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North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Wednesday, Dec. 28 | 7 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Scheels Center)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM (Keith Brake, play-by-play)
TV: MidcoSN, ESPN3, WatchESPN app (Brian Shawn, play-by-play; Greg Stemen, color)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

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The Game
        The North Dakota State women's basketball team (2-11) is scheduled to tip-off Summit League play against South Dakota State (9-3) on Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 7 p.m. inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
 
Series History
        Wednesday's showdown against the Jackrabbits will mark the 84th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1976. SDSU leads the series, 44-39, and has won the last three meetings. Last season, the Bison fell to the Jacks in Fargo, 83-61, and in Brookings, S.D., 81-47. NDSU's last win in the series was during the 2014-15 season, when the Bison defeated the Jackrabbits at home, 83-78.
 
Scouting South Dakota State

• The South Dakota State University Jackrabbits enter Wednesday at 9-3 overall after claiming a 78-58 victory at Wichita State Dec. 21. SDSU is ranked eighth in the latest CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
• Through 12 games, the Jacks are paced by sophomore guard Madison Guebert (13.3 points per game), junior forward Elle Thompson (11.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) and senior guard Kerri Young (10.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game).
• Junior guard Macy Miller (14.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game), who was voted The Summit League Preseason Player of the Year, is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury in SDSU's game against Green Bay Dec. 9.
• As a team, SDSU is averaging 67.8 points per game while holding opponents to 59.7 points per game. The Jacks are outrebounding their adversaries, 38.8 to 35.2.
• South Dakota State was picked to finish first in The Summit League preseason poll.
• The Jacks are under the leadership of 17th season head coach Aaron Johnston.

 
Bison Notes

• North Dakota State enters Wednesday at 2-11 overall after falling to UC Santa Barbara, 66-59, Dec. 20 in the UTRGV Battle on the Border in Edinburg, Texas.
• Through 13 games, junior guard Taylor Thunstedt (16.6 points per game), senior forward Emily Spier (9.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game) and freshman guard Sarah Jacobson (9.0 points and 4.0 assists per game) lead the Bison.
• As a team, the Bison are being outscored, 73.4 to 63.7, and outrebounded, 39.2 to 39.1. The Bison are shooting 37.1 percent from the field, compared to 44.6 percent for their adversaries.
• 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.

 
Thunstedt, For Three!
         Taylor Thunstedt leads the nation in three-point field goals made with 52 treys and three-point field goals per game with 4.0 shots from beyond-the-arc per contest through 13 games. The junior from Spicer, Minn., ranks second in NDSU career three-point field-goal percentage at 40.1 percent and three-point field goals made with 189 threes. She is three three-pointers away from tying Amanda Gehrke (1998-02) for most three-pointers converted in a career. In her last six games, Thunstedt is shooting nearly 50 percent from long range (28-of-57).
 
Spier and Jones Owning the Glass
        Emily Spier leads the Bison and is ranked fourth in The Summit League in rebounding with 7.6 boards per game. The senior from Buffalo, Minn., has a team-best three double-doubles this season. Brianna Jones ranks second on the team and fifth in the league on the glass with 7.5 rebounds per game. The senior from Indianapolis has two double-doubles this season and is averaging a team-high 9.5 rebounds in her last six games.
 
Jacobson Making the Pass
        Sarah Jacobson leads North Dakota State and ranks third in The Summit League in assists with four assists per game. The freshman from Fargo dished out a season-best eight assists in NDSU's win over Mayville State Dec. 12.
 
Field-Goal Percentage Leaders
        Emily Spier paces NDSU in field-goal percentage after 13 games at 44 percent. She has made 55 shots in 126 attempts. Brianna Jones is second on the team, going 40-for-95 for 42 percent, and Reilly Jacobson is third, making 23 of 56 shots for 41 percent. In the Bison's last four games, Jones is shooting 49 percent from the floor, converting 25 out of 51 shots.
 
Crashing the Boards
        The Bison rank third in The Summit League in rebounding with 39.1 boards per game. NDSU has snagged 508 boards through 13 games.
 
Success from Long Range
        North Dakota State is shooting 37.1 percent from three-point range this season, fourth-best in The Summit League. The Bison have made 95 treys out of 256 attempts.

Last Time Out: Comeback Attempt Falls Short as NDSU Women's Hoops Falls to UC Santa Barbara, 66-59
        The North Dakota State University women's basketball team fell to the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 66-59, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, in The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley Battle on the Border at UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, Texas.
        The Bison (2-11) were led by Taylor Thunstedt with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, while Sarah Jacobson matched her career-high with 14 points and four steals.
        Thunstedt was named to the UTRGV Battle on the Border All-Tournament Team.
        Emily Spier and Brianna Jones each snagged seven boards, leading North Dakota State on the glass.
        NDSU shot 41 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range in the game, but only made 8-of-17 free throws for 47 percent.
        The Bison were outrebounded by the Gauchos (5-7), 47-27, and only had 12 assists compared to 21 for UCSB.
        UC Santa Barbara was paced by Aliceah Hernandez, who scored 12 points and went 4-for-5 from three-point range, while Drew Edelman posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
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
        North Dakota State travels to Denver, Colo., for a New Year's Eve showdown against the Denver Pioneers. Tip-off is slated for Saturday, Dec. 31, at 1 p.m. MT (2 p.m. CT) at Magness Arena.
 
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.