Saturday, December 10
Fargo, N.D.
7 p.m.
North Dakota State
vs
North Dakota
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Carrie Snyder
NDSU Women's Hoops Hosts North Dakota Saturday, Mayville State Monday
12/8/2016 4:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NDSU Women's Basketball on Twitter
Complete NDSU Game Notes (PDF)
North Dakota State vs. North Dakota
Saturday, Dec. 10 | 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
North Dakota State vs. Mayville State
Monday, Dec. 12 | 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)
The Games
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team returns home to the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex for two games. The Bison take on the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. before hosting the Mayville State University Comets Monday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. The two contests will mark the final home non-league games before Summit League play begins.
Series History
Scouting North Dakota
Scouting Mayville State
Bison Notes
Thunstedt, For Three!
Taylor Thunstedt ranks second in career three-point field-goal percentage at 39.7 percent and second in career three-point field goals made with 173. Thunstedt set a new NDSU single-season record last season with 82 made three-pointers. Entering Saturday, she leads The Summit League and sits in a four-way tie for the NCAA Division I lead with 36 three-pointers made, and ranks second in the nation with 4.0 three-point field goals per game.
Spier Owning the Glass
Emily Spier leads the Bison and The Summit League in rebounding with 8.7 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 48th in total rebounds with 78 in the latest NCAA national statistics.
Jacobson Making the Pass
Sarah Jacobson leads the Bison and ranks third in The Summit League with 4.0 assists per game through nine contests. The Fargo native has dished out 36 assists, including a season-high six in NDSU's game at Milwaukee Dec. 3.
Field-Goal Percentage Leaders
Emily Spier paces NDSU in field-goal percentage after nine games at 48 percent. She has made 47 shots in 98 attempts. Reilly Jacobson is second on the team, going 15-for-36 for 41.9 percent, and Sarah Jacobson is third, making 30 of 80 shots for 37.5 percent.
Last Time Out: Oakland Downs Bison Women
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team fell at Oakland, 95-66, on Monday, Dec. 5, in front of 783 spectators at the Athletic Center O'rena in Rochester, Michigan.
Junior Taylor Thunstedt led NDSU with 16 points and went 5-of-10 at the three-point line, while freshman Sarah Jacobson netted a career-best 13 points and dished out a game-high five assists.
Senior Brianna Jones paced the Bison on the boards, pulling down a season-best 12 rebounds, while fellow senior Emily Spier netted 12 points on 60 percent shooting from the floor.
For the game, NDSU shot 40 percent from the field (26-of-64), 38 percent from three-point range (8-of-21) and just 43 percent from the free-throw line (6-of-17).
North Dakota State committed 24 turnovers, which led to 35 Oakland points.
The Golden Grizzlies were led by Taylor Gleason with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, while Hannah Little posted a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Oakland shot 48 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Bison, 48-40.
The Golden Grizzlies also outscored NDSU in the paint, 60-34.
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 travel to Edinburg, Texas, to compete in the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Battle on the Border. The Bison will face Texas Rio Grande Valley Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. before taking on UC Santa Barbara Dec. 20 at 4:30 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.
Complete NDSU Game Notes (PDF)
North Dakota State vs. North Dakota
Saturday, Dec. 10 | 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
North Dakota State vs. Mayville State
Monday, Dec. 12 | 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)
The Games
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team returns home to the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex for two games. The Bison take on the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. before hosting the Mayville State University Comets Monday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. The two contests will mark the final home non-league games before Summit League play begins.
Series History
- North Dakota: Saturday's game against the Fighting Hawks will mark the 83rd meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1967. UND leads the series, 45-37, and has won the last four meetings with NDSU. Last season, the Bison fell to UND in Grand Forks, 71-54.
- Mayville State: Monday's contest with Mayville State will be the 24th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1967. The Bison are a perfect 23-0 in the series. NDSU last played Mayville State during the 2014-15 season, with the Bison claiming an 83-66 victory over the Comets in Fargo.
Scouting North Dakota
- The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks enter Saturday at 2-5 overall after falling to mid-major number one-ranked South Dakota State, 83-72, on Tuesday, Dec. 6, in Grand Forks.
- Through seven games, senior guards Leah Szabla (14.3 points and 3.3 assists per game) and Makailah Dyer (13.3 points per game), and sophomore forward Lexi Klabo (10.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game) lead North Dakota.
