NDSU Women's Basketball Heads to Western Illinois Saturday

Saturday, January 14

Macomb, Ill.

4:30 p.m.

North Dakota State

Western Illinois

Photo by: Kevin Wolf

NDSU Women's Basketball Heads to Western Illinois Saturday

1/12/2017 10:42:00 AM | Women's Basketball

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Complete NDSU Game Notes (PDF)

North Dakota State at Western Illinois
Saturday, Jan. 14 | 4:30 p.m. | Macomb, Ill. (Western Hall)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM (Keith Brake, play-by-play)
TV: None
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

The Game
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team (5-12, 3-1 Summit League) is scheduled to travel to Summit League leading Western Illinois (14-4, 4-1 Summit League) Saturday, Jan. 14. Tip-off at Western Hall in Macomb, Ill., is slated for 4:30 p.m.

Series History
Saturday's Summit League showdown with the Leathernecks will mark the 20th meeting in the all-time series. Western Illinois leads the series, 10-9, after winning both Summit League games last season. WIU defeated NDSU in Fargo, 94-82, before claiming a 100-89 win in Macomb.

Bison Notes

The North Dakota State University Bison enter Saturday at 5-12 overall and 3-1 in Summit League play after defeating Fort Wayne, 68-56, on Saturday, Jan. 7, at home. The Bison have won three straight games.
The 3-1 start to league play is the best start for the Bison since 2014-15, when they won their first three league games.
Through 17 contests, junior guard Taylor Thunstedt leads the team and ranks third in The Summit League in scoring with 17.4 points per game, while senior forward Brianna Jones paces the team and ranks third in the league with eight rebounds per game. Freshman guard Sarah Jacobson leads the Bison and ranks fourth in the league in assists with 3.7 assists per game, and is averaging 10.1 points per game. Freshman guard Anna Goodhope leads the Bison in field-goal percentage at 58.3 percent (14-of-24).
Thunstedt ranks second in the nation in three-point field goals made with 61 treys in 17 games.
Sarah Jacobson ranks 11th in the nation in minutes played at 594 minutes (34.9 minutes per game).
As a team, the Bison are averaging 66.5 points per game while giving up 72.5 points per game. NDSU is outrebounding opponents, 40.1 to 37.8. NDSU's 40.1 rebounds per game leads The Summit League.
In Summit League play only, NDSU is outscoring opponents, 75.8 to 69.5, and outrebounding adversaries, 43.2 to 33.5.
The Bison rank 20th in the country in three-point field-goal percentage (37.7 percent), 37th in three-point field goals made (119), and 34th in rebounds (681).

About Western Illinois

The Western Illinois Leathernecks enter Saturday at 14-4 overall and 4-1 in Summit League action after winning at Omaha Wednesday, 78-74. WIU has won its last three games and is receiving votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
Through 18 games, Western Illinois is led by junior guards Emily Clemens (18.6 points and 3.1 steals per game) and Morgan Blumer (15.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game), and sophomore guard Taylor Higginbotham (13.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game).
Clemens leads The Summit League in steals and ranks second in scoring, while Blumer is fourth in the league in scoring.
As a team, the Leathernecks are averaging a Summit League-high 80.1 points per game while limiting opponents to 64.7 points per game. WIU is second in the league with 39.6 rebounds per game and is holding its adversaries to 37.9 boards per game. Western Illinois leads the league in steals with 12.4 steals per game.
WIU was picked sixth in The Summit League Preseason Poll.
The Leathernecks are under the direction of sixth season head coach J.D. Gravina (William Jewell College, 2000).

Thunstedt Sets New NDSU Career Record for Threes Made, Becomes 33rd Bison to Score At Least 1,000 Points

Junior guard Taylor Thunstedt is now the North Dakota State career leader in three-point field goals made with 198 threes. The Spicer, Minn., native surpassed former Bison Amanda Gehrke's record of 192 treys after making a three with 5:18 to go in the first quarter at Denver Dec. 31.
Thunstedt became the 33rd NDSU women's basketball player to net at least 1,000 career points when she scored a layup in the second quarter Wednesday against South Dakota. Entering Saturday, Thunstedt has 1,028 career points.

Goodhope's Summit League Surge
        Anna Goodhope is shooting a team-best 75 percent from the field and three-point range through four Summit League contests. The freshman from Sioux Falls has made 6-of-8 shots from the floor and 3-of-4 baskets from beyond-the-arc.

