NDSU Women's Basketball Heads to Sunshine State for 31st Annual Hatter Classic

Wednesday, December 19

DeLand, Fla.

2 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

San Francisco

2018-19 NDSU Women's Basketball Team Huddle Valparaiso

Photo by: Ryan Workman

NDSU Women's Basketball Heads to Sunshine State for 31st Annual Hatter Classic

12/18/2018 3:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

North Dakota State vs. San Francisco
Wednesday, Dec. 19 | 2 p.m. (Central) | DeLand, Fla. (Edmunds Center)
Radio: Bison 1660 / 92.7 FM
TV: None
Live Stats: GoHatters.com

North Dakota State at Stetson
Friday, Dec. 21| 10 a.m. (Central) | DeLand, Fla. (Edmunds Center)
Radio: Bison 1660 / 92.7 FM
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoHatters.com

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

Scene Setter
   Fresh off a tight win over Valparaiso on Sunday, the North Dakota State women's basketball team heads to the Sunshine State for a pair of games in the 31st Annual Hatter Classic. The Bison will face San Francisco on Wednesday, Dec. 19, followed by the host school, Stetson, on Friday, Dec. 21.

San Francisco Series History
   This is the first meeting between the Bison and the Dons. NDSU is 0-1 all-time against the West Coast Conference, with that first game coming earlier this year against Pacific. In the first game of the Tiger Turkey Tipoff, the Tigers beat NDSU 75-68.

Stetson Series History
   This is the first meeting between the Bison and the Hatters. NDSU is 2-0 all-time against the Atlantic Sun Conference. The last meeting between NDSU and a member of the Atlantic Sun came last year, as the Bison beat NJIT 105-58 in Fargo on Nov. 12.

Bison Notes

In her first game as a Bison, Sofija Zivaljevic played 18 minutes off the bench against Valparaiso on Sunday. The Iowa State transfer was 3-of-6 from the field with seven points and two boards.
The Bison trailed by 11 with 4:07 to play in the second quarter against Valparaiso. It was the largest lead the Bison have overcome in a victory this season, as NDSU pulled out the 51-48 win.
Dating back to last season, sophomore Michelle Gaislerova ran her streak to 11-straight games scoring in double digits with 11 points against Valparaiso.
NDSU used just seven players against Milwaukee, totalling four different lineups. Of the four lineups, one combo played 2:38, while the other played just :20 together.
Junior Rylee Nudell went over 500 career points in the loss against Milwaukee, while she also surpassed 1,500 career minutes played.
Gaislerova has played all 20 minutes of the second half in all but one game this season. She only played 13 minutes against Creighton in the second half. She is averaging 8.1 points in the second half this year, including three games in double figures.
Sophomore Emily Dietz became the third different Bison to record a double-double this season, as she tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds against UMKC. Sophomore Danneka Voegeli (New Hampshire) and junior Tyrah Spencer (Northern Illinois) have also notched double-doubles this year.
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.

Scouting San Francisco

The Dons are 3-6 on the season, while they take the cross country flight having lost five of their last six games. The lone win in the span came on Dec. 5, as San Francisco beat Sacramento State 86-75.
San Francisco has played just two games outside of California this year. With games at Washington State and Idaho, this will be the furthest the Dons have traveled for a game.
The Dons are shooting 44.4 percent from the field, the 51st best in the nation and the second best in the West Coast Conference. Shannon Powell ranks fifth in the league, shooting 46.7 percent.
San Francisco is playing on the first day (North Dakota State) and last day (North Dakota) of the 31st Annual Hatter Classic.

Scouting Stetson

Stetson is 1-8 on the season. The lone victory came on Nov. 30, as the Hatters beat Webber International (NAIA) 80-52. Stetson has dropped its last two games, with both of them coming against Top 25 teams. The Hatters recently lost games at #9 Tennessee (65-55) on Dec. 5 and at #12 Texas (65-46) on Dec. 16.
Stetson is 14-2 in its last 16 Hatter Classic games. The Hatters were 2-0 in the tournament last year and will play on all three days this year.
Sophomore transfer Day'Neshia Banks scored 14 points in her debut on Sunday at Texas. She was 6-of-10 from the floor, while gathering five rebounds and a steal in 30 minutes of play.

92 and Counting
   North Dakota State has made at least two 3-pointers in 92-straight games dating back to a loss against Delaware on Nov. 29, 2015. The Bison had hit at least three in every game this season until Sunday's game against Valparaiso.

