest.
        For the week, the Canyon Country, Calif., native averaged 24.5 points, 6.5 assists and six boards per game along with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. LeMar also shot 50 percent from the field, going 20-of-40.

Bison in The Summit League Statistics
        Through five games, the Bison rank third in The Summit League in scoring offense, averaging 74.6 points per game, but, are seventh in scoring defense, allowing 74.4 points per game. NDSU leads the league in blocked shots with 5.2 per game and defensive rebounds, averaging 30.6 per game. The Bison are third in offensive rebounds with 13 per game.
        Individually, LeMar leads the league in scoring with 18.6 points per game and is third in assists, averaging 4.8 per game. Both LeMar and Marena Whittle are third in the league in three-point percentage, making 50 percent of their shots.

Breaking Down the Numbers
        Through five games, NDSU is paced offensively by LeMar, averaging 18.6 points per game, Whittle with 10.8 points per game and Holly Johnson with 10.4 points per game. Miki Stephenson leads the Bison in rebounding so far, with an average of six boards per game. LeMar also has a team-high 24 assists.
        As a team, the Bison are averaging 74.6 points while giving up 74.4 points. NDSU is out-rebounding its opponents 43.6 to 41.

Road Trippin'
        After facing Northern Iowa Nov. 20, the Bison will not return home to the Bison Sports Arena until Dec. 17, when they face Mississippi State. Between then, NDSU will travel to Milwaukee, Wis. to face Milwaukee, Los Angeles to participate in the DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic, Colorado Springs to compete in the Air Force Classic and Grand Forks to face rival North Dakota. The Bison will travel a total of 6,712 miles before their next home game.

NDSU at Home
        North Dakota State has compiled a 408-76 (.843) record at home, including a 104-37 mark inside the "Friendly Confines" over the past 10 seasons good for a .738 winning percentage. The Bison are 1-1 at home this season.

NDSU Women's Basketball Inks Three on Early Signing Day
        North Dakota State women's basketball head coach Carolyn DeHoff announced Wednesday, Nov. 13, the signing of Olivia Baker, McKenna Happke and Taylor Thunstedt to National Letters of Intent to attend North Dakota State University and play basketball beginning in fall 2014.
        Baker, a 6-foot-4 post player from Minnetonka, Minn., is a four-year letterwinner on the basketball court at Minnetonka High School. She has played varsity basketball all four years at Minnetonka.
        Happke, a 6-1 forward from Coon Rapids, Minn., is a two-time all-conference selection at Providence Academy in Plymouth, Minn. Happke was part of the 2012 Class 2A state champion basketball team, a member of the team that took fourth at the state tournament in 2011 and third at state last season. Happke has been named the team captain her upcoming senior year.
        Thunstedt, a 5-8 guard from Spicer, Minn., is a three-time all-conference selection at New London-Spicer. She is also a three-time, first-team all-area honoree and garnered all-state accolades her sophomore and junior seasons after honorable mention as a freshman. Thunstedt set a new single-game scoring record at New London-Spicer her junior year, scoring 50 points in a game against Glencoe-Silver Lake. She also set a new record for 3-pointers attempted in a season (119) and broke the all-time school scoring record. Thunstedt averaged 29 points and made 104 threes that year.

Bison Eighth in Summit League Preseason Poll
        The North Dakota State women's basketball team was tabbed eighth in The Summit League preseason poll released Tuesday, Oct. 15 by the league office. The Bison received 74 points in the poll.
        NDSU returns nine student-athletes from last season's team, including one starter in sophomore forward Marena Whittle. She started 26-of-29 games in 2012-13, averaging 6.7 points and 7.1 rebounds.
        South Dakota State was picked to win the league after claiming its record fifth-consecutive Summit League tournament title and fourth regular season title in six years. The Jackrabbits collected 27-of-30 first-place votes and 319 points in the voting conducted by the league's head coaches, SIDs and media.
        IUPUI was picked to finish runner-up in the poll, collecting three first-place votes and 276 points, after finishing second in the regular season a year ago. South Dakota was third with 224 points followed by Fort Wayne in fourth with 179. League newcomer Denver, Western Illinois, Omaha and the Bison rounded out the poll.
        Fort Wayne's Amanda Hyde was voted as the league's preseason Player of the Year after garnering Player of the Year and first team All-Summit League honors last season.
        Accompanying Hyde on the first team are IUPUI's DeAirra Goss, 2013 Newcomer of the Year Western Illinois' Ashley Luke, last season's Tournament MVP South Dakota's Nicole Seekamp, Denver's Morgan Van Riper-Rose and South Dakota State's Megan Waytashek.
        The second team is composed of reigning Defensive Player of the Year in IUPUI's Dee-Dee Bellamy, South Dakota's Polly Harrington, Omaha's Ericka House, South Dakota State's Steph Paluch and Fort Wayne's Haley Seibert.

