NDSU Women's Basketball Travels South for FAU Thanksgiving Tournament Friday and Saturday

Friday, November 28

Boca Raton, Fla.

1:30 p.m.

North Dakota State

Northeastern

Photo by: Richard Svaleson

NDSU Women's Basketball Travels South for FAU Thanksgiving Tournament Friday and Saturday

11/25/2014 1:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game 4: vs. Northeastern University (2-1)
Friday, Nov. 28 | 2:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. CT)
Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament
FAU Arena (5,000) | Boca Raton, Fla.
Live Stats | Free Live Audio
Radio: 740 AM "The Fan" (Jack Michaels, play-by-play), 2:10 p.m. ET (1:10 p.m. CT) airtime

Complete NDSU Notes (PDF) | Tournament Bracket (PDF) | Summit League Weekly Notes (PDF) | NDSU WBB on Twitter

NDSU Women's Basketball Travels South for Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament Friday and Saturday
The NDSU women's basketball team will travel to Boca Raton, Fla., to take part in the Florida Atlantic University Thanksgiving Tournament Friday, Nov. 28, and Saturday, Nov. 29. The Bison will open the tournament with a 2:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. CT) game against the Northeastern University Huskies on Friday, before facing either Florida Atlantic or New Jersey Institute of Technology Saturday.

The Series Against Northeastern
Friday's game against the Huskies will mark the first-ever meeting between NDSU and Northeastern in women's basketball.

About Northeastern

The Huskies enter Friday's FAU Thanksgiving Tournament opening round game with an overall record of 2-1 after defeating Marist, 58-51, on Nov. 22 and Boston University, 75-74, Nov. 14, and falling to Rutgers, 74-60, Nov. 18.
Northeastern received 10 votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll released Tuesday, Nov. 25.
Through three games, junior Amanda DeFreese leads the Huskies in scoring with 18 points per game. DeFreese also averages nine rebounds per game. Junior Tiffany Montagne is second on the team in scoring with 15.7 ppg, and senior A'lece Mark is third with 11 ppg. Mark leads NU in rebounds, averaging 11 boards per game.
As a team, the Huskies are averaging 64.3 points and 36.0 rebounds per game, while their opponents are scoring 66.3 points and pulling down 39.3 rebounds per game, on average.
Northeastern finished the 2013-14 season with an overall record of 12-18 and a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) mark of 6-10.
The Huskies are under the leadership of first season head coach Kelly Cole.

Catching Up With The Bison

North Dakota State enters Friday's contest at 1-2 overall after defeating Kent State in its season-opener, 74-68, Nov. 14, and falling to Milwaukee Nov. 16, 77-73, and at Western Michigan Nov. 19, 74-59.
Through three games, senior point guard Brooke LeMar leads the Bison with 19.3 points per game (ppg) and 3.3 assists per game (apg), while junior forward Marena Whittle is averaging 11.3 ppg and a team-high 9.3 rebounds per game (rpg). Junior guard Kahla Becken is also averaging 11.3 ppg, and junior forward Holly Johnson is averaging 10.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg.
As a team, NDSU is averaging 68.7 ppg while its opponents are averaging 73.0 ppg. The Bison are shooting 37 percent (70-188) from the field, compared to 45 percent (80-179) for their opponents.

Back-to-Back Double-Doubles
        Marena Whittle tallied back-to-back double-doubles in North Dakota State's past two games. Against Milwaukee and at Western Michigan, the Vermont South Victoria, Australia, native scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Crashing the Boards
        Marena Whittle holds the career record for defensive rebounding average at NDSU with 5.0 boards per game and ranks eighth in overall career rebounding average with 7.2 per game.

From Downtown!
        Kahla Becken is a team-best 8-for-17 (47 percent) from three-point range through three games. Brooke LeMar is 6-for-14 (43 percent), Marena Whittle is 2-for-6 (33 percent), and freshman Taylor Thunstedt is 4-for-12 (33 percent).

Defending the Perimeter
        NDSU is holding its opponents to just 29 percent shooting (10-for-34) from three-point range through three games. The Bison are averaging 7.7 made threes per game, compared to just 3.3 for their adversaries.

Taking Care of the Basketball
NDSU has turned the ball over 50 times so far this season, compared to 56 miscues from its opponents. The Bison have scored 70 points off turnovers in their three contests.

NDSU in the NCAA National Statistics (As of Nov. 25)
Through three games, the Bison rank 44th out of 343 in three-point field goals per game with an average of 7.7 and 76th out of 264 in three-point field goal percentage with a mark of .359.
Individually, Marena Whittle is 17th out of 24 in defensive rebounds per game (8.0), 24th out of 24 in double-doubles (2.0) and 99th out of 245 in total rebounds per game (9.3). Brooke LeMar is 73rd out of 241 in points per game (19.3), and Kahla Becken is 69th out of 245 in three-point field goal percentage (.471) and 78th out of 175 in three-point field goals per game (2.67).

NDSU in The Summit League Statistics (As of Nov. 25)
After three games, NDSU ranks second in The Summit League statistics in steals with 9.3 per game, and third in turnovers with 16.7 per game. The Bison are fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.359), fifth in points per game (68.7) and seventh in free throw percentage (.694). The Bison rank eighth in rebounding (37.0 rpg) and field goal percentage (.372).
Individually, Brooke LeMar leads the league in scoring (19.3 ppg) and minutes played (34.7). She is tied for third in steals per game (2.0) and tied for fifth in assists per game (3.3). Marena Whittle is third in total rebounds per game (9.3) and sixth in blocks per game (1.3). She ranks second in defensive rebounds per game with 8.3.

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.

NDSU Women's Basketball Signs Two High School Standouts on Early Signing Day
        North Dakota State women's basketball head coach Maren Walseth announced Wednesday, Nov. 12, the signing of high school standouts Kennedy Childers and Megan Gamble to National Letters of Intent to attend North Dakota State University and play basketball beginning in the fall of 2015.
        Childers, a 5-foot-9 guard from West Des Moines, Iowa, has enjoyed a standout prep career at Iowa 5A powerhouse Dowling Catholic High School.
        A three-star athlete who was the 31st-ranked guard in her position by ESPN, Childers has helped Dowling Catholic to two 5A state championship appearances and one state championship. She was limited to only seven games her junior season due to injury.
        Childers has also excelled in the classroom, having earned Academic All-Conference for the Central Iowa Metropolitan League the past two seasons and Presidential Honor Roll honors each semester at Dowling Catholic.
        Childers played AAU basketball for Kingdom Hoops Elite. This past summer she helped her team win the 2014 USJN National Championship in Augusta, Ga.
        She is the daughter of Chris and Kris Childers.
        Gamble, a 5-foot-7 guard from Omaha, Neb., is a two-time all-state honorable mention selection at Central High School.
        A three-year starter for Central, she helped her team to a Class A state championship appearance in 2012 and a third-place state finish in 2013. Gamble averaged 13 points per game and dished out five assists per game during her junior season. The 5-foot-7 guard also earned all-Metro Team accolades and was selected as a team captain twice by her teammates.
        She is the daughter of Teri Murphy and Dexter Dawson.

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.

Up Next
North Dakota State will face either Florida Atlantic or New Jersey Institute of Technology in the second game of the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 29, at a time to be determined.

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.