Women's Basketball | 12/1/2016 3:52:00 PM

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

North Dakota State at Milwaukee
Saturday, Dec. 3 | 2 p.m. | Milwaukee, Wis. | Klotsche Center (3,500)
Radio: 96.9 HITS FM (Lane Grindle, play-by-play)
TV: ESPN3, WatchESPN app
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

North Dakota State at Oakland (Mich.)
Monday, Dec. 5 | 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) | Rochester, Mich. | Athletics Center O'Rena (3,000)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM (Neal Ruhl, play-by-play)
TV: ESPN3, WatchESPN app  

---

The Games
        The North Dakota State University women's basketball team (1-6) travels to Milwaukee, Wis., and Rochester, Mich., for a pair of road games against Milwaukee (5-1) and Oakland (4-2). The Bison take on the Milwaukee Panthers at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, before facing the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Monday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET).
 
Series History

• Milwaukee: Saturday's contest at Milwaukee will mark the sixth meeting in the all-time series. The Bison lead the series, 3-2, but lost the last meeting with the Panthers, 77-73, in Fargo during the 2014-15 season.
• Oakland: Monday's game at Oakland will be the 16th meeting in the all-time series. The Golden Grizzlies lead the series, 9-6. The Bison claimed a 73-68 win over Oakland in Fargo in the last meeting during the 2012-13 season.

 
Scouting Milwaukee

• The Milwaukee Panthers enter the weekend at 5-1 overall after winning at Vermont on Nov. 26, 68-44. Milwaukee's lone loss of the season was a double-overtime setback at Northern Illinois.
• Through six games, the Panthers are led by junior forward Steph Kostowicz (17 points and 9.3 rebounds per game), junior guard Jenny Lindner (16.3 points and eight rebounds per game) and senior guard Sierra Ford-Washington (14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game). Lindner is the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week.
• As a team, Milwaukee is outscoring opponents, 81.5 to 64.2, and outrebounding adversaries, 44.2 to 30.8.
• The Panthers were picked to finish ninth in the Horizon League preseason poll after compiling a 19-13 overall record and 12-6 conference mark last season.
• Milwaukee is under the direction of fifth season head coach Kyle Rechlicz.

 
Scouting Oakland

• The Oakland Golden Grizzlies enter the weekend at 4-2 overall after claiming an 80-60 victory at Chicago State on Nov. 26. Oakland has won four of its last five games.
• The Golden Grizzlies are scheduled to play at Michigan State Dec. 2 before hosting the Bison Dec. 5.
• Through six contests, Oakland is paced by sophomore guard Taylor Jones (17.7 points and four rebounds per game), redshirt junior guard Taylor Gleason (12.8 points per game) and redshirt senior forward Hannah Little (10.5 points and 12 rebounds per game).
• As a team, the Golden Grizzlies are outscoring adversaries, 86.2 to 59.2, and outrebounding opponents, 46.5 to 37.3.
• Oakland was picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League preseason poll after completing last season with an overall record of 15-15 and a conference record of 7-11.
• The Golden Grizzlies are under the leadership of fourth season head coach Jeff Tungate.

 
Bison Notes

• North Dakota State enters Saturday at 1-6 overall after falling to Western Michigan, 68-63, at home on Wednesday, Nov. 30. NDSU has dropped its last six games.
• Through seven games, junior guard Taylor Thunstedt (14.7 points per game, 36.4 three-point field-goal percentage), senior forward Emily Spier (11 points and 9.1 rebounds per game) and freshman guard Sarah Jacobson (8.9 points and 3.6 assists per game) lead the Bison.
• Emily Spier's 9.1 boards per game and three double-doubles leads The Summit League, while Taylor Thunstedt sits atop the league statistics with 24 three-pointers made and is tied for sixth with 14.7 points per game. Sarah Jacobson is fifth in the league in assists with 3.6 assists per game.
• As a team, the Bison are being outscored, 73.3 to 59.1, but are outrebounding opponents, 38.9 to 37.0. The Bison are shooting just 34.7 percent from the field, compared to 46.8 percent for their adversaries.
• NDSU has struggled scoring in the first and third quarters through seven games. The Bison are being outscored, 121-79, in the opening period and 137-111 in the third 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 The Summit League in rebounding with 9.1 boards per game. The Buffalo, Minn., native has a team and league-high three double-doubles this season (15 points and 12 rebounds at UMass Nov. 14; 10 points and 14 rebounds against Colorado Nov. 22; 15 points and 12 rebounds against Western Michigan Nov. 30). She ranks 39th in total rebounds with 64 in the latest NCAA national statistics. 
 
Thunstedt, For Three!
        Taylor Thunstedt ranks second in career three-point field-goal percentage at 38.9 percent and second in career three-point field goals made with 161. Thunstedt set a new NDSU single-season record last season with 82 made three-pointers. Entering Saturday, she leads The Summit League and ranks 17th nationally with 24 three-pointers made.
 
Jacobson Making the Pass
        Sarah Jacobson leads the Bison with 3.6 assists per game through seven contests. The Fargo native has dished out 25 assists, including a season-high five in NDSU's games against Central Michigan Nov. 26 and Western Michigan Nov. 30.
 
Field-Goal Percentage Leaders
        Emily Spier paces NDSU in field-goal percentage after seven games at 48 percent. She has made 36 shots in 75 attempts. Sarah Jacobson is second on the team, going 22-of-61 for 36.1 percent, and Brianna Jones is third, making 15 of 44 shots for 34.1 percent.
 
Last Time Out: Bison Women Rally Late, but Fall to Western Michigan, 68-63
        The North Dakota State University women's basketball team rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, but came up just short of completing a comeback, as the Bison fell to the Western Michigan Broncos, 68-63, on Wednesday, Nov. 30, inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
        Senior Emily Spier posted her team-high third double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bison.
        Junior Taylor Thunstedt (11 points), sophomore Kennedy Childers (10 points) and freshman Sarah Jacobson (10 points) also scored in double figures for NDSU. Jacobson added a team-best five assists in the contest, matching her season-high.
        After Western Michigan's Marley Hill converted a pair of free throws with 1:36 to go in the fourth quarter to increase the Bronco lead to 63-55, Childers hit a three-pointer, and Jacobson drove to the basket and converted a layup, trimming the WMU lead to 63-60 with 56 seconds remaining.
        Western Michigan (4-2) hit three of its next four free throws to push the lead to 66-60, but Thunstedt drilled a trey with three seconds remaining, cutting the advantage to three.
        That was as close as the Bison could get, though, as the Broncos hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory.
        North Dakota State and Western Michigan both shot 44.2 percent from the field in the contest.
        The Bison outrebounded the Broncos, 36-29, but committed 19 turnovers which led to 22 WMU points.
        Hill led Western Michigan with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.
       
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.
        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
        The Bison return home to the Scheels Center for two games. NDSU faces the University of North Dakota on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. before hosting Mayville State University on Monday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m.
 
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.