Bison Women Return Home to Face North Dakota

Sunday, January 20

Fargo, N.D.

1 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

North Dakota

NDSU Women's Basketball vs. Milwaukee - Dec. 9, 2018 - Scheels Center - Fargo, N.D.

Photo by: Carrie Snyder

Bison Women Return Home to Face North Dakota

1/19/2019 2:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball

North Dakota State vs. North Dakota
Sunday, Jan. 20 | 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 (5-12, 2-3 Summit) returns home to face North Dakota (8-11, 3-3 Summit) on Sunday, Jan. 20. This will be the first meeting between the two longtime rivals as members of the Summit League.

North Dakota Series History
The Fighting Hawks own a 47-37 lead in the all-time series that dates to a 59-56 Bison victory on Jan. 14, 1967. North Dakota has won eight-straight games in the series. The two teams did not face each other from 2005-2011. The last Bison victory came on Feb. 7, 2004, a 75-74 win at Ralph Engelstad Arena. The last win in Fargo was on Jan. 31, 2004 by a 76-73 margin.

Bison Notes

Sophomore Michelle Gaislerova scored 13 points against Denver on Thursday, the 14th time she has hit double figures this season and the 31st time in her career. She has led NDSU in scoring 10 times this season and 18 times in the last two seasons.
Entering Thursdays game at Denver, the Pioneers led the nation in 3-pointers made. Denver finished the game with five makes from downtown, the second fewest they have hit in a game this season.
North Dakota State scored the final eight points of the game against Western Illinois for a 68-60 victory over the Leathernecks. The win snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Leathernecks.
Gaislerova turned in the second best scoring performance of her career against the Leathernecks with 29 points, one shy of her career-high against Northern Illinois earlier this season. She is the first player since Marena Whittle and Taylor Thunstedt to have two games of 29 or more points in a season. Both Whittle and Thunstedt each had two games with over 30 points during the 2015-16 season.
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.

Scouting North Dakota

The Fighting Hawks are 8-11 overall and 3-3 in the Summit League this year. North Dakota has dropped two straight games and three of their last four with a win over Omaha coming on Jan. 9.
North Dakota ranks eighth in the nation in both free throws made and free throws attempted. The Fighting Hawks are 277-of-390 at the charity stripe this season, ranking 115th in percentage at 71 percent.
Pulling in 737 rebounds on the season, North Dakota ranks third in the Summit League and 23rd in the nation. They also rank 87th in the country with a 3.7 advantage in rebounds per game.
Lexi Klabo leads the country in free throws made and attempted. She is 124-of-143 on the season, ranking 31st in percentage at 86.7.
Klabo ranks 34th in the country with 33 blocked shots, while also ranking 48th with 1.83 per game.
With 344 points on the season, Klabo ranks 13th in the nation in total points scored. She also ranks 38th in points per game at 19.1 and 50th with 153 rebounds.

Last Time Out
   The Denver Pioneers (11-8, 4-2 Summit) outscored the North Dakota State (5-12, 2-3 Summit) women's basketball team 23-7 in the third quarter en route to an 81-54 win at Hamilton Gymnasium Thursday night.
   Denver, the nation's leader in 3-pointers made, used an 8-2 run over a 6:49 span of the first quarter to lead 13-8 after the opening quarter.
   The Pioneers used a 12-4 run midway through the second quarter to push the lead to 29-14 with 5:47 left in the half. Denver outscored NDSU 27-21 in the second quarter, as the Pioneers led 40-29 at the break.
   After exchanging baskets early in the third quarter, Denver went on a 13-0 run over a 3:10 span to put the game away, taking a 58-32 lead with 5:36 left in the third quarter.
   NDSU was 7-of-8 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter, as the two teams both scored 18 points in the final quarter.
   The Bison were 15-of-46 (32.6%) from the field and 5-of-17 (29.4%) from 3-point range. The Pioneers were 31-of-62 from the floor and 5-of-13 (38.5%) from 3-point range, the second fewest 3-pointers made by Denver this season. NDSU was 19-of-27 (70.4%) at the free throw line, while the Pioneers were 14-of-18 (77.8%) at the charity stripe. Denver held advantages in points in the paint (50-14), points off turnovers (21-7) and fast break points (20-2).
   Michelle Gaislerova led the Bison with 13 points, her 31st career game in double figures. Tyrah Spencer joined her in double figures with 11 points, while Rylee Nudell added nine points. Madison Nelson led the Pioneers with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Gaislerova and Danneka Voegeli had five rebounds apiece for the Bison. Marina Fernandez had three assists, while Macey Kvilvang had a pair of blocked shots in her first game back since the season opener. Emily Dietz tied a career-high with two steals.

99 and Counting
   North Dakota State has made at least two 3-pointers in 99-straight games dating back to a loss against Delaware on Nov. 29, 2015. The Bison are averaging 5.6 3-pointers per game this year and have hit at least seven in seven games.

Mixing It Up
   The Bison have played 10 different players in 17 games, with eight of them playing at least 174 minutes. The Bison have tallied 61 different lineups with the 10 players. NDSU has used 13 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 181:02 of playing together. The group has outscored opponents 285-274. 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 66.5 percent (163-of-245) at the free throw line this year, but they are hitting them when it matters. NDSU is 36-of-45 (80%) at the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games this season. Sofija Zivaljevic (nine) and Rylee Nudell (three) are 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.

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.

Last Time Against North Dakota
   The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks outscored the North Dakota State University women's basketball team in the fourth quarter, 29-18, to guide them to a 79-68 victory over the Bison on Saturday, Dec. 9, in front of 2,571 spectators at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
   Freshman Michelle Gaislerova scored a career-high 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including a 4-of-7 performance from 3-point range, and went 5-of-6 at the free-throw line to lead North Dakota State.
   Sophomores Sarah Jacobson and Reilly Jacobson also posted double figures with 13 points each, with Reilly Jacobson also snagging a team-high six rebounds and dishing out a team-best four assists.
   For the game, the Bison shot 41 percent from the floor, 53 percent from beyond the arc and 88 percent at the free-throw line.
   NDSU (5-5) was outrebounded by UND (5-3), 38-34, but outscored the Fighting Hawks' bench, 40-10.
   Fallyn Freije posted a double-double with a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds to pace North Dakota.
   UND shot 42 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range, and went 25-of-32 at the foul line for 78 percent.

On the Horizon
   NDSU will hit the road four times in their next five games, starting with a game Wednesday, Jan. 23 at South Dakota State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Brookings, S.D. The Bison will return to the Scheels Center for a non-conference game against Waldorf on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m.