North Dakota State at South Dakota State
Wednesday, Jan. 23 | 7 p.m. (Central) | Brookings, S.D. (Frost Arena)
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 (6-12, 3-3 Summit) hit the road to face South Dakota State (13-6, 5-1 Summit) on Wednesday, Jan. 23.
South Dakota State Series History
The Jackrabbits own a 49-39 lead in the all-time series that dates to a 77-61 South Dakota State win in Brookings on Dec. 3, 1976. South Dakota State has won eight-straight games in the series, with the last Bison win coming on Jan. 4, 2015, an 83-78 win at Scheels Arena. The last win in Brookings for NDSU was Dec. 4, 2010, a 78-71 victory at Frost Arena.
Bison Notes
- For the 15th time this season, sophomore Michelle Gaislerova scored in double digits to lead the Bison in scoring in a 69-57 win over North Dakota on Sunday. It was the 32nd career double digit scoring game of Gaislerova's career. She has led NDSU in scoring 11 times this season and 19 times in the last two years.
- The victory over North Dakota snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Fighting Hawks dating back to 2004. It was the first win over North Dakota in the Division I era.
- West Fargo native Emily Dietz had only played three minutes against the Fighting Hawks as a freshman last year. Dietz finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes.
- Entering last 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.
Scouting South Dakota State
- SDSU has a 488-121 (.801) record in home games. In Summit League home games, the Jacks are 85-8 (.913) and undefeated in six of 11 seasons. The Jackrabbits are 284-100 (.739) all-time since joining The Summit League in 2007-08.
- Macy Miller has scored 20-or-more points eight times. She averages a team-leading 17.4 points. The point guard ranks 33rd in the NCAA in points (331) and 30th in field goals made (119).
- In the last five games, Miller is averaging 18.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 51.7 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from 3-point range and 88.5 percent from the free-throw line.
- South Dakota State ranks among the top 30 nationally in four categories, including 12th in assists (321) and 18th in field-goal percentage (.466).
Last Time Out
Michelle Gaislerova and
Emily Dietz each scored in double figures Sunday, as the North Dakota State (6-12, 3-3 Summit) women's basketball team earned a 69-57 victory over North Dakota (8-12, 3-4 Summit) at the Scheels Center.
It was a sign of things to come in the early going, as Dietz scored the first points of the game on a jumper in the lane only to be followed up with a deep 3-pointer by Gaislerova to give the Bison an early 5-0 lead. A layup by
Tyrah Spencer with 5:36 left in the opening quarter gave NDSU a 9-3 lead, but North Dakota answered with a 14-6 run to close the first quarter. A 3-pointer by Mikayla Reinke gave UND a 17-15 lead after the first frame.
Dietz scored NDSU's first seven points of the second quarter, tying the game at 22-22 with 8:27 left in the half. A jumper by
Macey Kvilvang with 5:22 left in the half started a 12-3 NDSU run, as a pair of Dietz free throws put the Bison up 40-30 with 1:39 left in the half. The Fighting Hawks scored the final four points of the half, cutting the lead to 40-34 at the break.
Two early baskets by Lexi Klabo and Jill Morton forced an NDSU timeout in the first minute of the second half, as the lead was cut to 40-38. NDSU responded with a 3-pointer by Gaislerova to start a 7-0 run. The Fighting Hawks cut the lead to four with 3:10 to play in the third quarter, but the Bison ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 54-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
After a pair of Klabo free throws cut the lead to nine,
Cirkeline Rimdal hit a 3-pointer just :16 later to put the lead into double digits for the remainder of the game. The Bison twice had the lead to 16 in the final two minutes before finishing with the 69-57 victory.
Gaislerova finished with a game-high 17 points, her 15th double digit scoring performance of the season. Dietz tied a season-high with 16 points, while Rimdal had a career-high eight points off the bench. Morton led the Fighting Hawks with 13 points, while Klabo, the league's leading scorer at 19.1 points per game, was held to 11 points. It was the second lowest scoring performance of the year for Klabo (Six points at Iowa State). Dietz had seven rebounds, while
Rylee Nudell pulled in four.
Sofija Zivaljevic and Nudell each finished with three assists. Spencer, Nudell and
Marina Fernandez each had two steals, tying a career-high for Nudell.
The Bison were 25-of-53 (47.2%) from the floor and 7-of-13 (53.8%) from 3-point range, marking the 100th-straight game NDSU has hit at least two 3-pointers. The Fighting Hawks were 20-of-46 (43.5%) from the field and 2-of-9 (22.2%) from downtown. NDSU was 12-of-16 from the free throw line, while UND was 15-of-19 (78.9%) from the charity stripe. The victory snapped an eight-game skid to North Dakota. The Bison had a 30-22 advantage in the paint and outscored UND 30-11 in points off turnovers. It was the second game this year scoring 30 or more points in the paint, while it was a season-high in points off turnovers.
100 and Counting
North Dakota State has made at least two 3-pointers in 100-straight games dating back to a loss against Delaware on Nov. 29, 2015. The Bison are averaging 5.7 3-pointers per game this year and have hit at least seven in eight games.
Mixing It Up
The Bison have played 10 different players in 18 games, with eight of them playing at least 195 minutes. The Bison have tallied 64 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 192:02 of playing together. The group has outscored opponents 302-285. 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 67 percent (175-of-261) at the free throw line this year, but they are hitting them when it matters. NDSU is 39-of-51 (76.5%) at the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games this season.
Sofija Zivaljevic (11) and
Rylee Nudell (three) are perfect in the final three minutes at the line this year.
Michelle Gaislerova is shooting 8-of-11 (72.7%) in the final three minutes, while
Cirkeline Rimdal is 7-of-8 (87.5%).
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 South Dakota State
The North Dakota State University women's basketball team saw its season come to an end after falling to South Dakota State in The Summit League Women's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals, 87-62, Saturday, March 3, at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
Sophomore
Reilly Jacobson led the Bison (9-20) with a double-double, scoring 19 points while pulling down 12 rebounds. Freshman
Michelle Gaislerova also scored in double figures with 10 points.
NDSU and South Dakota State (24-6) were tied at 18 at the end of the first quarter before the Jackrabbits used a 23-2 run from 6:22 to 1:01 remaining in the second quarter to take a 48-30 lead. The Bison couldn't get any closer than 12 points the remainder of the game.
North Dakota State shot 42 percent from the field and 79 percent at the free-throw line. NDSU committed 17 turnovers, which led to 16 SDSU points. The Jacks only turned the ball over three times in the contest.
Summit League Player of the Year Macy Miller led five Jackrabbits in double figures with 19 points, while Myah Selland snagged a team-high nine boards.
The Jacks shot 41 percent from the floor and 90 percent at the foul line, and tallied 12 steals in the game.
On the Horizon
The road trip continues on Saturday for NDSU, as the Bison will travel to Oral Roberts. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Tulsa. The Bison will return to the Scheels Center for a non-conference game against Waldorf on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m.
