NDSU Women's Basketball Hosts Western Michigan Wednesday

Wednesday, November 30

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State

Western Michigan

Photo by: Carrie Snyder

NDSU Women's Basketball Hosts Western Michigan Wednesday

11/28/2016 5:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

NDSU Women's Basketball on Twitter
Complete NDSU Game Notes (PDF)

North Dakota State vs. Western Michigan
Wednesday, Nov. 30 | 7 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. | Scheels Center (5,644)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM (Keith Brake, play-by-play; Jeremy Jorgenson, color)
TV: MidcoSN, ESPN3, WatchESPN app (Brian Shawn, play-by-play; Greg Stemen, color)
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

The Game
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team (1-5) welcomes the Western Michigan University Broncos (3-2) to the Scheels Center on Wednesday, Nov. 30, for a 7 p.m. non-league game.

Series History
Wednesday's showdown against the Broncos will be the second meeting in the all-time series. Western Michigan won the first meeting, 74-59, in Kalamazoo, Mich., two years ago.

Scouting Western Michigan

The Western Michigan University Broncos enter the week at 3-2 overall after defeating Eastern Kentucky, 74-59, Nov. 26 in the UMKC Plaza Lights Classic in Kansas City, Mo.
Through five games, Western Michigan is led by redshirt junior center Marley Hill (15.6 points and seven rebounds per game), sophomore forward Breanna Mobley (13.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game) and senior guard Meredith Shipman (11.4 points and 4.6 rebound per game).
As a team, WMU is averaging 64 points per game while limiting its opponents to 62 points per game. The Broncos are being outrebounded, 40.8 to 37.6.
Western Michigan was picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division preseason poll after finishing 17-15 overall and 8-10 in conference play last season.
The Broncos are under the leadership of fifth season head coach Shane Clipfell.

Bison Notes

North Dakota State enters Wednesday at 1-5 overall after dropping a pair of games in the Cal Poly ShareSLO Beach Classic Nov. 25-26 in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
NDSU has dropped its last five games.
Through six games, junior guard Taylor Thunstedt (15.3 points per game), senior forward Emily Spier (10.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game) and freshman guard Sarah Jacobson (8.7 points and 3.3 assists per game) lead the Bison.
Emily Spier ranks second in The Summit League in rebounding with 8.7 boards per game while Taylor Thunstedt ranks first in three-point field goals made with 21 and is tied for sixth in scoring at 15.3 points per game. Sarah Jacobson is eighth in the league in assists with 3.3 assists per game and ninth in three-point field-goal percentage at 44.8 percent.
As a team, the Bison are being outscored, 74.2 to 58.5, but are outrebounding their opponents, 39.3 to 38.3. The Bison are shooting just 33.3 percent from the field, compared to 47.2 percent for their adversaries.
NDSU has struggled scoring in the first and second quarters through six games. The Bison are being outscored, 108-68, in the opening period and 105-80 in the second period.
The Bison were picked to finish seventh in The Summit League preseason poll.
Taylor Thunstedt was named to the Summit League Preseason All-League Second Team.

Spier Owning the Glass
        Emily Spier leads the Bison and ranks second in The Summit League in rebounding with 8.7 boards per game. The Buffalo, Minn., native has two double-doubles this season (15 points and 12 rebounds at UMass Nov. 14, and 10 points and 14 rebounds against Colorado Nov. 22).

Thunstedt, For Three!
        Taylor Thunstedt ranks second in career three-point field-goal percentage at 38.8 percent and second in career three-point field goals made with 158. Thunstedt set a new NDSU single-season record last season with 82 made three-pointers. Entering Wednesday, she leads The Summit League and ranks 16th nationally with 21 three-pointers made.

Jacobson Making the Pass
        Sarah Jacobson leads the Bison with 3.3 assists per game through six contests. The Fargo native has dished out 20 assists, including a season-high five in NDSU's game against Central Michigan Nov. 26.

Field-Goal Percentage Leaders
        Emily Spier paces NDSU in field-goal percentage through six games at 47.5 percent. She has made 29 shots in 61 attempts. Sarah Jacobson is second on the team, going 18-of-53 for 34 percent, and Taylor Thunstedt is third, making 29 of 88 shots for 33 percent.

