Bison Women Open Summit League Play Against Purdue Fort Wayne, South Dakota

Friday, December 28

Fargo, N.D.

5 p.m.

North Dakota State

Purdue Fort Wayne

Photos from NDSU Women's Basketball vs. Creighton on Nov. 11, 2018 at Scheels Center in Fargo, N.D.

Photo by: Xavier Bonner

Bison Women Open Summit League Play Against Purdue Fort Wayne, South Dakota

12/27/2018 4:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball

North Dakota State vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
Friday, Dec. 28| 5 p.m. (Central) | Fargo, N.D. (Scheels Center)
Radio: Bison 1660 / 92.7 FM
TV: MidcoSN / ESPN+
Live Stats: BisonStats.com

North Dakota State vs. South Dakota
Sunday, Dec. 30| 1 p.m. (Central) | Fargo, N.D. (Scheels Center)
Radio: Bison 1660 / 92.7 FM
TV: MidcoSN / ESPN+
Live Stats: BisonStats.com

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

Scene Setter
   The North Dakota State women's basketball team starts Summit League play with a pair of games this weekend. The Bison will host Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday, Dec. 28 and South Dakota on Sunday, Dec. 30.

Purdue Fort Wayne Series History
   North Dakota State leads the all-time series 17-9. The Bison are 6-2 against the Mastodons under Maren Walseth. NDSU won both meetings last year, taking a 72-56 win in Fargo on Jan. 20 and a 66-52 victory in Fort Wayne on Feb. 15.

South Dakota Series History
   The Coyotes own a 19-10 lead in the all-time series. South Dakota has won the last three meeting, including a season sweep last year. The Coyotes won 82-67 on Jan. 2 in Fargo and 80-54 on Feb. 3 in Vermillion.

Bison Notes

North Dakota State returns home for the first time since Dec. 9 when they faced Milwaukee. The Bison have played games in Indiana and Florida during the span, picking up a 51-48 victory over Valparaiso.
Sophomore Michelle Gaislerova was named to the 31st Annual Hatter Classic All-Tournament Team. Gaislerova averaged 14.5 points per game in the two Bison games in Florida.
In three games since becoming eligible (NCAA Transfer Rule), Sofija Zivaljevic is second on the team in scoring for the year with 9.3 points per game. She is also averaging 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game, while averaging 19.3 minutes per game.
For the third time this season, Gaislerova scored at least 20 points with 20 against Stetson. Gaislerova has scored in double figures in 11 of 12 game this season. In the lone game not hitting double digits, Gaislerova scored nine points against San Francisco.
The Bison have started the same starting five of Gaislerova, Marina Fernandez, Emily Dietz, Rylee Nudell and Tyrah Spencer this year. The group has started in six different states (North Dakota, Wisconsin, California, Illinois, Indiana and Florida).
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.
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.
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 two games this season. She only played 13 minutes against Creighton and five against San Francisco in the second half. She is averaging 7.5 points in the second half this year, including three games in double figures.

Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne

The Bison and Mastodons share two common opponents this year in Milwaukee and Valparaiso. Purdue Fort Wayne lost to both, while the Bison split with a win over Valparaiso and a 57-55 loss to Milwaukee. The Mastodons lost at Milwaukee 70-48 on Dec. 1, while dropping their last game against the Crusaders 68-64 on Dec. 19.
Purdue Fort Wayne ranks second in the Summit League and 47th in the nation with 52 blocked shots this season. Jaelencia Williams (16) and Sh'Toya Sanders (11) lead the Mastodons in blocked shots.
De'Jour Young is the only player for Purdue Fort Wayne to have played over 400 minutes this year. Young leads the Mastodons with 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Kierstyn Repp ranks fourth in the Summit League with 85 3-point attempts and 31 makes. She also ranks 53rd in the nation in attempts and 56th in makes.

Scouting South Dakota

The Coyotes had won 10-straight games until their final game of the Puerto Rico Classic. South Dakota dropped a 68-60 game against Indiana after defeating Grambling State (67-53) and Loyola Marymount (67-40) in the other two games in Puerto Rico.
During the 10 game winning streak, the Coyotes picked up wins over 23rd-ranked Iowa State (64-59) and 22nd-ranked Missouri (74-61).
South Dakota ranks sixth in the nation in 3-point attempts with 341 on the season. They also rank 12th in the nation with 113.
The Coyotes are one of four schools in the Summit League that have made 113 or more 3-pointers this season. The Pac-12 is the only other NCAA Division I league in the nation with multiple teams hitting that mark, as Oregon (122) and Oregon State (115) have each hit it.

