Saturday, December 12
Grand Forks, N.D.
2 p.m.
North Dakota State
at
North Dakota
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Richard Svaleson
NDSU Women’s Basketball Faces North Dakota Saturday in Grand Forks
12/10/2015 11:54:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NDSU Women's Basketball on Twitter
Full Game Notes (PDF)
North Dakota State at North Dakota | Dec. 12 | 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Radio - 740 The Fan (Brad Anderson, play-by-play)
TV - MidcoSN/FCS Atlantic
NDSU Women's Basketball Faces North Dakota Saturday in Grand Forks
The North Dakota State women's basketball team will travel to Grand Forks to take on the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 2 p.m. inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The game will be televised regionally on Midco Sports Network and Fox College Sports Atlantic.
Series History:
Saturday's contest at North Dakota will be the 82nd meeting in the all-times series that dates back to 1967. UND leads the series, 44-37, and has won the last four meetings with the Bison. Last season, NDSU fell to UND at Scheels Arena in Fargo in overtime, 90-87. The Bison's last win occurred during the 2003-04 campaign, when they defeated North Dakota in Fargo, 76-73.
Scouting the Fighting Hawks
The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks enter Saturday with an overall record of 3-5 after defeating Western Illinois at home on Tuesday, 78-67. UND has won its last two games after dropping three straight and is a perfect 3-0 in Grand Forks so far this season. Through eight contests, Makailah Dyer (14.4 points per game) and Mia Loyd (11.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game) lead UND offensively. The Fighting Hawks are averaging 62.4 points per game but giving up 71.1 points per game to its opponents. North Dakota is outrebounding its adversaries, on average, 38.4 to 31.3. UND is under the direction of fourth season head coach Travis Brewster.
Catching Up with the Bison
The Bison are 2-6 overall after falling to Grand Canyon at home on Tuesday, 76-67. NDSU has dropped its last five games. Through eight contests, Marena Whittle (16.4 points per game) and Taylor Thunstedt (14.6 points per game) lead the Bison offensively, while Brianna Jones leads NDSU and The Summit League with 10.9 rebounds per game. As a team, NDSU is averaging 64.8 points per game but surrendering 72.9 points per game to its opponents. The Bison are outrebounding opponents, on average, 38.8 to 33.1.
Last Time Out: Late Run Lifts Grand Canyon to 76-67 Win Over NDSU Women's Basketball Tuesday
An 8-0 run to begin the fourth quarter helped the Grand Canyon Antelopes defeat the North Dakota State women's basketball team, 76-67, in front of 416 spectators inside the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
Sophomore guard Taylor Thunstedt scored a career-high 24 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and dished out five assists to lead the Bison, while freshman Kennedy Childers matched her career-high with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Junior forward Brianna Jones tallied a game-high 13 rebounds to pace NDSU on the glass.
After the Bison gained a 52-50 lead on a pair of made free-throws by Thunstedt with eight seconds to go in the third quarter, Grand Canyon's Courtney Hayes hit a layup at the buzzer to tie the contest at 52 heading to the fourth quarter.
The Lopes (4-6 overall) opened up a 60-52 lead when Dana Jones converted a layup with 7:48 to go in the fourth. The Bison cut the deficit to one, 60-59, after a Thunstedt layup capped a 7-0 NDSU run with 5:23 remaining in the stanza, but the Lopes' Jones made a jumper less than a minute later to push the deficit back to three.
NDSU pulled within one again after a Thunstedt jumper with a little over five minutes to go, but the Antelopes answered with a 4-0 spurt to push their advantage to 66-61 with 3:39 on the clock.
Marena Whittle hit a jumper to trim the GCU lead to 66-64 with 1:58 remaining, but the Lopes made eight free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
North Dakota State shot 40 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range in the contest, but struggled from the free-throw line, making only 16 of 28 attempts for 57 percent.
Jessica Gajewski tallied a game-high 28 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field to lead the Lopes.
The Bison and Antelopes each pulled down 41 rebounds in the game, but NDSU committed 14 turnovers compared to only nine for GCU.
Last Time Out Against UND: 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, 2014, 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.
Turnover Woes
North Dakota State has struggled taking care of the basketball so far this season. The Bison are averaging a Summit League-high 18.9 turnovers per game and have surrendered an average of 19.9 points off turnovers.
Whittle Crashing the Boards
Marena Whittle holds the career record for defensive rebounding average at NDSU with 5.2 boards per game and ranks eighth in overall career rebounding average with 7.3 per game.
