North Dakota State Athletics
Denver
NDSU Women's Basketball Hosts Summit League Newcomer Denver Saturday
1/31/2014 11:52:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Saturday, Feb. 1: Denver Pioneers (5-16, 3-3 Summit) at North Dakota State Bison (5-16, 1-5 Summit) Bison Sports Arena (5,830) | Fargo, N.D. | 2:05 p.m. **Summit League Game** |
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Media Coverage: Live Stats | Live Audio (Free) | Live Video (PPV) | Radio: KFGO 790-AM (Jack Michaels, play-by-play / Jeremy Jorgenson, color commentary) TV: None NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | NDSU Season Stats | Denver Game Notes (PDF) | Denver Season Stats | Summit League Weekly Notes (PDF) |
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Social Media: @NDSUAthletics | @NDSUwbb | @SummitHoops |
Bison Battle Summit League Newcomer Denver to Closeout Four-Game Homestand
The North Dakota State women's basketball team will finish its four-game homestand with a Summit League contest against league newcomer Denver Saturday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. inside the Bison Sports Arena.
The Series Against Denver
Saturday's tilt with league newcomer Denver will be the seventh meeting all-time in a series that dates back to 1987. NDSU leads the series, 5-1. The last time NDSU and Denver met was in 2009, with the Bison taking a 62-50 victory over the Pioneers in Fargo.
About the Pioneers
Denver enters the weekend with an overall record of 5-16 and are 3-3 in Summit League play after falling to South Dakota State in Brookings Thursday, 72-61.
The Pioneers are led by four players averaging double figures in Paige Bradley (13.1 ppg), Kailey Edwards (12.4 ppg), Theresa Wirth (11.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and Morgan Van Riper-Rose (10.2 ppg).
As a team, Denver is averaging 69.1 ppg while giving up 77.5 per game to its opponents.
Last Time Out: South Dakota Uses Hot Three-Point Shooting to Down Bison Women Thursday, 83-70
The North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team (5-16, 1-5 Summit) suffered an 83-70 loss to the South Dakota Coyotes (11-10, 2-4 Summit) in Summit League action Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Bison Sports Arena.
The 'Yotes shot a blistering 53 percent from beyond the arc in the contest, making 10 out of 19 attempts. South Dakota went 48 percent from the field, going 30-for-62.
Four Bison posted double-figure scoring in the game. Holly Johnson, Marena Whittle and Brooke LeMar each tallied 13 points to lead NDSU while Miki Stephenson added 11. LeMar also dished out 10 assists, one shy of her season-high, to complete her first double-double of the season. Stephenson led NDSU on the glass, snagging eight rebounds.
The Coyotes were paced by Raeshel Contreras with a career-high 28 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including a 6-for-9 performance from beyond the arc.
The Bison struggled shooting the ball in the contest, going just 26-for-71 (37 percent) from the field and 7-for-23 (30 percent) from three-point land.
The Summit Scoring Blues
NDSU has struggled scoring the basketball in Summit League play, going only 147-416 from the field for 35.3 percent. The Bison are 32-120 from three for just 26.7 percent.
North Dakota State is averaging 64.8 points per game in league play compared to 78 from its opponents.
Taking Care of the Basketball
The Bison lead the league in fewest turnovers per game, averaging just 12.8, while forcing their opponents into 13.6 miscues per contest. NDSU is ranked 17th 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. 27.
Taking Advantage of the Charity Stripe
The Bison are second in the league in free throw percentage, going 241-322 for an impressive 74.8 percent. NDSU is ranked 39th nationally in free throw percentage in the latest NCAA national rankings.
Individually, Marena Whittle leads the team in free throw percentage, going 43-for-52 from the charity stripe for 82.7 percent.
Scoring at Will
Brooke LeMar netted 20 points in the contest against South Dakota State Saturday, Jan. 25. LeMar has now scored at least 20 points in a game eight times this season.