Last Time Out: Bison Women Drop Contest to Central Michigan to Conclude Cal Poly ShareSLO Beach Classic
        The North Dakota State University women's basketball team fell to Central Michigan, 77-55, in the Cal Poly ShareSLO Beach Classic on Saturday, Nov. 26, at the Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, California.
        Junior Taylor Thunstedt scored 15 points and went 5-for-10 from three-point range to lead NDSU, while senior Brianna Jones snagged a team-high six rebounds. Freshman Sarah Jacobson and senior Emily Spier both scored 10 points, with Jacobson also dishing out a team-best five assists.
        The Bison shot 33 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range, and were outrebounded by the Chippewas in the contest, 43-32.
        Central Michigan also outscored NDSU in the paint, 48-20.
        The Bison trailed 35-25 at the start of the third quarter before the Chippewas used a 10-2 run from 9:50 to 6:24 to go in the stanza to seize a 20-point advantage. NDSU could not get any closer than 16 points the remainder of the contest.
        Tinara Moore led the Chppewas in scoring for the game, tallying 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Moore also pulled down 11 rebounds for the double-double. Presley Hudson also posted a double-double, dishing out 12 assists while scoring 11 points.
        Reyna Frost compiled Central Michigan's third double-double of the game, netting 18 points while snagging a game-high 15 boards.
        CMU shot 54 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond-the-arc in the game.

Bison Women Ink Four High School Standouts on National Signing Day
        North Dakota State women's basketball head coach Maren Walseth announced Wednesday, Nov. 9, that high school seniors Danneka Voegeli (C, 6-2, Winona, Minn.), Macey Kvilvang (F, 6-4, Cando, N.D.), Emily Dietz (F, 6-3, West Fargo, N.D.) and Michelle Gaislerova (G, 5-11, Trutnov, Czech Republic) have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their education and play women's basketball for the Bison starting in the fall of 2017.

NDSU Women's Basketball Picked Seventh in Summit League Preseason Poll
        The North Dakota State women's basketball team was picked to finish seventh in The Summit League Preseason Poll. NDSU tallied 156 points in the poll. Defending Summit League tournament champion South Dakota State was tabbed the preseason favorite with 542 points and 30 first-place votes, while IUPUI was picked second with 438 points. South Dakota, the WNIT champion last season, rounded out the top-three in third with 393 points and three first-place votes. Oral Roberts collected the final first-place vote and was voted fourth with 391 points. Omaha, Western Illinois, NDSU, Denver and Fort Wayne rounded out the poll.

Minimum of 13 NDSU Women's Basketball Games to be Televised in 2016-17
        A minimum of 13 North Dakota State University women's basketball games will be televised during the upcoming 2016-17 season as a result of a new broadcast agreement with Midco Sports Network.
        MidcoSN will televise 12 of NDSU's 14 home games in high definition inside the new Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex starting with the exhibition contest against Bemidji State Nov. 3. With the exception of the exhibition game, all televised home contests will also air nationally on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
        MidcoSN will also broadcast North Dakota State's Summit League road game at South Dakota State Feb. 2.
        NDSU's non-conference game at Milwaukee Dec. 3 will air on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
        In addition to its game coverage, MidcoSN will produce and air The Bison Basketball Show during the upcoming season. The weekly, half-hour show will air Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. and will provide an inside look into the NDSU basketball teams with interviews, feature stories, and highlights of home and away contests.

On the Horizon
        North Dakota State travels to Milwaukee, Wis., and Rochester, Mich., for a pair of non-league contests against Milwaukee and Oakland. NDSU is scheduled to battle the Milwaukee Panthers at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, before taking on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) Monday, Dec. 5.

Head Coach Maren Walseth
        Maren Walseth is in her third season as the head women's basketball coach at North Dakota State University.
     NDSU finished the 2015-16 season with an overall record 7-22 and was 2-14 in Summit League play. Senior Marena Whittle was named to the All-Summit League first team, while sophomore Taylor Thunstedt was tabbed honorable mention all-league.
     Walseth graduated from the NCAA Women Coaches Academy in 2015. The academy is an educational training open to coaches of all experience levels that offers non-sport-specific program management strategies.
     In her inaugural season at NDSU in 2014-15, 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.
     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.
     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.