NDSU Looks for Third Consecutive Win Saturday Afternoon, Hosts No. 22 South Dakota State
        The North Dakota State women's basketball team will go for their third-straight victory when 22nd-ranked and Summit League rival South Dakota State visits the Bison Sports Arena Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m. The game will be televised throughout the state of North Dakota on MeTV.
 
The Series Against South Dakota State
        Saturday's Summit League showdown with the Jackrabbits will be the 78th meeting all-time between NDSU and SDSU in a series dating back to 1976. The Jacks lead the series, 38-39, and have won the last six meetings.
        NDSU's last win against SDSU was during the 2010-11 season when the Bison posted a 78-71 victory in Brookings.
 
About the Jackrabbits
        SDSU enters the game with an overall record of 13-7 and are a perfect 4-0 in Summit League play. The Jacks are ranked 22nd in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll.
        South Dakota State is paced by Summit League preseason first-team selection Megan Waytashek with 11.6 points per game (ppg).  Waytashek leads The Summit League in free-throw percentage, making 89.6 percent of shots at the charity stripe.
        The leading rebounder for the Jacks is Mariah Clarin, who is averaging 6.6 boards per game.
        As a team, SDSU averages 67.3 ppg while limiting its opponents to 66.2 per game. The Jackrabbits hold a 40.2 to 37.0 advantage on the glass.
               
Last Time Out: Blistering 2nd-Half Shooting Leads Bison Women to 83-61 Win Over Valley City State Wednesday
      The North Dakota State women's basketball team (5-14) used a blistering second half shooting performance to coast to an 83-61 victory over the Valley City State Vikings (10-6) Wednesday, Jan. 22, inside the Bison Sports Arena.
        NDSU went 22-for-34 from the field in the second stanza, an impressive 65 percent.
        Brooke LeMar and Holly Johnson both surpassed the 20-point barrier in the game, scoring 21 and 20, to pace the Bison. The 21 points from LeMar marked the seventh time in 2013-14 she has scored at least 20 points in a game. Marena Whittle also reached double figures, scoring 18 points, respectively.
        The Vikings were led by Sadiqah Jihad and Megan Trautman with 10 points apiece.
 
Taking Care of the Basketball
        The Bison lead the league in fewest turnovers per game, averaging just 13.2, while forcing their opponents into 13.4 miscues per contest. NDSU is ranked 23rd out of 343 women's basketball programs in fewest turnovers per game in the latest NCAA Division I Women's Basketball national statistics rankings released Monday, Jan. 20. 
 
Taking Advantage of the Charity Stripe
        The Bison are second in the league in free throw percentage, going 218-294 for an impressive 74.1 percent. NDSU is ranked 38th nationally in free throw percentage in the latest NCAA national rankings.
        Individually, Marena Whittle leads the team in free throw percentage, going an impressive 34-for-41 from the charity stripe for 82.6 percent.
 
New Milestone
        Alisa Brown netted a career-best 13 points and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the Bison victory at Western Illinois Saturday, Jan. 18. The Sioux Falls, S.D., resident went an impressive 3-for-3 from three-point range. She also had seven rebounds and two steals in the contest.
 
Scoring at Will
        Brooke LeMar scored 21 points at Western Illinois Saturday, Jan. 18, and against Valley City State Wednesday, Jan. 22. LeMar has now scored at least 20 points in a game seven times this season.
        LeMar previously scored 20 or more points against Montana (21), Milwaukee (25), Northern Iowa (24), Mississippi State (21) and Northern Colorado (25).
 
Distributing the Basketball
        Brooke LeMar had seven assists in NDSU's win against Western Illinois and five versus Valley City State. She has dished out at least five assists in nine games this season. The Canyon Country, Calif., native leads the herd in assists with 94, and averages 4.9 per game.
 
Shot Blocker
        Marena Whittle leads the Bison in blocked shots with 19. She has swatted at least one shot in three of NDSU's four Summit League games. The Victoria, Australia, native averages one block per game.
        Miki Stephenson is second on the team in blocked shots with 15.
Steal Leader
        Whittle not only leads the team in blocks, she also has a team-high 19 steals in 19 games. She has at least one steal in three of NDSU's four league games.
        LeMar (15), Kahla Becken (15), Bree Whatman (13), Stephenson (11) and Holly Johnson (11) have also recorded double figure steals through NDSU's 19 games.
       
Crashing the Boards
        Marena Whittle leads the Bison in rebounding, averaging 6.8 per game. After four games of Summit League play, Whittle is averaging an impressive 9.3 boards in league play. Miki Stephenson is second on the team with 5.9 per game.
 
Bison in The Summit League Statistics
Relevant Team Statistics:

• Scoring Offense: 6th (69.5 points per game)
• Scoring Defense: 6th (72.8 points per game)
• Free Throw Percentage: 2nd (218-294, 74.1 percent)
• Field Goal Percentage: 8th (496-1237, 40.1 percent)
• Three Point Field Goal Percentage: 3rd (111-342, 32.5 percent)
• Rebounding: 3rd (40.3 per game)
• Blocked Shots: 3rd (3.4 per game)
• Assist-to-Turnover Ratio: 3rd (1.0 ratio)
• Assists: 5th (13.7 per game)

Relevant Individual Statistics:

• Scoring Offense: Brooke LeMar (5th, 15.0 points per game)
• Rebounding: Marena Whittle (4th, 6.8 per game), Miki Stephenson (8th, 5.9 per game)
• Assists: Brooke LeMar (2nd, 4.9 per game)
• Three Point Field Goal Percentage: Brooke LeMar (4th, 43.1 percent)
• Blocked Shots: Marena Whittle (T-4th, 1.0 per game), Miki Stephenson (9th, 1.0 per game)
• Assists-to-Turnover Ratio: Brooke LeMar (4th, 1.6 ratio)
• Minutes Played: Brooke LeMar (6th, 33.2 per game)

 
Crunching the Numbers
        Through 19 games, North Dakota State is averaging 69.5 points per game (ppg) and 40.3 rebounds per game (rpg). The Bison are shooting 40.1 percent from the field, going 496-1237, and are 111-342 from three for 32.5 percent. NDSU is excelling at the free throw line, going 218-294 for 74.1 percent. NDSU only averages 13.2 turnovers per game.
        Individually, Brooke LeMar paces NDSU in scoring, averaging 15 ppg and also has a team-high 94 assists. She has led the Bison in scoring in nine games this season. The leading rebounders for the Bison are Marena Whittle (6.8 rpg) and Miki Stephenson (5.9 rpg). Whittle also has a team-high 19 blocks and 19 steals and has been NDSU's top rebounder in eight contests this season.
 
NDSU at Home
        North Dakota State has compiled a 409-80 (.836) record at home, including a 105-41 mark inside the "Friendly Confines" over the past 10 seasons good for a .719 winning percentage.
 
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 71-95 record overall including a 47-45 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
        Saturday's game against the Jacks will air live on KVOX 740-AM "The Fan" in Fargo-Moorhead beginning at 1:40 p.m. Jack Michaels will provide play-by-play while Jeremy Jorgenson will handle color commentary duties.
 
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/allaccess.
• The Bison's home game against 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/allaccess. Live stats are available free of charge for every home basketball game. Postgame video highlights, recaps and interviews will also be available at GoBison.com following each home game.

Up Next
      NDSU continues its four-game homestand, hosting Summit League foe South Dakota at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, inside the Bison Sports Arena.