LeMar previously scored 20 or more points against Montana (21), Milwaukee (25), Northern Iowa (24), Mississippi State (21), Northern Colorado (25), Western Illinois (21) and Valley City State (21).
Distributing the Basketball
Brooke LeMar dished out 10 assists in NDSU's game against South Dakota Thursday, one shy of her season-high. She has dished out at least five assists in 10 games this season. The Canyon Country, Calif., native leads the herd in assists with 108, and averages 5.1 per game. LeMar is second in the league in assists per game and ranks 65th nationally in the latest NCAA rankings.
Shot Blocker
Marena Whittle leads the Bison in blocked shots with 24. She has swatted at least one shot in five of NDSU's six Summit League games. The Victoria, Australia, native averages 1.1 blocks per game.
Miki Stephenson is second on the team in blocked shots with 17.
Steal Leader
Marena Whittle not only leads the team in blocks, she also has a team-high 22 steals in 21 games. She has at least one steal in five of NDSU's six league games.
Brooke LeMar (19), Kahla Becken (17), Bree Whatman (13), Holly Johnson (13) and Stephenson (13) have also recorded double figure steals through NDSU's 21 games.
Crashing the Boards
Marena Whittle leads the Bison in rebounding, averaging 6.9 per game. After six games of Summit League play, Whittle is averaging an impressive 8.7 boards in league play. Miki Stephenson is second on the team with six per game.
21 Games and Counting
Brooke LeMar and Holly Johnson have started all 21 games for the Bison this season.
Bison in The Summit League Statistics
Relevant Team Statistics:
- Scoring Offense: 7th (68.8 points per game)
- Scoring Defense: 6th (73.3 points per game)
- Free Throw Percentage: 2nd (241-322, 74.8 percent)
- Field Goal Percentage: 8th (540-1374, 39.3 percent)
- Three Point Field Goal Percentage: 5th (123-388, 31.7 percent)
- Rebounding: 4th (39.9 per game)
- Blocked Shots: 3rd (3.5 per game)
- Assist-to-Turnover Ratio: 2nd (1.1 ratio)
- Assists: 3rd (13.8 per game)
Relevant Individual Statistics:
- Scoring Offense: Brooke LeMar (5th, 15.1 points per game)
- Rebounding: Marena Whittle (4th, 6.9 per game), Miki Stephenson (9th, 6.0 per game)
- Assists: Brooke LeMar (2nd, 5.1 per game)
- Three Point Field Goal Percentage: Brooke LeMar (5th, 42.4 percent)
- Blocked Shots: Marena Whittle (T-3rd, 1.1 per game), Miki Stephenson (7th, 0.8 per game)
- Assists-to-Turnover Ratio: Brooke LeMar (3rd, 1.6 ratio)
- Minutes Played: Brooke LeMar (4th, 33.8 per game)
Crunching the Numbers
Through 21 games, North Dakota State is averaging 68.8 points per game (ppg) and 39.9 rebounds per game (rpg). The Bison are shooting 39.3 percent from the field, going 540-1374, and are 123-388 from three for 31.7 percent. NDSU is excelling at the free throw line, going 241-322 for 74.8 percent. NDSU only averages 12.8 turnovers per game.
Individually, Brooke LeMar paces NDSU in scoring, averaging 15.1 ppg and also has a team-high 108 assists. She has led the Bison in scoring in 11 games this season. The leading rebounders for the Bison are Marena Whittle (6.9 rpg) and Miki Stephenson (6 rpg). Whittle also has a team-high 24 blocks and 22 steals and has been NDSU's top rebounder in nine contests this season.
NDSU at Home
North Dakota State has compiled a 409-82 (.833) record at home, including a 105-43 mark inside the "Friendly Confines" over the past 10 seasons good for a .709 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 71-97 record overall including a 47-47 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 Pioneers will be aired live on KFGO 790-AM beginning at 1:40 p.m. Jack Michaels will provide play-by-play with Jeremy Jorgenson handling 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.
- 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 treks to Indianapolis for a Summit League contest against IUPUI Thursday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET).