- As a team, UND is averaging 73.6 points per game while giving up 75.6 points per game. The Fighting Hawks are outrebounding opponents, 42.1 to 36.3.
- North Dakota was picked to finish second in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Poll.
- UND is under the leadership of fifth season head coach J. Travis Brewster.
Scouting Mayville State
- The Mayville State University Comets have an overall record of 3-5 through eight games in 2016-17.
- The Comets are scheduled to play at Presentation College (S.D.) Saturday before traveling to Fargo Monday to take on the Bison.
- Through eight contests, the Comets are led by junior forward Andi Gayner (17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game), freshman guard Naomi Torgerson (15 points and 7.7 rebounds per game) and freshman guard Claire Blascziek (14.3 points per game).
- As a team, Mayville State is averaging 67.5 points per game while surrendering 70 points per game. The Comets are being outrebounded by adversaries, 43.6 to 37.9.
- Mayville State is under the direction of 11th season head coach Dennis Hutter.
Bison Notes
- North Dakota State enters the weekend at 1-8 overall after falling at Oakland (Mich.) on Monday, Dec. 5, 95-66.
- Through nine games, junior guard Taylor Thunstedt (15.8 points per game) and senior forward Emily Spier (11 points and 8.7 rebounds per game) lead NDSU.
- Spier leads The Summit League in rebounding with 8.7 boards per game, while Thunstedt has made a league-high 36 three-point field goals and ranks fifth in the league in scoring with 15.8 points per game. Freshman guard Sarah Jacobson ranks third in assists in the league with four assists per game.
- As a team, NDSU is averaging 61.6 points per game while allowing 76.3 points per game. The Bison are outrebounding opponents, 38.9 to 38.3.
- NDSU has struggled scoring in the first quarter through nine games. The Bison are being outscored, 161-110, in the opening 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.
Thunstedt, For Three!
Taylor Thunstedt ranks second in career three-point field-goal percentage at 39.7 percent and second in career three-point field goals made with 173. Thunstedt set a new NDSU single-season record last season with 82 made three-pointers. Entering Saturday, she leads The Summit League and sits in a four-way tie for the NCAA Division I lead with 36 three-pointers made, and ranks second in the nation with 4.0 three-point field goals per game.
Spier Owning the Glass
Emily Spier leads the Bison and The Summit League in rebounding with 8.7 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 48th in total rebounds with 78 in the latest NCAA national statistics.
Jacobson Making the Pass
Sarah Jacobson leads the Bison and ranks third in The Summit League with 4.0 assists per game through nine contests. The Fargo native has dished out 36 assists, including a season-high six in NDSU's game at Milwaukee Dec. 3.
Field-Goal Percentage Leaders
Emily Spier paces NDSU in field-goal percentage after nine games at 48 percent. She has made 47 shots in 98 attempts. Reilly Jacobson is second on the team, going 15-for-36 for 41.9 percent, and Sarah Jacobson is third, making 30 of 80 shots for 37.5 percent.
Last Time Out: Oakland Downs Bison Women
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team fell at Oakland, 95-66, on Monday, Dec. 5, in front of 783 spectators at the Athletic Center O'rena in Rochester, Michigan.
Junior Taylor Thunstedt led NDSU with 16 points and went 5-of-10 at the three-point line, while freshman Sarah Jacobson netted a career-best 13 points and dished out a game-high five assists.
Senior Brianna Jones paced the Bison on the boards, pulling down a season-best 12 rebounds, while fellow senior Emily Spier netted 12 points on 60 percent shooting from the floor.
For the game, NDSU shot 40 percent from the field (26-of-64), 38 percent from three-point range (8-of-21) and just 43 percent from the free-throw line (6-of-17).
North Dakota State committed 24 turnovers, which led to 35 Oakland points.
The Golden Grizzlies were led by Taylor Gleason with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, while Hannah Little posted a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Oakland shot 48 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Bison, 48-40.
The Golden Grizzlies also outscored NDSU in the paint, 60-34.
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 travel to Edinburg, Texas, to compete in the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Battle on the Border. The Bison will face Texas Rio Grande Valley Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. before taking on UC Santa Barbara Dec. 20 at 4:30 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.
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