NDSU Women Host Valpo, Travel to Creighton

Friday, November 15

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State

Valparaiso

Photo by: Xavier Bonner

NDSU Women Host Valpo, Travel to Creighton

11/14/2019 5:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball

NDSU WBB Notes - Valparaiso & Creighton Live Video (Valparaiso)Live Audio (Valparaiso)Live Stats (Valparaiso)Live Video (Creighton)Live Audio (Creighton)Live Stats (Creighton)

Scene Setter
   The North Dakota State women's basketball team will have a pair of games this week, hosting Valparaiso on Friday, Nov. 15, before traveling to Creighton on Monday, Nov. 18. Tipoff for the game with the Crusaders is set for 7 p.m. at the Scheels Center. The home game will air on MidcoSN and ESPN3. Monday's game at Creighton can be seen on GoCreighton.com with a 6 p.m. tipoff. Both games will be on the radio, airing on 94.5 The City.

Valparaiso Series History
   Last year was the first meeting between the Bison and the Crusaders. NDSU picked up its first road win of the year, defeating Valpo 51-48. In her first game as a Bison, Sofija Zivaljevic finished with seven points in 19 minutes. Michelle Gaislerova had a team-high 11 points, while Marina Fernandez added nine. Fernandez and Emily Dietz each had a team-high six rebounds.

Creighton Series History
   Creighton leads the all-time series 9-1, dating back to a 63-62 win by the Bluejays on Jan. 16, 1981 in Omaha. The lone Bison victory in the series came on Dec. 9, 2005 at the Lobo Shootout in New Mexico, with NDSU winning 68-63. Last year, Creighton won 86-51 in Fargo.

Bison Notes

NDSU dropped a 74-68 overtime game against Northern Illinois on Sunday in the home opener.
The overtime game was the first women's overtime game played at the Scheels Center and the first overtime game for the NDSU women since Jan. 14, 2016 against South Dakota.
Emily Dietz recorded her second career double-double with 21 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
The Bison have hit multiple 3-pointers in 113-straight games after hitting a season-high eight against Northern Illinois.
NDSU opened the season last week, falling 95-63 at Northern Iowa.
Three players scored in double digits for the Bison, led by 15 points from Michelle Gaislerova. It was the 40th career double digit scoring effort from Gaislerova. Ryan Cobbins added 12 points, while Sofija Zivaljevic had 10.
Gaislerova moved into seventh in school history with her 127th career 3-pointer against the Panthers.
NDSU picked up an 88-51 victory over NCAA Division II Minnesota-Crookston in exhibition play.
Four players scored in double figures in the victory, led by Cobbins with 18 points. Dietz (16), Cirkeline Rimdal (11) and Nicole Scales (10) were also in double figures.
Dietz led the Bison with nine rebounds in the exhibition contest, while Zivaljevic added seven assists.
NDSU is led by new head coach Jory Collins. Collins spent last season as an assistant coach at Kansas after eight years as the head coach at NCAA Division II Emporia State.
The Bison were picked to finish seventh in the Summit League preseason poll.
NDSU returns 84 percent of its scoring from last season and 62 percent of their rebounding.
The top four scorers from last year return for the Bison this year, led by Gaislerova's 14.4 points per game. Dietz (9.1), Zivaljevic (8.8) and Rylee Nudell (8.6) also return.

Scouting Valparaiso

The Crusaders are 0-1 after an 89-38 loss at Ohio State to start the season.
Friday night's game will be the first of two in North Dakota over the weekend, as Valparaiso will also face North Dakota on Sunday in Grand Forks.
Valpo will play four-straight road games to start the season before hosting Bowling Green on Nov. 24 in the home opener.
In the first year under new head coach Mary Evans, the Crusaders hit a school record 276 3-pointers last season. Valpo was 2-for-25 from downtown in the season opener against the Buckeyes.
A familiar face to Bison fans, junior transfer Grace White is from nearby Redby, Minn. and played at Denver the past two seasons. White averaged 5.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in two contests against NDSU last year for the Pioneers.

Scouting Creighton

The Bluejays are 2-0 with wins over Omaha and South Dakota State to start the season. Creighton travels to Drake on Saturday night before hosting the Bison on Monday.
With the win over Omaha, Head Coach Jim Flanery picked up his 328th career victory. His total is the most among basketball coaches, male or female at Creighton. He surpassed Dana Altman (327) and Greg McDermott (208) for the top spot on the list.
Monday's game will be the last at home for the Bluejays until hosting Northern Iowa on Dec. 8. Creighton will travel to Nebraska next week before facing West Virginia and Temple at the Cancun Challenge Nov. 28-19.
Creighton has been led by a pair of 20-plus point scorers in the first two victories. Temi Carda scored 25 in the win over Omaha, while Jaylyn Agnew scored 23 in the victory against South Dakota State.

