Women's Basketball | 1/3/2015 12:41:00 PM

Game 14: South Dakota State (10-4, 1-0 Summit League)
Sunday, Jan. 4 | 1 p.m.
Scheels Arena (4,406) | Fargo, N.D.
Live Stats | Free Live Audio | Live Video
Radio: 790 KFGO (Jack Michaels, play-by-play; Jeremy Jorgenson, color commentary), 12:40 p.m. airtime
TV: MidcoSN, ESPN3, ESPN Full Court (Tom Niemann, play-by-play; Brad Newitt, color commentary; Brian Shawn, courtside reporter) 

Complete NDSU Notes (PDF) | Complete SDSU Notes (PDF) |  Summit League Weekly Notes (PDF)  

NDSU WBB on Twitter | #SummitWBB on Twitter

---

NDSU Women's Basketball Welcomes Summit League Rival South Dakota State to Scheels Arena Sunday
        After opening Summit League play with a 77-64 win over Oral Roberts Friday, the North Dakota State University women's basketball team (5-8, 1-0 Summit League) will welcome Summit League rival South Dakota State (10-4, 1-0 Summit League) to Scheels Arena Sunday, Jan. 4, at 1 p.m. The game will air live on MidcoSN, ESPN3 and ESPN Full Court.
 
The Series Against South Dakota State
        Sunday's tussle with the Jacks will be the 80th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1976. The Bison trail SDSU, 38-41, in the series and have dropped eight consecutive contests to the Jacks. NDSU's last victory against South Dakota State was a 78-71 win in Brookings, S.D., during the 2010-11 season. 
 
About the Jackrabbits
        The South Dakota State Jackrabbits, who are ranked No. 9 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, enter Sunday's game with an overall record of 10-4 and a Summit League tally of 1-0 after rolling to a 85-44 victory over Denver at Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D., on Friday, Jan. 2. In that contest, SDSU shot 50 percent from the field (27-for-54) and an impressive 52 percent from three-point range (12-of-23). Sophomore guard Kerri Young (Mitchell,S.D.) led the Jacks with a game-high 21 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
        For the season, senior forward Megan Waytashek (Lino Lakes, Minn.) leads the Jackrabbits in scoring with 14.3 points per game (ppg), while freshman guard Macy Miller (Mitchell, S.D.) is averaging 12.4 ppg. Senior forward Mariah Clarin (Princeton, Minn.) rounds out the SDSU players averaging in double figures with 10 ppg. Clarin leads South Dakota State in rebounding with 6.6 rebounds per game (rpg).
        As a team, SDSU is averaging 69.9 ppg and limiting its opponents to just 62.6 ppg. The Jacks are out-rebounding their opponents on average, 40.2 to 32.7, but average 17.9 turnovers compared to 14.4 for their adversaries.
        South Dakota State is under the leadership of 15th season head coach Aaron Johnston (Gustavus Adolphus College, 1996).
 
Catching Up With The Bison
        North Dakota State is 5-8 overall and 1-0 in Summit League action after defeating Oral Roberts on Friday, Jan. 2, 77-64.
        Through 13 games, senior guard Brooke LeMar (Canyon Country, Calif.) leads the Bison and The Summit League in scoring with 18.5 ppg. She also paces NDSU and ranks second in the league in assists per game with 4.6. Junior forward Holly Johnson (Minot, N.D.) is second on the team in scoring with 12.6 ppg and rebounding with 7.1 rpg, while fellow junior forward Marena Whittle leads the Bison on the glass with an average of 7.4 boards per game to go along with 9.2 ppg. Junior guard Kahla Becken (Lino Lakes, Minn.) leads North Dakota State in steals per game with an average of 1.5 takeaways.
        As a team, North Dakota State is averaging 67.9 ppg and allowing 73.7 ppg. The Bison are being outrebounded on average, 37.8 to 41.5, but only average 15.3 turnovers per game, compared to 15.5 for their adversaries.
 
Last Time Out: Johnson Powers Bison to 82-68 Exhibition Win Over Brandon University
         Senior guard Brooke LeMar scored a game-high 22 points and freshman guard Taylor Thunstedt added a career-high 15 points helping the North Dakota State women's basketball team (5-8, 1-0 Summit League) claim a 77-64 win over the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles (6-8, 0-1 Summit League) to tip-off Summit League play on Friday, Jan. 2, at Scheels Arena. The win snapped a five-game losing streak to Oral Roberts that dated back to the 2009-10 season.
        LeMar (Canyon Country, Calif.) dished out a game-and season-high eight assists and committed no turnovers to go along with her game-high 22 points. Thunstedt (Spicer, Minn.) went 6-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from three in the game for her career-best 15. Junior forwards Holly Johnson (Minot, N.D.) and Marena Whittle (Vermont South, Victoria, Australia) also scored in double figures for North Dakota State, tallying 12 points each. Johnson controlled the glass in the contest for the Bison, pulling down a team-high eight boards, while Whittle added seven, respectively.
        The Bison shot a season-best 48 percent from the field, going 31-for-64, and were 8-for-22 from three-point range for 36 percent. NDSU went 7-for-10 from the free-throw line for 70 percent and dished out a season-high 19 assists while turning the ball over just five times, a season-low.
        Oral Roberts was led in scoring by freshman guard Jordan Doyle (Broken Arrow, Okla.) with a career-high 15 points on 7-for-17 shooting, and redshirt-senior center Vicky McIntyre (Omaha, Neb.) paced ORU on the boards with a game-high 14 rebounds.
        ORU shot a season-low 41 percent in the contest, making 25 of 61 attempts, and were 2-for-5 from beyond-the-arc for 40 percent. The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Bison, 39-34.
 
