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North Dakota State at South Dakota State
Thursday, Feb. 2 | 7 p.m. | Brookings, S.D. (Frost Arena)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM (Keith Brake, play-by-play)
TV: MidcoSN, ESPN3, WatchESPN app (Tom Nieman, play-by-play; Brad Newitt, color)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

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The Game
        The North Dakota State women's basketball team (5-17 overall, 3-6 Summit League) will look to snap a five-game skid when it travels to Brookings, S.D., to take on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (16-5 overall, 7-2 Summit League) Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. inside Frost Arena.
 
Series History
        Thursday's game at South Dakota State will mark the 85th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1976. SDSU leads the series, 45-39, and has won the last four meetings. The Jackrabbits inched past the Bison earlier this season in Fargo, 69-66. North Dakota State hasn't won in Brookings since the 2010-11 season.
 
Bison Notes

• The North Dakota State University Bison enter Thursday at 5-17 overall and 3-6 in Summit League play after falling to Oral Roberts at home Jan. 28, 70-50. NDSU has dropped its last five games.
• Through 22 contests, junior guard Taylor Thunstedt leads the team and ranks fifth in The Summit League in scoring with 16.4 points per game, while senior forward Brianna Jones paces the team and is third the league with 7.8 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Sarah Jacobson leads the Bison and is fourth in the league in assists with 3.6 assists per game. Freshman guard/forward Anna Goodhope leads the Bison in field-goal percentage at 53 percent (28-of-53), while freshman forward Reilly Jacobson ranks second at 50 percent (49-of-99).
• Thunstedt ranks fourth in the nation in three-point field goals made with 76 treys in 22 games.
• As a team, the Bison are averaging 64.9 points per game while giving up 74.7 points per game. NDSU is outrebounding opponents, 38.9 to 37.2. NDSU's 38.9 rebounds per game ranks second in The Summit League.
• The Bison rank 34th in the country in three-point field-goal percentage (36.2 percent), 43rd in total rebounds (801) and 64th in three-point field goals made (139).

 
About South Dakota State

• The South Dakota State University Jackrabbits enter Thursday at 16-5 overall and 7-2 in Summit League action after falling at Omaha Jan. 28, 83-82.
• Prior to losing at Omaha, the Jackrabbits had won their last six games.
• South Dakota State is 8-1 at home this season, including a perfect 4-0 in Summit League play.
• Through 21 games, SDSU is paced by sophomore guard Madison Guebert (15.5 points per game), senior guard Kerri Young (13.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game) and junior forward Ellie Thompson (12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game).
• As a team, South Dakota State is outscoring its opponents, 69.8 to 60.6, and outrebounding its adversaries, 37.9 to 34.4. The Jacks rank second in The Summit League in blocks (3.7/game), and third in assists (14.2/game) and points (69.8/game).
• The Jackrabbits were picked first in The Summit League Preseason Poll.
• SDSU is under the leadership of 17th season head coach Aaron Johnston.

 
Thunstedt Nearing Another Milestone
        Taylor Thunstedt is seven three-pointers away from breaking her NDSU single-season record for threes made (82), set last season. She is currently at 76 treys on the season.
 
RJ Heating Up
        Reilly Jacobson is shooting a team-best 60.5 percent from the field in the six Summit League games she has played in. 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. She added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting at IUPUI Jan. 21.
 
Jones Crashing the Glass
        Brianna Jones leads NDSU and is third in The Summit League with 7.9 rebounds per game. The senior from Indianapolis has four double-doubles this season and is averaging a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game in league play. Entering Thursday, she ranks ninth in NDSU career rebounding average with 7.7 boards per game and second in defensive rebounding average with 4.7 defensive rebounds per contest.
 
Nudell Finding Her Shooting Rhythm in League Play
        Rylee Nudell is shooting 56.8 percent from the floor and 60 percent from three-point range in North Dakota State's nine Summit League contests. The freshman from Buffalo, N.D., has gone 25-for-44 from the field and 6-for-10 from downtown.
 
Goodhope's Great Shooting
        Anna Goodhope is shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from three-point range through nine Summit League contests. The freshman from Sioux Falls has made 20-of-37 shots from the floor and 11-of-23 baskets from beyond-the-arc.
 
Jacobson Making the Pass
        Sarah Jacobson leads North Dakota State and is fourth in The Summit League in assists with 3.6 assists per game. The freshman from Fargo matched her career-high with eight assists in NDSU's game at Western Illinois Jan. 14. Jacobson has tallied at least one assist in every game this season, including 18 games with two or more.
 
Jones Owning the Offensive Boards in League Action
        Through nine league games, Brianna Jones is averaging 2.4 offensive rebounds per game. Jones has pulled down 22 offensive boards. 
 
Thunstedt Sets New NDSU Career Record for Threes Made, Becomes 33rd Bison to Score At Least 1,000 Points  

• Junior guard Taylor Thunstedt is the North Dakota State career leader in three-point field goals made with 213 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 against South Dakota Jan. 4. Entering Thursday, Thunstedt has 1,094 career points.

 
Taking Advantage of Second Chances
        Through 22 games, NDSU is outscoring opponents in second-chance points, 250-235. The Bison are averaging 11.4 second chance points per game, while limiting adversaries to 10.7 per game.
 
Success Off the Bench
        North Dakota State has a 449-350 bench scoring advantage through 22 games. NDSU is averaging 20.4 bench points per game while its opponents are averaging 15.9 per game. In Summit League play, the Bison bench is averaging 24.2 points per game while opposing benches are averaging just 15.7 per game. 
 
Last Time Out: NDSU Women's Basketball Falls to Oral Roberts Saturday
        The North Dakota State University women's basketball team fell to Oral Roberts University, 70-50, on Saturday, Jan. 28, in the annual Play4Kay Pink Game inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
        With the loss, NDSU falls to 5-17 overall and 3-6 in Summit League action, while ORU improves to 12-10 on the season and 4-5 in league play.
        Junior Taylor Thunstedt scored 10 points, and senior Emily Spier snagged eight rebounds to lead North Dakota State.
        The Bison shot 40 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range in the game.
        Oral Roberts controlled the glass and outrebounded NDSU in the contest, 37-26.
        The Golden Eagles outscored the Bison in the paint, 38-16, and off turnovers, 25-8.
        NDSU committed 18 turnovers compared to only 10 for ORU.
        Kaylan Mayberry netted 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting to pace the Golden Eagles, while Faith Ihim finished with a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
        Oral Roberts shot 48 percent from the field for 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.
        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
        The Bison return home to the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex to host Western Illinois Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 5 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.