Thunstedt Making the Pass
Taylor Thunstedt leads the Bison through eight games with 3.4 assists per game. The Spicer, Minn., native have dished out three or more assists in five of eight contests, including a season and career-high seven against New Mexico State Nov. 13.
Jones Controlling the Glass
Brianna Jones has led the Bison in rebounding in six of eight games this season. The Indianapolis native snagged 19 boards in the season opener against New Mexico State, the most rebounds in a single game since Marena Whittle pulled down 20 boards at Omaha last season. She also tallied double-digit rebounds against San Diego State (12), Delaware (14) and Grand Canyon (13).
Spier Protecting the Rim
Emily Spier is averaging a team-high 1.1 blocked shots per game through eight contests. Spier matched her career-high with four blocks against Grand Canyon on Tuesday.
Whittle Approaching Milestone
Marena Whittle is 41 points away from scoring her 1,000th career point. The Vermont South, Victoria, native sits at 959 points through 95 career games at North Dakota State.
Double-Double Performances
Getting to the Line
North Dakota State has reached the free-throw line 137 times this season. The Bison lead The Summit League in free-throw shooting, going 93-of-137 from the charity stripe for 68 percent. Marena Whittle ranks second in The Summit League in free-throw percentage at 79 percent through eight contests.
Thunstedt Ascending the NDSU Career Record Books
Taylor Thunstedt already ranks second in career three-point field goal percentage at North Dakota State as a sophomore, going 71-for-180 for 39.4 percent.
NDSU Women's Hoops Inks Seven High School Standouts on National Signing Day
North Dakota State University women's basketball head coach Maren Walseth announced on Wednesday, Nov. 11, that high school seniors Rylee Nudell (Buffalo, N.D./Maple Valley HS), Tyrah Spencer (Oakdale, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), Anna Goodhope (Sioux Falls, S.D./Sioux Falls Washington HS), Autumn Ogden (Marshall, Wis./Monona Grove HS), Liz Bulver (Belton, Mo./Belton HS), Sarah Jacobson (Fargo, N.D./Shanley HS) and Reilly Jacobson (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee HS) have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their education and play women's basketball for North Dakota State beginning in the fall of 2016.
The 2016 class brings a tremendous amount of prep success to the Bison. Seven total championships and multiple runner-ups highlight the class and each player's ability to elevate their team's success.
The 2016 class of Bison will be the first recruiting class to play in the newly renovated Sanford Health Athletic Complex beginning in the fall.
NDSU in The Summit League Statistics (as of Dec. 10)
Team:
Points - 6th (64.8/game), Rebounds - 5th (38.8/game), Assists - 9th (11.4/game), Steals - 9th (6.1/game), Blocks - 7th (2.3/game), Field-Goal Percentage - 4th (.421), Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage - 4th (.324), Free-Throw Percentage - 1st (.679), Turnovers - 9th (18.9/game)
Individual:
Marena Whittle - Points: 4th (16.4/game), Free-Throw Percentage: 2nd (.793), Rebounds: 2nd (9.0/game), Turnovers: 6th (3.4/game), Steals: T-4th (2.0/game); Taylor Thunstedt - Assists: 7th (3.4/game), Turnovers: 2nd (4.0/game), Free-Throw Percentage: 6th (.708); Brianna Jones - Rebounds: 1st (10.9/game), Turnovers: 4th (3.6/game); Emily Spier - Blocks: T-5th (1.1/game)
Bison Women Sixth in Summit League Preseason Poll; Johnson Named Preseason All-League
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in The Summit League preseason poll unveiled Wednesday night, Oct. 14, by the league office on "Inside The Summit League."
The Bison tallied 250 points in the poll.
Senior forward Holly Johnson, an honorable mention All-Summit League selection last season, was named to the preseason all-league second team after averaging 12.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in 2014-15. The Minot, N.D., native enters 2015-16 ranked fourth in NDSU career defensive rebounding average with 3.9 boards per game and tied for ninth in career defensive rebounds with 336.
South Dakota State was selected to capture the 2015-16 Summit League women's basketball championship after winning The Summit League tournament last season. The Jackrabbits collected 17 first-place votes and 508 points in a vote of the league's head coaches, SIDs and select media. South Dakota's Nicole Seekamp was tabbed as the preseason Player of the Year.
South Dakota, last season's regular season champion, earned 15 first-place votes and 502 points to place second in the poll. IUPUI was picked third with 379 points followed by Oral Roberts in fourth with one first-place vote and 317 points. Western Illinois came in fifth followed by the Bison in sixth and Omaha in seventh. Denver and Fort Wayne rounded out the poll in eighth and ninth.