The DeHoff File
        Carolyn DeHoff begins her sixth season as head women's basketball coach at North Dakota State University. She has compiled a 67-85 record overall including a 46-42 ledger in The Summit League.
        The Bison finished the 2013 season with an overall record of 10-19 and were 6-10 in league play. Seniors Dani DeGagne and Katie Birkel were both named to the All-Summit League second team.
        NDSU once again excelled in the classroom in 2013. The Bison placed 10th on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll in NCAA Division I and had eight student-athletes named to The Summit League Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence. Nine Bison were also selected to the Winter/Spring Summit League Academic Honor Roll.
        DeHoff was introduced as North Dakota State University's ninth head women's basketball coach in the program's 48-year history at a press conference in April 2008.
        DeHoff replaced Women's Basketball Hall of Fame coach Amy Ruley, who resigned in March 2008 to accept an associate athletic director for development position at North Dakota State.
        DeHoff completed her first season as associate head coach in 2007-08 and fifth overall on Elaine Elliott's Utah staff. The Utes finished 27-5 overall and won the Mountain West Conference regular season championship with a 16-0 record. Utah lost in the first round of the 2008 NCAA tournament. Her duties at Utah included coordinating recruiting efforts, point guard development, organization and planning of the schedule, coordination of academic affairs and directing summer camps.
        During her stay in Salt Lake City, the Utes won 123 games, three regular season conference championships and one MWC tournament title. Utah made three trips to the NCAA tournament including an Elite Eight berth in 2006 and a WNIT appearance in 2007. The Utes also had a pair of WNBA first round draft picks, along with second round pick in the 2008 draft.
        Her 18-year coaching resume includes a five-year stop at Weber State. The Wildcats went from a sub-.500 program to a back-to-back NCAA tournament participant. Weber State won consecutive Big Sky titles and posted back-to-back 20 win seasons.
        Prior to Weber State, DeHoff was the top assistant at Wyoming for seven seasons and also was an assistant coach at Coronado High School in Scottsdale, Ariz.
        A standout high school player at Cheyenne (Wyo.) East, DeHoff was a Street & Smith's All-America her senior year. She played at Arizona State University from 1987-90, where she was a captain.
        A native of Cheyenne, DeHoff graduated from Arizona State in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science and physical education. She was inducted into her high school athletic hall of fame during the fall of 2008.

The Opposing Coaches

Montana - The Griz are under the direction of 36th season head coach Robin Selvig. He entered this season ranked sixth among active Division I coaches in victories. He has a career record at Montana of 798-255.
Loyola-Marymount - The Lions are led by second season head coach Charity Elliott. In her first season at LMU, she posted a record of 13-18. In 11 years as a head coach, Elliott has amassed a career record of 195-141.
UC Irvine - The Anteaters are under the direction of second season head coach Doug Oliver. He posted a 9-21 overall record in his first season at the helm of the Anteater program in 2012-13.

Bison Basketball on the Radio
All NDSU basketball games in the DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic will be aired live on KVOX 740-AM "The Fan." Jack Michaels will call the action. A free, live audio stream of the games will also be available at GoBison.com/Showcase.

Bison Basketball on the World Wide Web
All home North Dakota State women's basketball games will be streamed live in high definition on a pay-per-view basis at GoBison.com/Showcase. Live stats courtesy of NDSU athletics and Stat Broadcast are available free of charge for every home basketball game. Postgame video highlights and interviews will also be available at GoBison.com and the NDSU athletics' YouTube page at YouTube.com/NDSUAthletics.

Up Next
NDSU will travel to Colorado Springs to compete in the Air Force Classic, Dec. 6-7. The Bison will face the host Air Force Falcons Friday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. CT before battling Wyoming Saturday, Dec. 7, at 3 p.m. CT.

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