Game 1: Kent State | Friday, Nov. 14 | Noon
Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse | Fargo, N.D.
Live Stats | Live Video (PPV) | Free Live Audio 
Radio: 104.7 FM (Jack Michaels, play-by-play), 11:40 a.m. airtime

Game 2: Milwaukee | Sunday, Nov. 16 | 2 p.m.
Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse | Fargo, N.D.
Live Stats | Live Video (PPV) | Free Live Audio
Radio: 740-AM "The Fan" (Scott Miller, play-by-play), 1:40 p.m. airtime

Complete NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | NDSU Women's Basketball on Twitter | #SummitWBB Weekly Notes (PDF)

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NDSU Hosts Kent State, Milwaukee to Open 2014-15 Regular Season
       The North Dakota State women's basketball team will tip-off the 2014-15 regular season this weekend with a pair of games at home inside the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. The Bison will open with Kent State at noon on Friday, Nov. 14, before entertaining Milwaukee on Sunday, Nov. 16, at 2 p.m.
 
New Home
        The Bison will compete in the historic Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse for the next two seasons as the Bison Sports Arena is renovated into the new Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
 
The Series Against Kent State
        Friday's regular season opener against the Kent State Golden Flashes will mark the first-ever meeting between the two women's basketball programs.
 
The Series Against Milwaukee
        Sunday's tilt with the Milwaukee Panthers will mark the fifth meeting in the all-time series. NDSU leads the series, 3-1. Last season the Bison suffered their first loss in the series, a 76-64 setback in Milwaukee. NDSU is a perfect 2-0 in Fargo against the Panthers, with the last home meeting occurring in 2012-13, a 60-48 Bison victory.
 
About Kent State
        Friday's contest against the Bison will be the 2014-15 regular season opener for the Golden Flashes.
        Kent State posted a 100-45 exhibition victory over the NCCAA's Ohio Christian University on Nov. 7 in Kent, Ohio, to open the season. Freshman Jordan Korinek led the Golden Flashes with a double-double, netting a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds on 91-percent (10-for-11) shooting, while sophomore Larissa Lurken chipped in 22 points. Five Kent State players scored in double figures in the game. The Golden Flashes shot 58-percent from the field, going 39-for-67, and out-rebounded Ohio Christian, 48-25. Kent State scored 54 points in the paint and 30 points off turnovers.
        Last season, the Golden Flashes compiled an overall record of 7-23 and a Mid-American Conference (MAC) mark of 4-14.   
 
About Milwaukee
        Sunday's game with NDSU will mark the regular season opener for the Milwaukee Panthers.
        Milwaukee tallied an 87-48 exhibition win over Division II member Southwest Minnesota State on Nov. 9 in Milwaukee, Wis., to tip-off the season. Junior Jordyn Swan led five Panther players in doubles figures with a game-high 20 points, while senior Ashley Green had 18 points, and freshman Steph Kostowicz tallied 18 points with a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman Jenny Lindner and senior Macie Dorow rounded out the double figure scoring for Milwaukee with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Panthers shot 45-percent from the field, going 33-for-73, and scored 29 points off 32 Mustang turnovers. 
        Last season, Milwaukee tallied an overall record of 8-22 and a Horizon League tally of 4-12.  
 
Catching Up With The Bison
        The Bison enter Friday's regular season opener with Kent State after posting a convincing 100-47 season-opening exhibition victory over the Division II Bemidji State Beavers on Friday, Nov. 7, at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. The contest was the first for new head coach Maren Walseth.
        Junior Holly Johnson paced three Bison in double figures in the contest with a double-double, posting a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Brooke LeMar nearly posted a double-double with 16 points and nine boards, and junior Kahla Becken tallied 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
        The Bison shot 37-of-77 (48-percent) from the field in the game, including a 10-for-23 (44-percent) tally from three-point range. NDSU went 16-for-22 at the free throw line for 73-percent and out-rebounded Bemidji State, 56-44. The Bison netted 24 points off 18 Beaver turnovers.
 
NDSU in Regular Season Openers
        The Bison are 30-19 in regular season openers all-time, and have won the past two season openers. NDSU defeated Mayville State in last season's regular season opener, 112-62, and took down Harvard in 2012-13, 81-72. The last regular season-opening loss for NDSU was an 82-59 defeat against Green Bay in 2011-12.
 
Up Next
        North Dakota State travels to Western Michigan on Nov. 19 for its first road game of the 2014-15 season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT).
 
Bison Ninth in Summit League Preseason Poll
        The North Dakota State University women's basketball team was picked ninth in The Summit League preseason poll released Tuesday, Oct. 7, by the league office.
        The Bison tallied 158 points in the poll.
        South Dakota State was selected to capture the 2014-15 Summit League women's basketball championship after winning its third consecutive regular season title a year ago. The Jackrabbits collected 27-of-32 first-place votes and 513 points in a vote of the league's head coaches, SIDs and select media.
        South Dakota, last season's tournament champion, earned four first-place votes and 420 points to place second in the poll. Regular season runner-up IUPUI was in third place followed by Western Illinois in fourth with the final first-place tally. Denver, which finished second at the tournament a year ago, came in fifth while Fort Wayne placed sixth. Oral Roberts, which returns to the league for the first time since 2011-12, Omaha and the Bison rounded out the poll.
 
