Bison Women Return Home to Face Western Illinois

Friday, January 11

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Western Illinois

NDSU plays IPFW on Friday, December 28, 2018 in Fargo, N.D. NDSU Women's Basketball vs. Purdue Fort Wayne - Dec. 28, 2018 - Scheels Center

Photo by: Carrie Snyder

Bison Women Return Home to Face Western Illinois

1/10/2019 3:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball

North Dakota State vs. Western Illinois
Friday, Jan. 11 | 7 p.m. (Central) | Fargo, N.D. (Scheels Center)
Radio: Bison 1660 / 92.7 FM
TV: MidcoSN2 / ESPN+
Live Stats: BisonStats.com

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

Scene Setter
For the second-straight week, the North Dakota State women's basketball team will play just one Summit League game this week. The Bison will host Western Illinois on Friday, Jan. 11 at the Scheels Center.

Western Illinois Series History
The Leathernecks own a 14-9 lead in the all-time series that dates to a 72-67 Western Illinois victory on Jan. 10, 2008. Western Illinois has won the last nine meetings, including a 77-60 victor at the Scheels Center last year. The last home victory for the Bison came on Feb. 25, 2012 in a 73-53 win at the Bison Sports Arena.

Bison Notes

North Dakota State erased a 14 point deficit in the second quarter against Omaha by going on a 14-0 run over a 5:21 span.
North Dakota State raced out to a 7-0 lead against South Dakota. The Coyotes answered with a 15-0 run and didn't trail in the game from that point on.
The Bison beat Purdue Fort Wayne 70-54 in the Summit League opener. It was the first victory in a league opener since beating Oral Roberts 77-64 to open league play in 2014-15.
Holding a three point lead with 7:18 to play in the first half, the Bison ended the opening half against Purdue Fort Wayne on a 21-0 run. The Bison hit just one 3-pointer during the run, while eight of the points came at the free throw line.
During the non-conference portion of the season, the Bison used the same starting five of Michelle Gaislerova, Marina Fernandez, Emily Dietz, Rylee Nudell and Tyrah Spencer. The group started in six different states (North Dakota, Wisconsin, California, Illinois, Indiana and Florida). Iowa State transfer Sofija Zivaljevic has started in the three Summit League games in replace of Nudell.
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 six games since becoming eligible (NCAA Transfer Rule), Zivaljevic is third on the team averaging 9.0 points during that span. Her five steals are tied for second in the last six games, while she is averaging 23.2 minutes played per game.

Scouting Western Illinois

The Leathernecks enter Friday night's game with a 5-11 overall record and 1-2 mark in league play. Western Illinois has lost six of their last eight games, picking up wins over Furman (85-78) and Denver (87-78).
This is the second of three-straight road games for the Leathernecks, as they lost at Oral Roberts (68-64) on Saturday and will play at North Dakota on Sunday. Western Illinois is 0-5 on the road this year, while they are 1-3 on neutral courts.
Three players are averaging double digit points this year for the Leathernecks, led by Olivia Kaufmann's 14.8 points per game.
Western Illinois ranks in the top 10 in the country in five categories: 3-point Attempts (3rd-485), Steals (5th - 186), Turnovers Forced Per Game (6th-23.38), Free Throws Made (7th-247) and 3-pointers Made (8th-151).
Kaufmann ranks 22nd in the nation with 42 steals, while also ranking 49th with 60 free throws made.