Six NDSU Women's Basketball Games to be Televised During 2015-16 Regular Season
The North Dakota State women's basketball team will be featured on television six times during the 2015-16 regular season, NDSU athletics and The Summit League announced Friday, Nov. 6.
The Bison's game at North Dakota on Dec. 12 will be carried on Midco Sports Network (MidcoSN), while NDSU's Summit League contest against South Dakota State at Scheels Arena on Jan. 3 will be televised regionally 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's Feb. 20 league contest at Scheels Arena against Denver will air in high definition on NBC North Dakota and ESPN3, and NDSU's league game at Western Illinois Feb. 25 will be televised on WIUTV and ESPN3.
North Dakota State will also have a pair of Summit League contests carried on MidcoSN and ESPN3 through the league's television package. The game on Jan. 30 at South Dakota and the contest on Feb. 6 at South Dakota State will be broadcast.
Head Coach Maren Walseth
Maren Walseth is in her second season as the head coach of the North Dakota State University women's basketball team.
In her inaugural season at NDSU, she helped guide the Bison to an 11-17 overall record and a 7-9 Summit League mark. North Dakota State finished sixth in The Summit League, the highest finish for NDSU women's basketball since the 2011-12 season.
Walseth helped coach the Bison to several milestone victories during the 2014-15 season. The first occurred on Jan. 2, when NDSU claimed a 77-64 triumph over Oral Roberts at Scheels Arena, marking the first win for the Bison over the Golden Eagles since the 2009-10 season. The win also snapped a five-game losing skid to ORU. Just two days later on Jan. 4, the Bison stunned the then defending Summit League regular season champion South Dakota State Jackrabbits, defeating SDSU in front of 1,782 spectators at Scheels Arena, 83-78. The victory was the first over the Jacks since 2010-11 and the first at home since 2004-05.
North Dakota State also captured the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament title with wins over Northeastern (Mass.) and NJIT Nov. 28-29 in Boca Raton, Fla.
Under Walseth's leadership, three student-athletes were named All-Summit League, the most since NDSU joined the league in 2007. Senior point guard Brooke LeMar was selected first team all-league, junior Holly Johnson was named honorable mention all-league, and freshman Taylor Thunstedt was voted to the all-newcomer team.
Walseth joined the Bison in April, 2014, 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.
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.
Full Game Notes (PDF)
North Dakota State at North Dakota | Dec. 12 | 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Radio - 740 The Fan (Brad Anderson, play-by-play)
TV - MidcoSN/FCS Atlantic
NDSU Women's Basketball Faces North Dakota Saturday in Grand Forks
The North Dakota State women's basketball team will travel to Grand Forks to take on the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 2 p.m. inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The game will be televised regionally on Midco Sports Network and Fox College Sports Atlantic.
Series History:
Saturday's contest at North Dakota will be the 82nd meeting in the all-times series that dates back to 1967. UND leads the series, 44-37, and has won the last four meetings with the Bison. Last season, NDSU fell to UND at Scheels Arena in Fargo in overtime, 90-87. The Bison's last win occurred during the 2003-04 campaign, when they defeated North Dakota in Fargo, 76-73.
Scouting the Fighting Hawks
The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks enter Saturday with an overall record of 3-5 after defeating Western Illinois at home on Tuesday, 78-67. UND has won its last two games after dropping three straight and is a perfect 3-0 in Grand Forks so far this season. Through eight contests, Makailah Dyer (14.4 points per game) and Mia Loyd (11.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game) lead UND offensively. The Fighting Hawks are averaging 62.4 points per game but giving up 71.1 points per game to its opponents. North Dakota is outrebounding its adversaries, on average, 38.4 to 31.3. UND is under the direction of fourth season head coach Travis Brewster.
Catching Up with the Bison
The Bison are 2-6 overall after falling to Grand Canyon at home on Tuesday, 76-67. NDSU has dropped its last five games. Through eight contests, Marena Whittle (16.4 points per game) and Taylor Thunstedt (14.6 points per game) lead the Bison offensively, while Brianna Jones leads NDSU and The Summit League with 10.9 rebounds per game. As a team, NDSU is averaging 64.8 points per game but surrendering 72.9 points per game to its opponents. The Bison are outrebounding opponents, on average, 38.8 to 33.1.
Last Time Out: Late Run Lifts Grand Canyon to 76-67 Win Over NDSU Women's Basketball Tuesday
An 8-0 run to begin the fourth quarter helped the Grand Canyon Antelopes defeat the North Dakota State women's basketball team, 76-67, in front of 416 spectators inside the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
Sophomore guard Taylor Thunstedt scored a career-high 24 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and dished out five assists to lead the Bison, while freshman Kennedy Childers matched her career-high with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Junior forward Brianna Jones tallied a game-high 13 rebounds to pace NDSU on the glass.
