NDSU WBB Returns Home to Host SEC Foe Mississippi State Tuesday

Tuesday, Dec. 17: Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-1) at North Dakota State Bison (3-7)
Bison Sports Arena (5,830) | Fargo, N.D. | 7:05 p.m.

NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | NDSU Season Stats (PDF) | Mississippi State Season Stats (PDF) | Mississippi State Game Notes (PDF)

NDSU to Host SEC Member Mississippi State
        NDSU women's basketball will host SEC member Mississippi State Tuesday, Dec. 17, at the Bison Sports Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. The game will be televised throughout the state of North Dakota on MeTV.

Against Mississippi State
        Tuesday's game against the Bulldogs will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs and the fourth meeting between NDSU and an SEC opponent. The Bison are 1-2 all-time against SEC foes.

About the Bulldogs
        Mississippi State enters Tuesday's contest with an overall record of 10-1 after defeating Southern Miss Saturday, Dec. 14, 71-61, in Starkville, Miss. The Bulldogs' only loss of the season so far came against Middle Tennessee State on Dec. 1.
        Mississippi State is paced by three players averaging double figures. Martha Alwal leads the team, averaging 15.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Kendra Grant is averaging 13.6 points while Dominique Dillingham is averaging 10.5 points, respectively.
        As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 77 points per game while holding their opponents to just 53.9 points per game. Mississippi State is out-rebounding its opponents, on average, 42.3 to 36.8.

Last Time Out: NDSU Falls at North Dakota, 88-83
The North Dakota State women's basketball team (3-7) dropped an 88-83 contest to rival North Dakota (4-3) Saturday, Dec. 14, inside the Betty Engelstad Center in Grand Forks.
        The Bison led by two at halftime, 43-41, but couldn't maintain the lead in the final minutes of the second half. UND was able to use an 11-2 run in the final 2:05 of the half to claim the 88-83 victory.
        NDSU was led in scoring by Marena Whittle with a career-high 23 points on 9-for-17 shooting. Four other Bison reached double figures. Holly Johnson recorded 17 points while Miki Stephenson had 13 and Kahla Becken tallied 11. Brooke LeMar scored 10 points, respectively, to round out the double figure scoring.
        UND was paced by Madi Buck with a game-high 37 points.
        The Bison were 33-for-69 from the field for 48 percent but just 8-for-20 (40 percent) from three. NDSU only attempted 10 free throws during the game, making nine of them.
        North Dakota was 30-for-66 (46 percent) from the field and 8-for-16 (50 percent) from beyond the arc. UND took 24 free throws, converting 20 of them for 83 percent.
        NDSU was out-rebounded by UND, 38-36.

Sharing the Ball
        Brooke LeMar leads the Bison with 58 assists through 10 games. She is averaging 5.8 assists per game. The Canyon Country, Calif., native leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0. LeMar is shooting 42 percent from three and 44 percent from the field in the last 10 games. She has started in all 10 games so far this season.

Raising the Bar
        Marena Whittle scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting in the loss at North Dakota Saturday, Dec. 14. It marked the second time this season Whittle has posted at least 20 points in a game. She scored 20 against Mayville State in the Bison's regular season opener Nov. 8.

Australian Connection
        NDSU's Marena Whittle and Bree Whatman are both from Victoria, Australia. Whittle is a sophomore from Vermont South, Victoria, while Whatman is a freshman hailing from Beaconsfield, Victoria.
        The duo has combined to average 18.1 of NDSU's 72.2 points per game.
        Whittle is tied for the team lead in rebounding, averaging 6.6 per game, and is NDSU's leading shot-blocker with 12 blocks. She has started in 9-of-10 games for NDSU.
        Whatman has 31 assists, second-most on the team to only point-guard, Brooke LeMar, and has a team-high nine steals. She has started every game this season.
        The duo has a combined 16 steals in NDSU's 10 games.

Bison in The Summit League Statistics
        NDSU is fifth in the league in scoring with 72.2 ppg, fourth in the league in rebounding, averaging 41.8 boards per game, and leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio, with a ratio of 1.1. The Bison are second in the league in block shots, averaging four per game.
        Individually, Brooke LeMar is fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 15.1 ppg, and leads the league in assists, averaging 5.8 per game. She is fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio, with a ratio of 2.0. Marena Whittle is tied for third in blocked shots, averaging 1.2 per game. Whittle and Miki Stephenson are tied for sixth in rebounding, each averaging 6.6 per game.

Crunching the Numbers
        Through 10 games, the Bison are paced in scoring by Brooke LeMar, averaging 15.1 ppg, and Holly Johnson with 11.9 ppg. LeMar also has an impressive 58 assists in NDSU's 10 games. Miki Stephenson and Marena Whittle lead NDSU in rebounding, averaging 6.6 rpg. Bree Whatman leads the team in steals with nine.
        As a team, NDSU is averaging 72.2 ppg while giving up 72.8 ppg to its opponents. The Bison are out-rebounding their opponents, on average, 41.8 to 41.2. NDSU is shooting 42 percent from the field and 36 percent from three. The Bison are shooting 72 percent from the free throw line.

Bison in the National Statistics
        The Bison are ranked 19th in all of NCAA Division I in turnovers per game, averaging 12.7 per game. NDSU is also in the top-50 for assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 38th with a ratio of 1.13. The Bison are 52nd in three-point field-goal percentage, making 35.6 percent of their shots.
        Individually, Brooke LeMar is ranked 32nd in assists per game with 5.8 per game.

Taking Care of the Ball
        The Bison have taken care of the basketball so far this season, averaging only 12.7 turnovers to 14.3 assists per game. NDSU's assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.1. The Bison have forced their opponents into 11.9 miscues.

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 69-88 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.

Bison Basketball on the Radio
        Tuesday's game will be aired live on KFGO 790-AM in Fargo-Moorhead. Scott Miller will provide play-by-play and Jeremy Jorgenson will handle color commentary duties. Pregame is set for 6:45 p.m.

Following The Herd

NDSU women's basketball games can be heard live on KVOX 740-AM "The Fan" or KFGO 790-AM throughout the season.
Free live audio is also available for every NDSU women's basketball game at GoBison.com/Showcase.
The Bison's home games against Mississippi State, Dec. 17, and South Dakota State, Jan. 25, will be aired throughout the state of North Dakota on MeTV. In addition, all games in The Summit League Women's Basketball Championship, Mar. 8-11, will be televised on Fox College Sports and Midco Sports Network.
All home North Dakota State women's basketball games will be streamed live on a pay-per-view basis at GoBison.com/Showcase. Live stats are available free of charge for every home basketball game. Postgame video highlights and interviews will also be available at GoBison.com following each home game.

Up Next
NDSU is idle until December 28-29, when it travels to San Antonio, Texas for the UTSA Holiday Classic. The Bison will battle the host UTSA Roadrunners Saturday, Dec. 28, before taking on Northwestern State (La.) Sunday, Dec. 29.

Calendar

NDSU WBB Returns Home to Host SEC Foe Mississippi State Tuesday

Next Event

Footer

Upcoming Events

NDSU WBB Returns Home to Host SEC Foe Mississippi State Tuesday

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos

Footer