Last Time Out
   Three Bison scored in double figures on Sunday, but it wasn't enough as the North Dakota State women's basketball team dropped a 78-61 game at Omaha.
   The Mavericks scored the first seven points of the game and opened up a 15-4 lead just over halfway through the first quarter. Omaha led 22-11 after the first quarter and increased the lead to 25-11 on a 3-pointer by Kylee Coulter to start the second quarter.
   NDSU fought back in a big way, as a layup by Emily Dietz started a 14-0 Bison run over a 5:21 span. A layup by Danneka Voegeli tied the game at 25-25 with 3:47 left in the half. The Mavs closed the half on an 8-2 run, taking a 33-27 lead at the break.
   Omaha scored 19 of the first 30 points in the second half, pushing the lead to 14 with 2:35 left in the quarter. The Bison cut the lead to 10 on an and-one from Sofija Zivaljevic with 6:33 to play. A 3-pointer by Claire Killian with 6:15 to play started a 16-4 Omaha run over a 4:20 span, as the Mavericks pushed the lead to 22 in the final minutes.
   Rylee Nudell led the Bison with 12 points, while Dietz and Michelle Gaislerova joined her in double figures with 10 points apiece. Killian and Rayanna Carter led the Mavericks with a game-high 16 points apiece. Voegeli had a team-high six rebounds, while Dietz and Tyrah Spencer each had five. Nudell led the Bison with six assists, while Zivaljevic and Marina Fernandez each had three, a career-high for both Nudell and Zivaljevic. Spencer had a career-high four steals.
   NDSU was 26-of-67 (38.8%) from the floor and 5-of-24 (20.8%) from 3-point range. Omaha was 25-of-56 (44.6%) from the field and 10-of-22 (45.5%) from downtown. The Bison were 4-of-7 (57.1%) at the free throw line, while Omaha was 18-of-19 (94.7%) at the charity stripe. Omaha had a 17-6 advantage in points off turnovers and 27-19 advantage in bench points.

97 and Counting
   North Dakota State has made at least two 3-pointers in 97-straight games dating back to a loss against Delaware on Nov. 29, 2015. The Bison are averaging 5.5 3-pointers per game this year and have hit at least seven in six games.

Mixing It Up
   The Bison have played 10 different players in 14 games, with eight of them playing at least 36 minutes. The Bison have tallied 54 different lineups with the 10 players. NDSU has used 10 different lineups for at least 10 minutes. The combination of Rylee Nudell, Michelle Gaislerova, Tyrah Spencer, Marina Fernandez and Emily Dietz have the highest plus rating in 162:41 of playing together. The group has outscored opponents 251-241. Spencer has the highest plus rating of the year in the win over Purdue Fort Wayne, as the Bison were +28 in her 34:46 of action in the victory.

Making Them When They Matter
   The Bison are shooting 65.6 (137-of-209) at the free throw line this year, but they are hitting them when it matters. NDSU is 30-of-38 (78.9%) at the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games this season. Sofija Zivaljevic (six), Cirkeline Rimdal (four) and Rylee Nudell (three) are all perfect in the final three minutes at the line this year. Michelle Gaislerova has the most attempts and is shooting 8-of-11 (72.7) in the final three minutes.

Zivaljevic is Eligible
   After sitting out the first semester following her transfer from Iowa State, Sofija Zivaljevic became eligible to play against Valparaiso. 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.

Beat Type 1 Diabetes
   North Dakota State is proud to partner with The Summit League and the Sanford Project, the Sanford initiative to find a cure for type one diabetes. Currently, there are 1.25 million Americans battling type 1 diabetes. While the condition occurs at every age and in every race, most of those diagnosed are children. More than 70,000 children under the age of 14 are newly diagnosed with this life-changing condition each year. To learn more about the Sanford Project and type one diabetes, visit TheSummitLeague.org/BeatType1.

Last Time Against Western Illinois
   The Western Illinois University Leathernecks outscored the North Dakota State University women's basketball team 45-29 in the second half to earn a 77-60 victory over the Bison Thursday, Feb. 22, inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
   Freshman Michelle Gaislerova scored a career-high 21 points and made five three-pointers to lead NDSU offensively, while sophomore Reilly Jacobson posted a double-double with 19 points and a career-best 16 rebounds. Jacobson also tied her career-high with four assists in the contest.
   The Bison trailed the Leathernecks (20-8, 9-4 Summit League) by just one point, 32-31, going into halftime, but WIU outscored NDSU in the third quarter, 27-18, to take control of the game. North Dakota State couldn't cut the deficit to less than 12 points the remaining 10 minutes of the contest.
   NDSU shot just 34 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range. The Bison committed 15 turnovers which led to 11 WIU points. North Dakota State outrebounded Western Illinois, 42-39, and the Bison bench outscored the Leatherneck bench, 27-10, in the game.
   Emily Clemens led five WIU players in double figures with a game-high 24 points and seven assists.

On the Horizon
   The Bison hit the road next week for a game at Denver on Thursday, Jan. 17. NDSU will be back at the Scheels Center on Sunday, Jan. 20 against North Dakota.