94 and Counting
   North Dakota State has made at least two 3-pointers in 94-straight games dating back to a loss against Delaware on Nov. 29, 2015. The Bison are averaging 5.8 3-pointers per game this year and have hit at least seven in six games.

Last Time Out
   A 3-pointer with :57 to play gave Stetson the final lead of the game, as the Hatters beat the North Dakota State women's basketball team 60-59 at the 31st Annual Hatter Classic.
   The Bison came out firing, taking an 11-0 lead in the first 3:30 of the game. All the points on the run came from Rylee Nudell and Michelle Gaislerova. The Hatters scored the next seven points before a 3-pointer by Sofija Zivaljevic started a 9-2 Bison run. A layup by Megan Vincent at the buzzer cut NDSU's lead to 20-11 after the first quarter.
   Stetson cut the lead to four with 7:25 left in the first half, but the Bison answered with a 14-6 run over the final 6:30 of the first to take a 36-24 lead at the halftime break. The 12 point lead was the largest of the season for NDSU.
   NDSU fought off a Stetson run late in the third quarter before Zivaljevic hit a jumper with 1:05 left in the third quarter to give NDSU a 45-39 lead going into the final quarter.
   The Hatters opened the final quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers en route to a 13-5 run over a 3:26 span that gave Stetson a 52-50 lead with 5:54 to play. Back-to-back baskets by Emily Dietz and Tyrah Spencer quickly gave the Bison the lead again.
   Gaislerova hit a 3-pointer with 2:59 left, as the Bison took a 57-54 lead. The Hatters answered with a 3-pointer by Day'Neshia Banks with 2:33 left to tie it. With :57 to play, Bianca Fizquaty hit a 3-pointer from five-feet behind the line, that banked in as the shot clock expired to give the Hatters a 60-57 lead. Gaislerova was fouled attempting a 3-pointer as time expired. Gaislerova missed the first attempt before hitting the next two, as the Hatters held on for the 60-59 victory.
   The Bison were 21-of-58 (36.2%) from the field and 8-of-23 (34.8%) from 3-point range. Stetson was 21-of-52 (40.4%) from the floor and 6-of-17 (35.3%) from downtown, including 4-of-6 in the fourth quarter. The Bison were 9-of-11 (81.8%) at the free throw line, while Stetson was 12-of-15 (80%) at the charity stripe. Stetson had advantages in the specialty stats in points in the paint (28-20), fast break (6-0) and bench points (21-14).
   Gaislerova led the Bison with 20 points, her 11th double digit scoring game of the year and third time scoring at least 20 points. Gaislerova was named to the 31st Annual Hatter Classic All-Tournament Team. Dietz and Zivaljevic joined her in double figures with 12 and 10 points respectively. Sarah Sagerer led the Hatters with 21 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Nudell led the Bison with seven rebounds, while Dietz, Spencer, Cirkeline Rimdal and Danneka Voegeli each added five boards. It was a career-high for Rimdal. Spencer had three assists, while Gaislerova had a career-high three steals.

Starters Going Deep
   The Bison have hit 70 3-pointers this season. Of those 70 long balls, 64 have come from the starting lineup. Sofija Zivaljevic (3), Cirkeline Rimdal (2) and Reagan Heun (1) each have makes from the bench. Michelle Gaislerova leads the team with 30 3-pointers.

Mixing It Up
   The Bison have played 10 different players in 12 games, with eight of them playing at least 36 minutes (injury and transfer rule). The Bison have tallied 47 different lineups with the 10 players. NDSU has used eight different lineups for at least 10 minutes. The combination of Michelle Gaislerova, Tyrah Spencer, Emily Dietz, Cirkeline Rimdal and Sofija Zivaljevic has outscored opponents 13-5 in 3:53 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 63.8 percent (102-for-160) at the free throw line this year, but they are hitting them when it matters. NDSU is 18-of-22 (81.8%) at the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games this season. Michelle Gaislerova is 7-of-9 (77.8%), while Cirkeline Rimdal (four) and Rylee Nudell (three) 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 hit the road for the first time in league play on Sunday, Oct. 6, as NDSU travels to Omaha. NDSU returns home on Friday, Jan. 11 for a game against Western Illinois.