Preseason Honors
        Senior guard Brooke LeMar, the reigning Summit League Newcomer of the Year and a second team all-league selection in 2013-14, was named to the preseason Summit League first team after averaging 15.1 points and 5.3 assists per game last season.
 
Three NDSU Women's Basketball Games to be Televised during the 2014-15 Regular Season
        The North Dakota State women's basketball team will be featured on television three times during the upcoming 2014-15 regular season, NDSU athletics and The Summit League announced Tuesday, Oct. 14.
        NDSU's non-conference game at Scheels Arena against North Dakota on Dec. 6 will be televised throughout the state of North Dakota on MeTV. The television network is available via over-the-air channels in Bismarck (5.2), Minot (10.2), Williston (8.2) and Dickinson (7.2) as well as through additional providers.
        The Bison will also have a pair of Summit League contests carried on Midco Sports Network and ESPN3 through the league's television package. The home game at Scheels Arena on Jan. 4 and the road contest at South Dakota on Jan. 15 will be broadcast.
        The Summit League announced a composite 2014-15 basketball television schedule that includes over 100 regional or national broadcasts. Included in that total are at least 70 games that will be available across the ESPN Family of Networks with nearly all of those available across multiple platforms via WatchESPN.
        Highlighting the schedule is a package of games on Midco Sports Network and ESPN3 that includes the first two rounds of The Summit League Basketball Championships and an additional 21 regular season men's and women's basketball broadcasts. All 14 Summit League Tournament games, including ESPNU's telecast of The Summit League Women's Basketball Championship game and ESPN/ESPN2's broadcast of the men's title game, will also be available on WatchESPN.
        The 2014-15 season will mark the first year of the new national distribution for the MidcoSN telecasts that allows fans everywhere to watch online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on television through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
 
Previewing 2014-15
        The Bison begin their inaugural season under new head coach Maren Walseth with three returning starters from last season in senior Brooke LeMar and juniors Holly Johnson and Marena Whittle.
        LeMar, the reigning Summit League Newcomer of the Year and an All-Summit League second-team selection, was the leading scorer for NDSU in 2013-14 with 15.1 points per game (ppg.). She also led the Bison in assists with 5.3 per game.
        Whittle was the leading rebounder for NDSU in 2013-14, averaging 7.1 board per game. She also posted team-highs for blocks (27) and steals (34). Her 13.4 ppg. ranked second-highest on the team.
        Johnson averaged 13 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season. The Minot, N.D., native posted 18 steals and 13 blocks and made a team-high 39 three-pointers.
        NDSU also returns forwards Liz Keena (senior), Alisa Brown (senior) and Emily Spier (sophomore) along with guards Kahla Becken (junior), Brittany Wiebe (redshirt-sophomore) and Hannah Breske (sophomore).
        The Bison welcome three newcomers to the team for 2014-15 in freshmen Brooke Yaggie (Thief River Falls, Minn.), Taylor Thunstedt (Spicer, Minn.) and McKenna Happke (Coon Rapids, Minn.).
 
The Opposing Coaches
Danielle O'Banion, Kent State - Danielle O'Banion begins her third season as the head coach of the Golden Flashes in 2014-15. She has a school and career coaching record of 10-50.
        A 12-year coaching veteran, O'Banion took over the Kent State program in 2012 following a four year stint in Memphis, including the last two as associate head coach.
        Prior to coaching at Memphis, O'Banion spent a season as the head coach at Episcopal High School (Va.) and five seasons as an assistant coach at Minnesota. She began her coaching career in 2001 as an assistant at Harvard.
        O'Banion graduated from Boston College in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
 
Kyle Rechlicz, Milwaukee - Kyle Rechlicz enters her third season as the head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team in 2014-15. She has a school and career coaching record of 17-42.
        Rechlicz was named the seventh coach in program history in May of 2012 and came to Milwaukee from the University of Wisconsin. There she served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Badgers during the 2011-12 campaign.
        Rechlicz has been associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Dayton (2007-2011) and the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Cleveland State (2003-2007).
        She graduated from Wisconsin in 2003.
 
Head Coach Maren Walseth
        Maren Walseth was named the 10th head women's basketball coach in NDSU history Monday, April 14, 2014.
        Walseth joined the Bison after spending seven years as an assistant coach at Big Ten power Penn State University in State College, Pa., where she helped the Lady Lions to three Big Ten championships, four NCAA tournament appearances and two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.
        At Penn State, Walseth was primarily responsible for coaching the post players while also playing a significant role in recruiting and opponent scouting efforts. She was the lead academic liaison for the Lady Lions and coached 32 Academic All-Big Ten recipients.
        Prior to becoming an assistant at Penn State, Walseth spent three years as an assistant coach at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. While at Navy, she assisted with recruiting as well as on-court player development and scouting, and was also the academic liaison for the Midshipmen.
        A native of Bloomington, Minn., Walseth was a two-time All-Big Ten selection and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree as a forward at Penn State from 1997-2002. She was also a key member of the 2000 Lady Lion team that advanced to the Final Four and claimed the Big Ten conference championship. Walseth also was a member of the 1998 WNIT championship team. She graduated from Penn State in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in communications.
        Walseth was drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs in the third-round of the 2001 WNBA draft and spent four years playing professionally. She played for the Washington Mystics of the WNBA in 2002 before spending two years playing professionally in France. Walseth also spent a season with the Women's National Basketball League's (NWBL) Colorado Chill.
        Walseth's sister, Annika, played for NDSU during the 2007-08 season.