RJ Heating Up
        Reilly Jacobson is shooting a team-best 55 percent from the floor in her last six games, making 23-of-42 shots. In the two Summit League games she has played in, she is shooting 68 percent from the field and averaging 16 points per game. Jacobson, a native of Waukee, Iowa, netted a season-best 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting in NDSU's victory at Denver Dec. 31.

Jones Crashing the Glass
        Brianna Jones leads NDSU and ranks third in The Summit League with eight rebounds per game. The senior from Indianapolis has three double-doubles this season and is averaging a team-high 9.5 rebounds per game in league play.

Jones and Ogden Owning the Offensive Boards in League Action
        Through four league games, Brianna Jones is averaging a team-best 2.3 offensive rebounds per game while Autumn Ogden is averaging two offensive boards per game.

Jacobson Duo Making an Impact to Start League Play
        Freshmen Sarah Jacobson and Reilly Jacobson are averaging a combined 29 points per game in North Dakota State's four Summit League games. Sarah Jacobson is averaging 13 points per game and shooting 46 percent from the floor in four contests while Reilly Jacobson is averaging 16 points per game and shooting 68 percent from the field in two games.

Field-Goal Percentage Leaders
        Anna Goodhope leads North Dakota State in field-goal percentage through 17 games, making 14-of-24 attempts for 58.3 percent. Reilly Jacobson is second, making 38 out of 78 shots for 48.7 percent, while Brianna Jones is third, going 57-of-131 for 43.5 percent.

Jacobson Making the Pass
        Sarah Jacobson leads North Dakota State and ranks fourth in The Summit League in assists with 3.7 assists per game. The freshman from Fargo dished out a season-best eight assists in NDSU's victory over Mayville State Dec. 12. Jacobson has tallied at least one assist in every game this season, including 14 games with two or more.

Taking Advantage of Second Chances
        Through 17 games, NDSU is outscoring opponents in second-chance points, 202-172. The Bison are averaging 11.9 second chance points per game, while limiting adversaries to 10.1 per game.

Success Off the Bench
        North Dakota State has a 329-274 bench scoring advantage through 17 games. NDSU is averaging 19.4 bench points per game while its opponents are averaging 16.1 per game. In Summit League play, the Bison bench is averaging 24.5 points per game while opposing benches are averaging just 16.2 per game.

Last Time Out: NDSU Women's Hoops Defeats Fort Wayne, 68-56, for Third Consecutive Victory
        The North Dakota State University women's basketball team won its third straight game and improved to 3-1 in Summit League play with a 68-56 victory over the Fort Wayne Mastodons on Saturday, Jan. 7, inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
        The Bison (5-12 overall) outscored the Mastodons (3-14 overall, 0-4 Summit League) 25-11 in the second quarter and held off Fort Wayne in the third and fourth stanzas to secure the win.
        Taylor Thunstedt scored 16 points on 50 percent shooting from the field to lead North Dakota State, while Brianna Jones posted her third double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and dished out a career-best five assists.
        Sarah Jacobson also reached double figures in the game with 10 points, respectively.
        NDSU used a 10-0 run in the final two minutes of the second stanza to take control of the game.
        Jacobson ignited the spurt with a jumper, increasing the NDSU lead to 28-25 with 1:57 to go. Jones built the Bison advantage to 30-25 with a jump shot with 1:28 remaining, before Thunstedt drove to the basket and drilled a layup for two more NDSU points with just over a minute remaining on the clock. Anna Goodhope and Thunstedt both converted layups in the final 40 seconds of the frame, ballooning the North Dakota State lead to 36-25 going into the intermission.
        NDSU shot a season-best 52 percent from the field in the game, making 27 of 52 shots, and went 3-of-7 from three-point range for 43 percent. The Bison shot 73 percent at the free-throw line, going 11-of-15.
        North Dakota State dominated the glass, outrebounding Fort Wayne, 45-24, and outscored the Mastodons in the paint, 42-28.
        De'Jour Young tallied 16 points to lead Fort Wayne.

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 NDSU's Summit League road game at South Dakota State Feb. 2.
        The Bison'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
        NDSU returns home to the friendly confines of the Scheels Center to take on Omaha on Wednesday, January 18, 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.