NDSU Women's Basketball Hits Road to Face Northern Illinois

Wednesday, November 28

DeKalb, Ill.

11 a.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Northern Illinois

Photo by: Ryan Workman

NDSU Women's Basketball Hits Road to Face Northern Illinois

11/27/2018 10:50:00 AM | Women's Basketball

North Dakota State at Northern Illinois
Wednesday, Nov. 28 | 11 a.m. (Central) | DeKalb, Ill. (Convocation Center)
Radio: Hits 96.9 FM
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: BisonStats.com

Full Game Notes (PDF)
NDSU WBB on Twitter: @NDSUwbb

Scene Setter
A quick road trip turnaround for the North Dakota State women's basketball team, as they hit the road to DeKalb, Ill. to face Northern Illinois on Wednesday, Nov. 28. The Bison are fresh off a trip to California, where they faced Pacific and North Texas in Stockton, Calif.

Northern Illinois Series History
The Huskies lead the all-time series 1-0. The lone meeting came on Nov. 18, 2005 in DeKalb, where Northern Illinois came away with a 67-62 victory in the season opener for the Bison. The Bison are 2-7 all-time against the MAC.

Bison Notes

Four players scored in double figures for the third time this season in the loss to North Texas. The Bison also had four players in double figures against Mayville State and New Hampshire.
Senior Marina Fernandez scored a career-high 20 points in the loss against the Mean Green. It was the first 20 point game of the year for a Bison player.
Sophomore Michelle Gaislerova has played all 20 minutes of the second half in five of NDSU's six games this season. She only played 13 minutes against Creighton in the second half.
Junior Tyrah Spencer scored a career-high 19 points in the loss to Pacific. She was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, with three of those coming from long range.
The Bison assisted on 13 of their 24 made field goals against Pacific.
NDSU turned the ball over a season-high 22 times against the Tigers. Pacific turned the 22 turnovers into 31 of their 75 points, while also scoring 20 points from offensive rebounds.
In the 64-53 loss at Wisconsin, the Bison and Badgers were tied at 15 after the first quarter. NDSU led for 5:37 of the opening frame, while the Badgers led for 2:12.
NDSU cut the lead to five with 5:29 to play before the Badgers went on an 8-2 run to close the game.
Playing three games on the opening week of the season, the Bison went 2-1 with wins to start and end the week.
In the final game of the week, NDSU had four players score in double figures in the victory over New Hampshire.
With just two players playing off the bench, NDSU held an 18-0 advantage in bench points in the win over New Hampshire.

Scouting Northern Illinois

The Huskies were picked to finish fourth in the MAC West Division. Northern Illinois tallied 38 points in the poll, just three points behind Eastern Michigan for third. Central Michigan was picked to win the division with 72 points, including 12 first place votes. Northern Illinois received a vote to win the 2019 MAC Tournament, while Central Michigan (8) and Buffalo (3) received the other 11 votes.
Senior Courtney Woods was selected to the 2018-19 Preseason All-MAC West Division Team. Woods was a All-MAC First Team selection last year, while finishing fourth in the voting for MAC Player of the Year.
The Huskies protect the ball, as they rank 14th in the nation in fewest turnovers with 53. They also rank 33rd in turnovers per game with 13.3.
Northern Illinois participated in the Preseason NIT this year, where they finished with a 2-1 record. The Huskies dropped a 70-60 decision at Iowa State on Nov. 11, while the Cyclones went on to win the tournament. Northern Illinois beat Yale 89-80 in the first round and Northern Iowa 70-59 in the consolation round.

Last Time Out
   Terriell Bradley scored 40 points for the Mean Green, as North Texas beat the North Dakota State women's basketball team 92-78 in the final game of the Tiger Turkey Tipoff for the Bison.
   With NDSU leading 3-2 after an and-one by Emily Dietz at the 9:25 mark of the first quarter, the Mean Green went on a 12-2 run over a 2:57 span to take the lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Rylee Nudell and Michelle Gaislerova cut the lead to three, but the Mean Green answered with a 15-6 run in the next 3:53 to push the lead to 12.
   The Bison cut the lead to eight with 4:45 to play in the first half, but North Texas answered with a 13-5 run over the last 4:30 of the half to take a 55-39 lead at the break. North Texas led 88-64 with 3:52 to play before the Bison closed the game on a 14-4 run in the last 2:51 to cut the final score to 92-78.
   Marina Fernandez had a career day for the Bison, as she finished with career-highs in points (20) and rebounds (8). Nudell (14), Gaislerova (13) and Tyrah Spencer (12) all joined Fernandez in double digit scoring. Bradley's 40 points were a game-high, as she became the fifth player in NCAA Division I women's basketball to score 40 or more points in a game this season. Gaislerova also had a career-high six rebounds, while Danneka Voegeli added five boards off the bench. Fernandez led the Bison with two assists, while Nudell tied a career-high with two steals.
   NDSU was 28-of-52 (53.8%) from the field, while going 6-of-15 (40%) from 3-point range. The Mean Green were 34-of-62 (54.8%) from the floor and 12-of-24 from 3-point range. North Texas entered the game averaging 4.8 3-pointers per game, while shooting at a 25 percent clip. The Bison were 16-of-26 (61.5%) from the free throw line, while the Mean Green were 12-of-24 at the charity stripe.