After the Bison gained a 52-50 lead on a pair of made free-throws by Thunstedt with eight seconds to go in the third quarter, Grand Canyon's Courtney Hayes hit a layup at the buzzer to tie the contest at 52 heading to the fourth quarter.
The Lopes (4-6 overall) opened up a 60-52 lead when Dana Jones converted a layup with 7:48 to go in the fourth. The Bison cut the deficit to one, 60-59, after a Thunstedt layup capped a 7-0 NDSU run with 5:23 remaining in the stanza, but the Lopes' Jones made a jumper less than a minute later to push the deficit back to three.
NDSU pulled within one again after a Thunstedt jumper with a little over five minutes to go, but the Antelopes answered with a 4-0 spurt to push their advantage to 66-61 with 3:39 on the clock.
Marena Whittle hit a jumper to trim the GCU lead to 66-64 with 1:58 remaining, but the Lopes made eight free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
North Dakota State shot 40 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range in the contest, but struggled from the free-throw line, making only 16 of 28 attempts for 57 percent.
Jessica Gajewski tallied a game-high 28 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field to lead the Lopes.
The Bison and Antelopes each pulled down 41 rebounds in the game, but NDSU committed 14 turnovers compared to only nine for GCU.
Last Time Out Against UND: 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, 2014, 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.
Turnover Woes
North Dakota State has struggled taking care of the basketball so far this season. The Bison are averaging a Summit League-high 18.9 turnovers per game and have surrendered an average of 19.9 points off turnovers.
Whittle Crashing the Boards
Marena Whittle holds the career record for defensive rebounding average at NDSU with 5.2 boards per game and ranks eighth in overall career rebounding average with 7.3 per game.
Thunstedt Making the Pass
Taylor Thunstedt leads the Bison through eight games with 3.4 assists per game. The Spicer, Minn., native have dished out three or more assists in five of eight contests, including a season and career-high seven against New Mexico State Nov. 13.
Jones Controlling the Glass
Brianna Jones has led the Bison in rebounding in six of eight games this season. The Indianapolis native snagged 19 boards in the season opener against New Mexico State, the most rebounds in a single game since Marena Whittle pulled down 20 boards at Omaha last season. She also tallied double-digit rebounds against San Diego State (12), Delaware (14) and Grand Canyon (13).
Spier Protecting the Rim
Emily Spier is averaging a team-high 1.1 blocked shots per game through eight contests. Spier matched her career-high with four blocks against Grand Canyon on Tuesday.
Whittle Approaching Milestone
Marena Whittle is 41 points away from scoring her 1,000th career point. The Vermont South, Victoria, native sits at 959 points through 95 career games at North Dakota State.
Double-Double Performances
- Brianna Jones - 12 rebounds, 10 points at San Diego State, Nov. 27; 14 rebounds, 10 points vs. Delaware, Nov. 29
- Marena Whittle - 32 points, 10 rebounds vs. Valley City State, Nov. 19; 23 points, 10 rebounds vs. Delaware, Nov. 29
Getting to the Line
North Dakota State has reached the free-throw line 137 times this season. The Bison lead The Summit League in free-throw shooting, going 93-of-137 from the charity stripe for 68 percent. Marena Whittle ranks second in The Summit League in free-throw percentage at 79 percent through eight contests.
Thunstedt Ascending the NDSU Career Record Books
Taylor Thunstedt already ranks second in career three-point field goal percentage at North Dakota State as a sophomore, going 71-for-180 for 39.4 percent.
NDSU Women's Hoops Inks Seven High School Standouts on National Signing Day
North Dakota State University women's basketball head coach Maren Walseth announced on Wednesday, Nov. 11, that high school seniors Rylee Nudell (Buffalo, N.D./Maple Valley HS), Tyrah Spencer (Oakdale, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), Anna Goodhope (Sioux Falls, S.D./Sioux Falls Washington HS), Autumn Ogden (Marshall, Wis./Monona Grove HS), Liz Bulver (Belton, Mo./Belton HS), Sarah Jacobson (Fargo, N.D./Shanley HS) and Reilly Jacobson (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee HS) have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their education and play women's basketball for North Dakota State beginning in the fall of 2016.
The 2016 class brings a tremendous amount of prep success to the Bison. Seven total championships and multiple runner-ups highlight the class and each player's ability to elevate their team's success.