Last Time Out
   The North Dakota State women's basketball team held Valparaiso without a field goal for the first 6:48 of the fourth quarter, as the Bison picked up their first road win of the season 51-48 on Sunday afternoon.
   The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, as the Crusaders led 12-9 following a 3-pointer by Meredith Hamlet with :38 left to close the scoring in the opening frame.
   Danneka Voegeli hit an early layup in the second quarter, but Valpo answered with an 8-0 run in 1:55 to take a 20-11 lead with 6:52 to play in the half. The Crusaders pushed the lead to 11 with 4:07 left in the half before NDSU went on an 11-2 run to close the half. A layup by Marina Fernandez with :28 left cut the Valpo lead to 26-24 at the half.
   With Valpo leading by five, Sofija Zivaljevic and Cirkeline Rimdal scored seven-straight points for the Bison, as NDSU took a 35-33 lead with 3:48 left in the third quarter on a long ball by Rimdal. A free throw by Fernandez with :27 left in the quarter tied the game at 38-38 going into the fourth quarter.
   An and-one from Zivaljevic just :06 into the fourth gave NDSU a 41-38 lead. Valpo tied the game at 41-41 with 8:54 on three-straight free throws before the Bison took the game over.
   Another free throw by Fernandez with 8:16 remaining started an 8-1 run for NDSU over a 4:53 span, as the Bison took the lead for good. Michelle Gaislerova pushed the lead to seven on a layup that gave her a team-high 11 points with 3:23 to play. Valpo went on a 6-2 run over the final 3:12 of the game, but couldn't get closer than two points over the span as the Bison held on for the 51-48 victory.
   With 11 points, Gaislerova scored in double digits for the 11th-straight game dating back to last season. Fernandez added nine points, while Rylee Nudell had eight. Hamlet led the Crusaders with a game-high 15 points. Fernandez and Emily Dietz each had a team-high six rebounds for NDSU. Gaislerova and Fernandez each had three assists, while Tyrah Spencer, Fernandez and Dietz each had two steals, tying a career-high for Dietz.
   NDSU was 20-of-48 (41.7%) from the field and 2-of-18 (11.1%) from 3-point range. The Crusaders were 16-of-53 (30.2%) from the floor and 5-of-27 (18.5%) from downtown. The Bison were 9-of-18 from the free throw line, while Valpo was 11-of-19 (57.9%) at the charity stripe. NDSU had a 30-22 advantage in the paint, while Valpo had an 11-2 advantage in second chance points after grabbing 14 offensive rebounds.

Starters Going Deep
   The Bison have hit 60 3-pointers in the first nine games. Of those 60 long balls, 57 have come from the starting lineup. Cirkeline Rimdal (2) and Reagan Heun (1) each have makes from the bench. Michelle Gaislerova leads the team with 25 3-pointers.

Mixing It Up
   The Bison have played 10 different players in 10 games, with eight of them playing at least 28 minutes (injury and transfer rule). The Bison have tallied 34 different lineups with the 10 players. NDSU has used eight different lineups for at least 10 minutes. The combination of Rylee Nudell, Michelle Gaislerova, Tyrah Spencer, Marina Fernandez and Reagan Heun has outscored opponents 9-4 in 1:48 of action, the highest plus advantage for the Bison this year. Nudell has the highest plus rating of the year, as the Bison were +12 in her 33 minutes against New Hampshire.

Making Them When They Matter
   The Bison are shooting 62.5 percent (85-for-136) at the free throw line this year, but they are hitting them when it matters. NDSU is 14-of-17 (82.4%) at the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games this season. Michelle Gaislerova is 5-of-6 (83.3%), while Rylee Nudell (three) and Cirkeline Rimdal (two) are perfect in their late free throw attempts. Tyrah Spencer is 4-of-6 (66.7%) in the last three minutes as well.

Zivaljevic is Eligible
   After sitting out the first semester following her transfer from Iowa State, Sofija Zivaljevic became eligible to play against Valparaiso on Sunday. Zivaljevic played in eight games as a freshman at Iowa State, averaging 0.9 points in 3.5 minutes for a Cyclone team that went 18-13 in 2016-17.

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.

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.

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
   The Bison will have a few days off for Christmas before opening Summit League play on Dec. 28 against Purdue Fort Wayne at the Scheels Center.