Last Time Out Against South Dakota State: Bison Women Fall at South Dakota State Saturday, 75-53
        The North Dakota State women's basketball team (6-21, 2-10 Summit) was outscored by the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (20-8, 11-1 Summit) at the free throw line, 28-13, helping the Jacks to a 75-53 victory over the Bison Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014 inside Frost Arena in Brookings.
        The Bison were led by Holly Johnson with 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting while Marena Whittle scored 14 points and snagged a team-high seven rebounds. Brooke LeMar also reached double figures, tallying 12 points and five assists.
        NDSU was 19-for-55 from the field for 35 percent but only 2-for-18 (11 percent) from three-point range. The Bison were 81 percent from the free-throw line, making 13 out of 16 attempts.
        South Dakota State, ranked 15th in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll, went 22-for-54 from the field for 41 percent. SDSU, like NDSU, struggled shooting the ball from the perimeter, making only three treys out of 14 tries for 21 percent.
        The Jackrabbits offset their poor perimeter shooting at the foul line, going an impressive 28-for-32 for 88 percent.
        South Dakota State was paced by Chynna Stevens, who scored a career-best 18 points, including going 11-for-12 at the free throw line.
 
Breaking the 20-point Threshold
        Brooke LeMar has eclipsed the 20-point threshold six 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, posted 28 points at Cal State Fullerton Dec. 19, 25 in the regular season opener against Kent State Nov. 16, 22 against Oral Roberts Jan. 2 and Mayville State Dec. 8, and 21 versus NJIT on Nov. 29 in the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament.
 
Bison in the Record Books
        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. ... Brooke LeMar is seventh in career free-throw percentage, going 171-215 from the charity stripe for 80 percent, and holds the career minutes average record, playing an average of 35.7 minutes per game.
 
From Downtown!
        Brooke LeMar leads the Bison in perimeter shooting through 13 games, going 22-for-64 from beyond-the-arc for 34 percent, while Marena Whittle (7-for-21) and Kahla Becken (19-for-57) are second on the team at 33 percent each.
 
Defending the Perimeter
        NDSU is holding its opponents to just 30 percent shooting (63-212) from three-point range through 13 games. The Bison are averaging 6.5 made threes per game, compared to 4.8 for their adversaries. 
 
Sharing the Basketball
        The Bison have tallied double-digit assists in nine of 13 games this season. NDSU dished out a season-high 19 assists in its Summit League opener against Oral Roberts, 18 against Mayville State, 17 against Milwaukee and at Cal State Fullerton, 15 against North Dakota and at New Mexico State, 12 against Kent State and at Mississippi State, and 14 against Northeastern.
 
Getting to the Basket
        The Bison have scored 77 points off fast break baskets through 13 games, compared to just 40 points from their adversaries. NDSU is averaging 5.9 fast break points per game. 
 
NDSU in the NCAA National Statistics (As of Jan. 3)
Relevant Individual Statistics:
Points Per Game - Brooke LeMar (52nd out of 250, 18.5/game) ... Assists Per Game - Brooke LeMar (66th out of 250, 4.6/game) ... Free-Throw Percentage - Brooke LeMar (67th out of 250, .838)
 
NDSU in The Summit League Statistics (As of Jan. 3)
Relevant Team Statistics:
Points - 5th (67.9/game) ... Rebounds - 8th (37.8/game) ... Assists - 4th (13.2/game) ... Steals - 4th (7.5/game) ... Blocks - 4th (3.5/game) ... Turnovers - 3rd (15.3/game) ... Field-Goal Pct. - 6th (.395) ... Three-Point Field-Goal Pct. - 7th (.323) ... Free-Throw Pct. - 5th (.702)
 
Relevant Individual Statistics:
Brooke LeMar - Points: 1st (18.5/game), Assists: 2nd (4.6/game), FT Pct.: 3rd (.838), Steals: T-9th (1.4/game) ... Marena Whittle - Rebounds: 4th (7.4/game), Defensive Rebounds: 3rd (5.8/game), Blocks: T-6th (1.0/game) ... Kahla Becken - Steals: 6th (1.5/game) ... Holly Johnson - Defensive Rebounds: 5th (5.2/game), Rebounds: 5th (7.1/game) ... Emily Spier - Blocks: 10th (0.8/game) ... Liz Keena - Offensive Rebounds: 7th (2.2/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.
 
NDSU Women's Basketball to Appear on Midco Sports Network Twice During Regular Season
        The Bison will 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 against league rival South Dakota State and the road contest at South Dakota on Jan. 15 will be broadcast.
 
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.