NDSU Women Welcome Mayville State to the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse Monday

Monday, December 8

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State

Mayville State

Photo by: Richard Svaleson

NDSU Women Welcome Mayville State to the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse Monday

12/7/2014 4:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game 8: Mayville State (7-3)
Monday, Dec. 8 | 7:05 p.m. CT
Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse (1,183) | Fargo, N.D.
Live Stats | Free Live Audio | Live Video
Radio: KFGO 790-AM (Jack Michaels, play-by-play), 6:40 p.m. CT airtime

Complete NDSU Notes (PDF) | NDSU WBB on Twitter

NDSU Women Welcome Mayville State to the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse Monday
        The North Dakota State University women's basketball team returns to the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse to host the Mayville State University Comets at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 8. The Bison are coming off a heartbreaking 90-87 overtime loss to North Dakota on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Scheels Arena, while Mayville swept a weekend doubleheader against Bethany Lutheran College and Johnson and Wales University.

The Series Against Mayville State
        Monday's game with the Comets will be the 23rd meeting in the all-time series. The Bison are a perfect 22-0 in the series after posting a 112-62 victory over MSU last season.

About Mayville State
        The Comets enter Monday's contest with an overall record of 7-3 after claiming a pair of victories this weekend. MSU defeated Bethany Lutheran College, 86-71, on Friday, Dec. 5, before taking down Johnson and Wales University (Colo.) Saturday, Dec. 6, 76-70.
        Through 10 games, junior guard Liza Hoglo leads the Comets in scoring and rebounding with 18.1 points and 9.1 boards per game. Junior guard Jenna London is averaging 14.9 ppg, and freshman forward Andi Gayner is averaging 12.0 ppg.
        As a team, Mayville State is averaging 84.4 ppg and holding its opponents to 75.1 per game. On average, MSU is out-rebounding its foes, 40.7 to 37.0.
        Mayville State is under the direction of ninth season head coach Dennis Hutter (Bethel University, 2001)

Catching Up With The Bison
        North Dakota State enters Monday's game with an overall record of 3-4 after suffering a heartbreaking 90-87 overtime loss to North Dakota on Saturday, Dec. 6.
        Through seven games, senior guard Brooke LeMar leads the Bison in scoring with 20.4 ppg and assists with 4.4 per game. Junior forward Holly Johnson is averaging 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and has a team-high 16 offensive boards, while fellow junior guard/forward Marena Whittle is averaging 11.4 points and a team-best 9.1 rebounds per game to go along with nine blocks and nine steals. Junior guard Kahla Becken has a team-high 15 steals through seven contests.
        As a team, the Bison are averaging 70 points per game and allowing 76.9 ppg from their opponents. NDSU is being out-rebounded, on average, 41.4 to 38.1.

Last Time Out: NDSU Women's Basketball Edged in Overtime by North Dakota Saturday, 90-87
        The North Dakota State women's basketball team (3-4) erased a 16 point second half deficit to force overtime against North Dakota (7-1), but came up just short, falling to UND, 90-87, on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Scheels Arena in front 1,469 spectators.
        NDSU senior Brooke LeMar posted a game-high 33 points on 13-for-29 shooting, matching her career-high, and dished out seven assists, while junior Holly Johnson added 17 points and went 6-for-8 from the field, including a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman Taylor Thunstedt went 4-for-9 from the field, scoring a new career-high 12 points, and junior Marena Whittle tallied 11 points to round out the double-figure scoring for NDSU.
        The Bison shot 40 percent from the field in the game, going 32-for-81, and were 35 percent from beyond-the-arc, making nine of 26 attempts. NDSU went 14-for-17 at the charity stripe for 82 percent.
        North Dakota, paced by Mia Loyd with a team-high 22 points and 13 rebounds, shot 51 percent from the field in the contest, going 26-for-71, but failed to make a three-pointer, going 0-for-7. UND made 18-of-24 attempts from the free-throw line for 75 percent.
        UND finished the game with 47-36 rebounding advantage over NDSU, and scored 62 points in the paint, compared to 36 for the Bison.

