North Dakota State Athletics
North Dakota
Bison Women Play at North Dakota Saturday Afternoon
12/6/2017 4:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Saturday, Dec. 9 | 2 p.m. | Grand Forks, N.D. (Betty Engelstad Sioux Center)
Radio: 96.9 HITS FM, 969hitsfm.com. 96.9 HITS FM app
TV: MidcoSN2 & FCS Central
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
NDSU Notes (PDF)
NDSU WBB on Twitter: @NDSUwbb
Scene Setter
North Dakota State will look to snap a three-game losing streak when it travels north on I-29 to Grand Forks to take on the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks Saturday, Dec. 9, at 2 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
Series History
Saturday's game at North Dakota will mark the 84th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1967. UND leads the series, 46-37, and has won all five games against the Bison in the NCAA Division I era. Last season, North Dakota State fell to North Dakota at home, 76-55. NDSU's last win against the Fighting Hawks was a 75-74 victory in Grand Forks during the 2003-04 season -- one year before NDSU reclassified to Division I.
Bison Notes
- NDSU enters Saturday with an overall record of 5-4 after falling to UT Rio Grande Valley, 82-79, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at home. The Bison have dropped their last three contests.
- Through nine games, NDSU is led in scoring by senior Taylor Thunstedt (10.8 points per game) and sophomore Reilly Jacobson (10.7 points per game). Jacobson also paces the Bison in rebounding with 5.9 boards per game
- Sophomore Sarah Jacobson has dished out a team-best 5.1 assists per game.
- Sophomore Rylee Nudell is shooting a team-best 51 percent from the field.
- Freshman Michelle Gaislerova is shooting a team-high 42 percent from three-point range.
- As a team, NDSU is averaging 70.9 points per game while limiting its opponents to 68.1 points per game. The Bison are being outrebounded 42.8 to 39.6.
- North Dakota State leads The Summit League in blocks (five blocks per game) and fewest turnovers (13 turnovers per game), ranks second in assists (19 assists per game) and three-point field-goal percentage (37 percent), and third in steals (eight steals per game) and points (71 points per game).
- The Bison were picked to finish sixth in The Summit League preseason poll.
About North Dakota
- The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks enter the weekend at 4-3 overall after falling at No. 8-ranked Baylor Dec. 5, 105-43.
- Through seven contests, UND is led by junior forward Lexi Klabo, who is averaging a team-high 17.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Junior forward Fallyn Freije is averaging 12.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and junior guard Jill Morton is averaging 10.4 points per game.
- As a team, North Dakota is averaging 63.6 points per game while surrendering 68.1 points per game. UND is outrebounding opponents 45.3 to 39.7.
- The Fighting Hawks were picked to finish second out of 12 teams in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll.
- North Dakota is under the leadership of sixth season head coach Travis Brewster.
Last Time Out: NDSU Women's Basketball Falls to UT Rio Grande Valley, 82-79
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team fell to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros, 82-79, Tuesday, Dec. 5, inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
Reilly Jacobson scored a career-high 21 points on 10-for-20 shooting from the field to lead the Bison (5-4), while Rylee Nudell tallied 13 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds, and tied her career-high with five assists.
Sarah Jacobson (13 points) and Taylor Thunstedt (11 points) also reached double figures, and Marina Fernandez added seven boards and a team-high six assists.
The game featured 11 lead changes and five ties before UT Rio Grande Valley (9-2) took the lead for good with just 1:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.
NDSU had a chance to send the contest to overtime, but Thunstedt's three as time expired was off the mark.
North Dakota State shot 45 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range and 71 percent at the free-throw line for the game.
Both teams pulled down 36 rebounds and committed 12 turnovers.
Jameka Dowell netted a game-high 23 points on 5-for-6 shooting, leading the Vaqueros.
UTRGV shot 44 percent from the floor, 36 percent from long range and went 19-of-21 at the foul line for 91 percent.
RJ Finding Her Shot
Reilly Jacobson has scored in double figures in four of her seven games this season, including a career-best 21 points on 10-of-20 shooting in NDSU's contest against UTRGV Dec. 5.
The Jacobson, Kvilvang and Ogden Block Party
Reilly Jacobson, Macey Kvilvang and Autumn Ogden have each blocked a team-high 10 shots through nine games. Jacobson leads the team and ranks third in The Summit League with 1.4 blocks per game, while Kvilvang and Ogden are tied for fifth in the league with 1.1 blocks per contest.