The 2016 class of Bison will be the first recruiting class to play in the newly renovated Sanford Health Athletic Complex beginning in the fall.
NDSU in The Summit League Statistics (as of Dec. 10)
Team:
Points - 6th (64.8/game), Rebounds - 5th (38.8/game), Assists - 9th (11.4/game), Steals - 9th (6.1/game), Blocks - 7th (2.3/game), Field-Goal Percentage - 4th (.421), Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage - 4th (.324), Free-Throw Percentage - 1st (.679), Turnovers - 9th (18.9/game)
Individual:
Marena Whittle - Points: 4th (16.4/game), Free-Throw Percentage: 2nd (.793), Rebounds: 2nd (9.0/game), Turnovers: 6th (3.4/game), Steals: T-4th (2.0/game); Taylor Thunstedt - Assists: 7th (3.4/game), Turnovers: 2nd (4.0/game), Free-Throw Percentage: 6th (.708); Brianna Jones - Rebounds: 1st (10.9/game), Turnovers: 4th (3.6/game); Emily Spier - Blocks: T-5th (1.1/game)
Bison Women Sixth in Summit League Preseason Poll; Johnson Named Preseason All-League
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in The Summit League preseason poll unveiled Wednesday night, Oct. 14, by the league office on "Inside The Summit League."
The Bison tallied 250 points in the poll.
Senior forward Holly Johnson, an honorable mention All-Summit League selection last season, was named to the preseason all-league second team after averaging 12.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in 2014-15. The Minot, N.D., native enters 2015-16 ranked fourth in NDSU career defensive rebounding average with 3.9 boards per game and tied for ninth in career defensive rebounds with 336.
South Dakota State was selected to capture the 2015-16 Summit League women's basketball championship after winning The Summit League tournament last season. The Jackrabbits collected 17 first-place votes and 508 points in a vote of the league's head coaches, SIDs and select media. South Dakota's Nicole Seekamp was tabbed as the preseason Player of the Year.
South Dakota, last season's regular season champion, earned 15 first-place votes and 502 points to place second in the poll. IUPUI was picked third with 379 points followed by Oral Roberts in fourth with one first-place vote and 317 points. Western Illinois came in fifth followed by the Bison in sixth and Omaha in seventh. Denver and Fort Wayne rounded out the poll in eighth and ninth.
Six NDSU Women's Basketball Games to be Televised During 2015-16 Regular Season
The North Dakota State women's basketball team will be featured on television six times during the 2015-16 regular season, NDSU athletics and The Summit League announced Friday, Nov. 6.
The Bison's game at North Dakota on Dec. 12 will be carried on Midco Sports Network (MidcoSN), while NDSU's Summit League contest against South Dakota State at Scheels Arena on Jan. 3 will be televised regionally 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's Feb. 20 league contest at Scheels Arena against Denver will air in high definition on NBC North Dakota and ESPN3, and NDSU's league game at Western Illinois Feb. 25 will be televised on WIUTV and ESPN3.
North Dakota State will also have a pair of Summit League contests carried on MidcoSN and ESPN3 through the league's television package. The game on Jan. 30 at South Dakota and the contest on Feb. 6 at South Dakota State will be broadcast.
Head Coach Maren Walseth
Maren Walseth is in her second season as the head coach of the North Dakota State University women's basketball team.
In her inaugural season at NDSU, she helped guide the Bison to an 11-17 overall record and a 7-9 Summit League mark. North Dakota State finished sixth in The Summit League, the highest finish for NDSU women's basketball since the 2011-12 season.
Walseth helped coach the Bison to several milestone victories during the 2014-15 season. The first occurred on Jan. 2, when NDSU claimed a 77-64 triumph over Oral Roberts at Scheels Arena, marking the first win for the Bison over the Golden Eagles since the 2009-10 season. The win also snapped a five-game losing skid to ORU. Just two days later on Jan. 4, the Bison stunned the then defending Summit League regular season champion South Dakota State Jackrabbits, defeating SDSU in front of 1,782 spectators at Scheels Arena, 83-78. The victory was the first over the Jacks since 2010-11 and the first at home since 2004-05.
North Dakota State also captured the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament title with wins over Northeastern (Mass.) and NJIT Nov. 28-29 in Boca Raton, Fla.
Under Walseth's leadership, three student-athletes were named All-Summit League, the most since NDSU joined the league in 2007. Senior point guard Brooke LeMar was selected first team all-league, junior Holly Johnson was named honorable mention all-league, and freshman Taylor Thunstedt was voted to the all-newcomer team.
Walseth joined the Bison in April, 2014, 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.
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.
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