The Last Time Against MSU: NDSU Women's Basketball Coasts to 112-62 Win Over Comets
        The North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team (1-0) coasted to a 112-62 victory over the Mayville State University Comets Friday, Nov. 8, in the 2013-14 regular season opener inside the Bison Sports Arena.
        The 112 points is the most points scored by a Bison women's basketball team since the 2002-03 season, when North Dakota State defeated Omaha, 113-69.
        NDSU had six players score in double-figures, led by Marena Whittle with a game and career-high 20 points and game-high nine rebounds. Brooke LeMar scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting while Holly Johnson had 15 points. LeMar and Johnson both had eight boards for the Bison. Miki Stephenson scored 14 points, going 6-for-9 from the field. Bree Whatman had 13 points and a game-high seven assists while Emily Spier chipped in 12 points, seven boards and a game-high four blocks.
        The Bison shot 55-percent from the field, going 42-of-76, and were 4-of-14 from three for 29-percent. NDSU went 24-of-29 from the free-throw line for 83-percent. The Bison out-rebounded the Comets, 56-26 and forced 17 Mayville turnovers. NDSU had 21 assists compared to just 11 turnovers in the contest.

Breaking the 20-point Threshold
        Brooke LeMar has eclipsed the 20-point threshold three times this season after scoring more than 20 points nine times in 30 games last season. LeMar matched her career-high with 33 points against North Dakota on Dec.6, tallied 25 in the regular season opener against Kent State Nov. 16, and netted 21 versus NJIT on Nov. 29 in the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament.

Back-to-Back-to-Back Double-Doubles
        Marena Whittle tallied back-to-back-to-back double-doubles in NDSU's games against Milwaukee, Western Michigan and Northeastern. Against Milwaukee and at Western Michigan, the Vermont South Victoria, Australia, native scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Against Northeastern, Whittle tallied 19 points and 12 boards.

Into the Record Books
        Marena Whittle holds the career record for defensive rebounding average at NDSU with 5.1 boards per game and ranks eighth in overall career rebounding average with 7.3 per game.

From Downtown!
        Brooke LeMar leads the Bison in three-point shooting through seven games, going 12-for-32 from beyond-the-arc for 38 percent, while Kahla Becken is shooting 36 percent from long range (11-for-31). Freshman Taylor Thunstedt is 8-for-24 from three for 33 percent, and Holly Johnson is shooting 32 percent from outside the arc, going 7-for-22.

Defending the Perimeter
        NDSU is holding its opponents to just 32 percent shooting (29-for-92) from three-point range through seven games. The Bison are averaging 6.6 made threes per game, compared to 4.1 for their adversaries.

Sharing the Basketball
        The Bison have tallied double-digit assists in five of seven games this season. NDSU dished out 15 against North Dakota, 12 against Kent State and Mississippi State, 17 against Milwaukee and 14 against Northeastern.

Taking Care of the Basketball
        NDSU has turned the ball over 112 times so far this season, compared to 120 miscues from its opponents. The Bison have scored 151 points off turnovers in their seven contests, an average of 21.6 points per game.

NDSU in the NCAA National Statistics (As of Dec. 7)
Relevant Team Statistics:
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game - 73rd out of 343 (6.6/game) ... Steals Per Game - 92nd out of 343 (9.6/game)

Relevant Individual Statistics:
Points Per Game - Brooke LeMar (28th out of 250, 20.4/game) ... Rebounds Per Game - Marena Whittle (83rd out of 250, 9.1/game) ... Assists Per Game - Brooke LeMar (88th out of 250, 4.4/game) ... Double-Doubles - Marena Whittle (37th out of 50, 3 total)

NDSU in The Summit League Statistics (As of Dec. 7)
Relevant Team Statistics:
Points - 4th (70.0/game) ... Rebounds - 8th (38.1/game) ... Assists - 5th (12.4/game) ... Steals - 2nd (9.6/game) ... Blocks - T-4th (3.4/game) ... Turnovers - 4th (16.0/game) ... Field-Goal Pct. - 8th (.387) ... Three-Point Field-Goal Pct. - 7th (.331) ... Free-Throw Pct. - 6th (.703)

Relevant Individual Statistics:
Brooke LeMar - Points: 1st (20.4/game), Assists: 2nd (4.4/game), Steals: T-7th (1.8/game), FT Pct.: 7th (.837) ... Marena Whittle - Rebounds: 3rd (9.1/game), Defensive Rebounds: 2nd (7.1/game), Blocks: 6th (1.3/game), Assists: 10th (2.7/game) ... Kahla Becken - Steals: 2nd (2.1/game) ... Holly Johnson - Rebounds: 7th (6.7/game), Offensive Rebounds: 8th (2.3/game), Defensive Rebounds: 10th (4.4/game) ... Emily Spier - Blocks: T-7th (1.0/game) ... Liz Keena - Offensive Rebounds - 9th (2.1/game)

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.
        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.

Up Next
        The Bison will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to take on the University of Northern Iowa Panthers on Thursday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. The game will air live on 790 KFGO beginning at 6:40 p.m. Jack Michaels will provide the play-by-play.

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.