Last Time Out
   Northern Illinois closed regulation on a 9-2 run to force overtime, as the Huskies defeated the North Dakota State women's basketball team 74-68 Sunday afternoon at the Scheels Center. The Huskies entered the game ranked 20th in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25. The Bison dropped to 0-2 on the year, while the Huskies moved to 1-1.
   Emily Dietz led the Bison with her second career double-double, turning in a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds. It was a career-high in rebounds and her third career game scoring 20 or more points. Michelle Gaislerova added 14 points, while Ryan Cobbins had 11 points. It was the second-straight game in double figures for Cobbins and the 41st career double digit effort for Gaislerova. Courtney Woods led the Huskies with 20 points, going 11-of-12 at the free throw line.
   The Bison jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first 5:25 of the game and didn't trail until 2:55 to play in overtime. NDSU led the game for 38:49, while holding its largest lead of the game at 19-10 with 2:28 left in the opening quarter after a 3-pointer by Gaislerova. NDSU led 62-55 with 4:38 to play after a 3-pointer by Cirkeline Rimdal before the Huskies closed regulation on the 9-2 run. Dietz gave NDSU a 66-64 lead to start overtime before Northern Illinois went on a 10-2 run to close the overtime period.
   Raquel Terrer van Gool had a season-high eight rebounds, while Sofija Zivaljevic added five boards. Zivaljevic had a career-high six assists, while Nicole Scales added a season-high three assists. Cobbins finished with a season-high three steals.
   NDSU was 27-of-73 (37%) from the floor and 8-of-31 (25.8%) from 3-point range. The Huskies were 26-of-63 (41.3%) from the field and 5-of-17 (29.4%) from downtown. Northern Illinois was 17-of-24 (70.8%) at the free throw line, while NDSU was 6-of-11 (54.5%) at the charity stripe. NDSU was 1-of-8 from the field in overtime, while the Huskies were 4-of-6.

113 and Counting
   North Dakota State has made at least two 3-pointers in 113-straight games dating back to a loss against Delaware on Nov. 29, 2015. Last year, The Bison averaged 5.7 3-pointers per game and hit at least seven in 12 games. NDSU hit five in the season opener at Northern Iowa and hit eight against Northern Illinois.

Gaislerova Named to 2018-19 Google Cloud Academic All-District First Team
   Michelle Gaislerova was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District Women's Basketball First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) last season.
   Gaislerova has a 4.0 GPA and majors in Journalism. The award recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The Google Cloud Academic All-America® program separately recognizes basketball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. First-team Academic All-District® honorees advance to the Google Cloud Academic All-America® ballot.
    The Google Cloud Academic All-District® teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. North Dakota State is in district six, which includes schools from Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Gaislerova was one of three selections from the Summit League, joining South Dakota's Allison Arens and Ciara Duffy.

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 was tabbed the preseason favorite with 20 first-place votes, while South Dakota State was picked second with 13 first-place votes. Denver, picked for third, received the remaining first place vote.

Last Time Against Valparaiso
   The North Dakota State women's basketball team held Valparaiso without a field goal for the first 6:48 of the fourth quarter, as the Bison picked up their first road win of the season 51-48 on Dec. 16, 2018.
   The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, as the Crusaders led 12-9 following a 3-pointer by Meredith Hamlet with :38 left to close the scoring in the opening frame.
   Danneka Voegeli hit an early layup in the second quarter, but Valpo answered with an 8-0 run in 1:55 to take a 20-11 lead with 6:52 to play in the half. The Crusaders pushed the lead to 11 with 4:07 left in the half before NDSU went on an 11-2 run to close the half. A layup by Marina Fernandez with :28 left cut the Valpo lead to 26-24 at the half.
   With Valpo leading by five, Sofija Zivaljevic and Cirkeline Rimdal scored seven-straight points for the Bison, as NDSU took a 35-33 lead with 3:48 left in the third quarter on a long ball by Rimdal. A free throw by Fernandez with :27 left in the quarter tied the game at 38-38 going into the fourth quarter.
   An and-one from Zivaljevic just :06 into the fourth gave NDSU a 41-38 lead. Valpo tied the game at 41-41 with 8:54 on three-straight free throws before the Bison took the game over.
   Another free throw by Fernandez with 8:16 remaining started an 8-1 run for NDSU over a 4:53 span, as the Bison took the lead for good. Michelle Gaislerova pushed the lead to seven on a layup that gave her a team-high 11 points with 3:23 to play. Valpo went on a 6-2 run over the final 3:12 of the game, but couldn't get closer than two points over the span as the Bison held on for the 51-48 victory.
   With 11 points, Gaislerova scored in double digits for the 11th-straight game dating back to last season. Fernandez added nine points, while Rylee Nudell had eight. Hamlet led the Crusaders with a game-high 15 points. Fernandez and Emily Dietz each had a team-high six rebounds for NDSU. Gaislerova and Fernandez each had three assists, while Tyrah Spencer, Fernandez and Dietz each had two steals, tying a career-high for Dietz.
   NDSU was 20-of-48 (41.7%) from the field and 2-of-18 (11.1%) from 3-point range. The Crusaders were 16-of-53 (30.2%) from the floor and 5-of-27 (18.5%) from downtown. The Bison were 9-of-18 from the free throw line, while Valpo was 11-of-19 (57.9%) at the charity stripe. NDSU had a 30-22 advantage in the paint, while Valpo had an 11-2 advantage in second chance points after grabbing 14 offensive rebounds.