Bison Sign Two on National Signing Day
   NDSU announced the signing of high school standouts, Nicole Scales and Olivia Skibiel, to a National Letter of Intent to attend NDSU and play basketball starting in the fall of 2019. Scales is a 5-9 guard from Park Ridge, Ill., while Skibiel is a 6-1 guard/forward from Snohomish, Wash. In 31 games last season, Scales averaged a team-best 12.4 points per game. She also owns the Maine South single-season record for 3-pointers in a season with 80 and highest free throw percentage (47-of-59 – 80%).Skibiel averaged 18.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game as a junior. She was 69-of-80 (86%) at the free throw line during junior season.

Mixing It Up
   Nine different players have seen action in four games, with each playing at least four minutes. The Bison have tallied 24 different lineups with the nine players. NDSU has used eight different lineups for at least 10 minutes. The combination of Rylee Nudell, Michelle Gaislerova, Tyrah Spencer, Marina Fernandez and Cirkeline Rimdal has outscored opponents 31-25 in 14:26 of action. In 21 minutes off the bench, freshman Reagan Heun has an even plus/minus score in three games played. Nudell has the highest plus rating of the year, as the Bison were +12 in her 33 minutes against New Hampshire.
Starters Going Deep
   The Bison have hit 38 3-pointers in the first six games. Of those 38 long balls, 37 have come from the starting lineup. Cirkeline Rimdal has the lone long ball from the bench. Michelle Gaislerova leads the team with 16 3-pointers.

Marathon Runners
   Michelle Gaislerova and Tyrah Spencer have played all 40 minutes in three of the six games this season. In the other three, Gaislerova has played 33, 38 and 36 minutes, while Spencer tallied minutes of 30, 37 and 23. They both played all 40 against Mayville State, Wisconsin and Pacific. They both rank in the top 100 in the country in minutes played.

Making Them When They Matter
   The Bison are shooting 61.8 percent (55-for-89) at the free throw line this year, but they are hitting them when it matters. NDSU is 12-of-15 (80%) at the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games this season. Tyrah Spencer is 4-of-6 (66.7%) with the most attempts, while Rylee Nudell (three) and Cirkeline Rimdal (two) are perfect in their late free throw attempts.

88 and Counting
   North Dakota State has made at least two 3-pointers in 88-straight games dating back to a loss against Delaware on Nov. 29, 2015. The Bison have hit at least three in every game this season. In the last three games, NDSU has hit at least six per game while averaging eight long balls a game in the span.

2018-19 NDSU Women's Basketball Captains Announced
   Rylee Nudell, Tyrah Spencer and Marina Fernandez have been voted team captains for the Bison for the upcoming 2018-19 season. This is the second year that Spencer has been voted a captain.

NDSU Women's Basketball Picked Seventh In Summit League Preseason Poll
   The North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team was voted seventh in the Summit League preseason poll released by the league office.
   South Dakota State was tabbed the preseason favorite with 24 first-place votes, while South Dakota was picked second with the remaining nine first-place votes.
   The Summit League finished 12th out of 32 conferences in RPI last season.

MidcoSN to Televise Every NDSU Women's Basketball Home Game in 2018-19
   Midco has announced that all 14 NDSU home games during the 2018-19 season will be broadcast live on Midco Sports Network. All games will either be on MidcoSN or MidcoSN2. In addition, all home games will be covered by ESPN+ or ESPN3. Road games at Omaha (Jan. 6), South Dakota State (Jan. 23), North Dakota (Feb. 7) and South Dakota (Feb. 28) will also be on the Midco Sports Network.

On the Horizon
   After a four-game road trip in three different states, the Bison return home on Sunday, Dec. 2, to face UMKC. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at the Scheels Center inside the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.