Fernandez and Jacobson Making the Pass
Sarah Jacobson and Marina Fernandez both rank in the top-10 of The Summit League in assists per game through nine games. Jacobson leads NDSU and ranks third in the league with 5.1 assist per game while Fernandez ranks sixth in the league with 3.1 assists per game.
Crashing the Offensive Glass
Through nine games, Reilly Jacobson and Danneka Voegeli lead the Bison and both rank in the top-10 of The Summit League in offensive rebounding. Jacobson is averaging a team-best 2.3 offensive boards per game, placing her sixth in the league, while Voegeli is averaging 2.1 offensive rebounds per contest, ranking her tied for 10th in the league.
From Downtown
Two Bison are currently shooting at least 40 percent from three-point range. Michelle Gaislerova leads the team and is eighth in The Summit League at 42 percent, while Sarah Jacobson ranks second on the team and 10th in the league at 41 percent.
Bench Contributions
The NDSU bench has outscored opposing benches 297-169 through nine games. NDSU is averaging 33 bench points per game while its opponents are only averaging 18.8 bench points per game.
Free-Throw Woes
NDSU has struggled at the free-throw line so far this season. NDSU is shooting only 65 percent from the foul line, making 85-of-131 charity shots. North Dakota State currently ranks last in The Summit League in free-throw percentage.
International Playing Experience
- Freshman guard Michelle Gaislerova played for the U16, U17 and U20 Czech Republic National Team. Last summer, she averaged 12.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in seven contests for the Czech Republic in the 2017 FIBA U20 European Championship.
- Junior guard Marina Fernandez played for BF Sant Adria and CEJ Hospitalet in Spain in high school. At BF Sant Adria, her team won the Regional Catalan Championship and placed seventh at the Spanish U18 Championship.
Thunstedt Tabbed Preseason All-League for Second Straight Season
Taylor Thunstedt was voted to the preseason all-league second team for the second straight season after averaging a team-high 14.5 points per game and tallying an NDSU single-season record 92 three-pointers last season.
NDSU Women's Basketball Inks Reagan Heun on National Signing Day
North Dakota State University women's basketball head coach Maren Walseth announced Wednesday, Nov. 8, the signing of high school standout Reagan Heun to a National Letter of Intent to attend NDSU and play basketball starting in the fall of 2018.
Reagan Heun
G | 5-10
Spring Branch, Texas (Canyon Lake HS)
Plays for coach Zach Burleson at Canyon Lake High School … First all-time in scoring, three-point field goals made and free-throws made at Canyon Lake … Averaged 18 points and seven rebounds last season as a junior … Last season, led her high school team in points scored, rebounds, three-pointers, free-throws and blocks, while being second on her team in assists and steals … Was 136-of-151 from the foul line for 90 percent … All-District first team last season … Played for Texas Elite Adidas GATA AAU team … Shot 52 percent from three last summer with her AAU team … National Honor Society Office, Senior Class Vice President and Student Council Member … Daughter of Lisa and Scott Heun … Her father, Scott, played football for Kansas State.
NDSU Women's Basketball Picked Sixth in Summit League Preseason Poll
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in The Summit League preseason poll released Wednesday, Oct. 4, by the league office. The Bison tallied 150 points in the poll. South Dakota State was tabbed the preseason favorite to win the league with 380 points and 16 first-place votes, while defending Summit League regular season and tournament champion Western Illinois was picked second with 372 points and 12 first-place votes. South Dakota was voted third with 307 points, rounding out the top-three. Oral Roberts was fourth, followed by Omaha and NDSU in fifth and sixth. Denver and Fort Wayne rounded out the poll in seventh and eighth.
Head Coach Maren Walseth
Maren Walseth enters her fourth season as the head women's basketball coach at North Dakota State University.
In her inaugural season at NDSU in 2014-15, Walseth 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.
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.
The Bison concluded the 2016-17 season with a 6-24 overall record and a Summit League mark of 4-12. NDSU defeated 2015-16 WNIT and Summit League regular season champion South Dakota, 83-73, Jan. 4 inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. The Coyotes also entered the game ranked fifth in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. Freshman point guard Sarah Jacobson was named to The Summit League All-Newcomer Team.
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.
On the Horizon
The Bison return home to the Scheels Center to host Cal Poly Dec. 16 before traveling to Miami, Fla., to play two games in the FIU Holiday Tournament Dec. 20-21.