Last Time Against Creighton
   Creighton scored 18 points off turnovers, as the Bluejays beat the NDSU women's basketball team 86-51 at the Scheels Center inside the Sanford Health Athletic Complex on Nov. 9, 2018.
   The Bison went toe-to-toe with a Bluejay team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year for most of the first half. A 3-pointer by Marina Fernandez with 8:08 to play in the opening frame gave the Bison an early 3-2 lead. The Bluejays would push the lead to six late in the quarter, but back-to-back jumpers by Michelle Gaislerova in the final minute of the quarter cut the lead to 19-17 after the opening frame.
   A 3-pointer by Audrey Faber just seven seconds into the second quarter started a 15-5 run for the Bluejays. Faber hit a free throw with :02 left in the half to give the Bluejays a 41-26 lead at the break. The Bluejays held a 45-25 advantage in the second half for the 86-51 victory.
   Gaislerova led the Bison with a game-high 17 points. Emily Dietz added eight points, while Cirkeline Rimdal had a career-high seven off the bench. Faber led the Bluejays with 17 points. Fernandez led the Bison with a game-high five rebounds, while Tyrah Spencer and Dietz each had four boards. Spencer had three assists, while Danneka Voegeli tied a career-high with two. Rimdal had a career-high two steals.
   NDSU was 21-of-54 (38.9%) from the field, while the Bluejays were 31-of-53 (58.5%). The Bison were 7-of-18 (38.9%) from beyond the arc, while Creighton was 10-of-15 from downtown. NDSU connected on both its free throw attempts, while the Bluejays were 14-of-16 (87.5%) at the charity stripe. Creighton had advantages in the paint (40-20), off turnovers (18-7) and bench scoring (57-11).

MidcoSN to Televise 17 NDSU Women's Basketball Games in 2019-20
   Midco has announced that 17 NDSU women's basketball games during the 2019-20 season will be broadcast on the Midco Sports Network. All games will either be on MidcoSN or MidcsoSN2. In addition, all 17 Midco games, along with games at Northern Iowa and Bradley, will either be available on ESPN+ or ESPN3.

Bison Sign Three on National Signing Day
   NDSU will add a pair of high school players, while also getting a junior college transfer, head coach Jory Collins announced on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
   Abigail Schulte, a 5-10 guard from Maple Grove, Minn., Kylie Strop, a 5-7 guard from River Falls, Wis. and Reneya Hopkins, a 5-7 junior college transfer from Redlands Community College have all signed during the first signing day for Collins.
   An all-conference junior college performer, Hopkins averaged 14.4 points, 5.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks during her freshman year at RCC. An all-state selection as a junior, Schulte averaged 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a junior. Strop is the all-time leader in scoring and steals at River Falls High School, averaging 19.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.0 steals as a junior.

Head Coach Jory Collins
   Jory Collins was named the head coach of the North Dakota State women's basketball program on April 29, 2019.
   Collins is the 11th head coach of the Bison. Collins just finished his first year as an assistant at the University of Kansas after spending eight seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division II Emporia State.
   This past season at Kansas, Collins primarily worked with the post players. He helped recruit the No. 2 class in the Big 12 after the early signing period in November.
   Collins spent 12 years at Emporia State, including the last eight as the head coach. He compiled a record of 199-56 with five straight Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association tournament titles (2013-17) and six straight trips to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 (2012-17). In 2017, Emporia State finished the season ranked first in the NCAA Central Region for the third time in four years.
   His 2015 team won the NCAA Division II Central Region championship, advancing to the Final Four with a 29-5 record. Collins has a 33-9 career postseason record in the MIAA and NCAA tournaments, while compiling a 15-8 overall record against teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation.
   Collins was named the KBCA Women's Basketball Four-Year Coach of the Year in 2015, while being named the NCAA Division II Region 7 Russell Athletic/WBCA Coach of the Year in 2014. The Hornets finished with 20 or more wins in seven of his eight seasons as a head coach.
   Off the floor, the Hornets finished with the top GPA (3.72) in NCAA Division II in 2017. The 2018 squad finished fourth in the nation with a 3.71 GPA.
   Prior to being the head coach at Emporia State, Collins spent four years as an assistant for the Hornets. Emporia State won back-to-back MIAA championships in 2008 and 2009. In 2010, the Hornets won the NCAA Division II national championship with a 30-5 record. Collins served as the primary recruiter that identified, evaluated, recruited and signed the class that won the national championship.
   Collins earned a bachelor's degree in education from Emporia State in 2002 and a master's degree in science in school leadership from Emporia State in 2006.

On The Horizon
   The Bison return to the Scheels Center on Friday, Nov. 22 with a game against Iowa State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Fargo. The Cyclones will be the first Big 12 school to ever play in Fargo.