North Dakota State vs. Milwaukee
Sunday, Dec. 9 | 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 will play its second home game in the month of December on Sunday, Dec. 9 against Milwaukee. It is the second in three-straight Sundays of action for the Bison, with the first two being played in the Scheels Center.
Milwaukee Series History
The Panthers hold a 4-3 lead in the all-time series that dates back to a 63-53 Bison win on Dec. 10, 2006. NDSU won the first three games in the series, following the first win with victories in 2007 and 2012. Milwaukee has won the last four meetings, including a 74-38 victory last year at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee. The Bison are 2-10 all-time against the Horizon League.
Bison Notes
- 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.
- For the second-straight game, sophomore Michelle Gaislerova went over the 20 point mark. She followed her career-high 30 point performance at Northern Illinois with 21 points against UMKC. She has now scored in double figures in all eight games this season.
- NDSU ranks 24th in the country in 3-point percentage at 38.3 percent. The Bison are one of eight teams in the country to be shooting 38.3 percent or better, while having attempted 133 or less 3-pointers.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Scouting Milwaukee
- The Panthers enter with a 4-5 overall record after defeating North Dakota on Friday morning. Milwaukee is currently on a three-game stretch of facing teams from the Summit League, having defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 70-48 on Dec. 1. Two of their five losses have come to Big 10 schools in Indiana (68-66) and Wisconsin (68-57). The Panthers also dropped an 83-74 decision to 22nd ranked Marquette.
- The Panthers were 21-12 last season and advanced to the second round of the WNIT. Milwaukee earned a road win over Northern Iowa in the opening round of the WNIT before falling at Indiana in the second round. The Hoosiers went on to win the WNIT title.
- Milwaukee ranks 48th in the nation with 67 3-pointers on the season. They also rank 54th in 3-point percentage at 35.8, while ranking 49th with 8.4 3-pointers per game.
- Milwaukee holds the Horizon League record for longest streak of games making a 3-pointer, as they currently sit at 497. The Panthers have hit a long ball in every game since an 0-for-4 performance against Marquette on Nov. 26, 2002.
Last Time Out
UMKC went on a 17-0 run over the last 4:30 of the game, as the Roos downed the North Dakota State women's basketball team 69-59 at the Scheels Center.
The Roos had an early 7-2 lead 1:12 into the game, but the Bison answered with a 10-2 run over a 5:49 span to take a 12-9 lead on an and-one by
Michelle Gaislerova with 1:51 left in the first quarter. UMKC hit a pair of free throws with :25 left in the quarter, cutting NDSU's lead to 14-13 after one.
After an early bucket by UMKC, NDSU went on a 12-4 run over a 3:55 span. A 3-pointer by
Marina Fernandez with 3:38 left in the first half gave NDSU a 26-19 lead. The Bison lead would reach eight in the final seconds of the half before taking a 31-25 lead into the locker room at halftime, the largest halftime lead of the season for the Bison.
A 3-pointer by Ericka Mattingly with 7:35 left in the third quarter cut the NDSU lead to 36-32, but the Bison answered with a 9-3 run to take their largest lead of the season at 45-35 with 4:48 left in the third quarter. The Roos scored the final six points of the third quarter, as NDSU led 53-50 going into the fourth quarter.
UMKC started the fourth quarter scoring on a jumper in the lane by Leilh Vigil with 9:27 to play, but NDSU answered with six-straight points to take a 59-52 lead with 5:03 to play. A free throw by
Emily Dietz with 5:03 left was the final points of the game for NDSU, as the Roos scored the final 17 points over a 3:29 span for the 69-59 victory.
Gaislerova led the Bison with 21 points, as she recorded back-to-back games with over 20 points. She has now scored in double figures in all eight games this season. Dietz added 16 points, while
Tyrah Spencer had seven points. Mattingly led the Roos with a game-high 23 points. Dietz had a career-high 10 rebounds, as she recorded her first career double-double. Spencer added seven rebounds for the Bison.
Rylee Nudell led NDSU with three assists, while Fernandez and
Cirkeline Rimdal each had two. Spencer, Dietz and Rimdal each had two steals, a career-high for all three.
NDSU was 20-of-47 (42.6%) from the field and 6-of-13 (46.2%) from 3-point range. The Bison were 1-of-10 from the field in the fourth quarter. UMKC was 28-of-59 (47.5%) from the floor and 9-of-20 (45%) from downtown. The Roos were 4-of-5 at the free throw line, while NDSU was 13-of-17 (76.5%) at the charity stripe. UMKC held advantages in points in the paint (36-26) and bench points (20-6).
Mixing It Up
Nine different players have seen action in four games, with eight of them playing at least 28 minutes. The Bison have tallied 27 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
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.
Starters Going Deep
The Bison have hit 51 3-pointers in the first eight games. Of those 51 long balls, 49 have come from the starting lineup.
Cirkeline Rimdal and
Reagan Heun each have one from the bench.
Michelle Gaislerova leads the team with 23 3-pointers.
Marathon Runners
Michelle Gaislerova and
Tyrah Spencer have played all 40 minutes in five of the eight 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, Pacific, Northern Illinois and UMKC.
Making Them When They Matter
The Bison are shooting 63.2 percent (72-for-114) 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.
90 and Counting
North Dakota State has made at least two 3-pointers in 90-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 five games, NDSU has hit at least six per game while averaging 7.4 long balls a game in the span.
Bison-Panther Connections
During NDSU Assistant Coach
Morgan Paige's sophomore season at Wisconsin, Milwaukee Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz served as an assistant for the Badgers. Rechlicz also played for the Badgers and graduated in 2002, a year after NDSU Head Coach
Maren Walseth graduated from Penn State. Current Milwaukee Assistant Coach Stacy Cantley was an assistant at Wisconsin during Paige's final three years as a Badger. Panther Assistant Coach Anya Covington played at Wisconsin and was a teammate with Page for the first two years of Paige's career.
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 again for a three-game stretch following the game with Milwaukee. NDSU will face Valparaiso in Indiana on Sunday, Dec. 16 before heading to Florida for a pair of games at the 31st Annual Hatter Classic, hosted by Stetson in DeLand, Fla. The Bison will face San Francisco and Stetson in the classic.
