Bison Women Face Western Illinois on Thursday

Thursday, January 2

Fargo, N.D.

5 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Western Illinois

Photo by: Ryan Workman

Bison Women Face Western Illinois on Thursday

12/31/2019 4:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

NDSU WBB Notes - Western Illinois Live Video Live Stats Live Audio

Scene Setter
The North Dakota State women's basketball team returns to the Scheels Center on Thursday, Jan. 2 for a game against Western Illinois. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m., with the men's game against the Fighting Leathernecks to follow at 8 p.m. The game is broadcast on MidcoSN and ESPN+, while on the radio on Bison 1660 and 92.7 FM. Keith Brake and Jeremy Jorgenson will have the call on the radio.

Western Illinois Series History
The Leathernecks own a 15-10 lead in the all-time series that dates to a 72-67 Leatherneck victory in Macomb on Jan. 12, 2008. Western Illinois has won 10 of the last 11 meetings, with the Bison victory coming in Fargo last season. NDSU won 68-60 on Jan. 11 behind 29 points from Michelle Gaislerova.

Bison Notes

NDSU opened Summit League play on Sunday, dropping a 91-82 contest at Denver.
Junior Michelle Gaislerova tied a season-high with 21 points to lead the Bison against the Pioneers. It was the 10th career 20-plus point game for Gaislerova and the 50th double digit performance of her career.
The Bison closed non-conference play on Dec. 22, defeating Waldorf 92-26.
NDSU attempted 35 3-pointers, the second most in school history, while making 14, the fifth most in school history, in the win over Waldorf.
Gaislerova moved into fourth in school history with her 147th career 3-pointer against Waldorf.
The Bison closed non-conference play on Dec. 22, defeating Waldorf 92-26.
NDSU attempted 35 3-pointers, the second most in school history, while making 14, the fifth most in school history, in the win over Waldorf.
Gaislerova moved into fourth in school history with her 147th career 3-pointer against Waldorf.
NDSU used a 38-7 third quarter advantage in a 97-59 victory over Mayville State on Dec. 15.
The Bison moved to 27-0 all-time against the Comets.
Emily Dietz had a season-high 22 points against Mayville State, while Gaislerova tied a season-high with 21 points.
Wisconsin defeated NDSU 64-63 Dec. 8 in the final non-conference game against an NCAA Division I opponent. NDSU had a shot in the final possession, but couldn't get it to fall.
Gaislerova surpassed 800 points for her career against the Badgers.
The Badgers were the second Power Five school to play at the Scheels Center this year, as Iowa State came to town on Nov. 22. It was the first time in school history that the Bison have hosted two Power Five schools in the same season.
The Bison dropped a 70-64 game at Bradley on Dec. 5. The game was tied 61-61 with 4:30 to play.
Dietz led the Bison with 16 points and eight rebounds against the Braves.
NDSU picked up the first win of the season at New Hampshire, defeating the Wildcats 67-61.
Sofija Zivaljevic had a career-high 28 points off the bench in the victory over New Hampshire.
Dietz fell just short of her second-straight double-double, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Bison opened a Thanksgiving Weekend trip to the east coast at Northeastern, where the Bison dropped a 72-61 contest to the Huskies.
Dietz had a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds against the Huskies.
Wyoming used a 16-2 run late in the third and early in the fourth quarters to beat NDSU 66-57.
Iowa State defeated NDSU 86-58 on Nov. 22. The game marked the first time a Big 12 school had played in Fargo.
Freshman Ryan Cobbins became the first player in NDSU's NCAA Division I history to score in double figures in the first five games of her freshman career with 12 points against Iowa State.
NDSU led at halftime against Creighton before falling 70-59. Dietz turned in her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bison dropped a 66-54 contest against Valparaiso on Nov. 15.
NDSU went 0-for-14 from 3-point range against the Crusaders, snapping a streak of 113-straight games with at least two 3-pointers.

Scouting Western Illinois

Western Illinois takes to the road for the first time in Summit League play. The Leathernecks opened league play on Sunday at home, falling 96-65 against #22 South Dakota.
The Leathernecks are 6-8 on the year and have dropped the last three contests. Western Illinois is 1-4 on the road this season, with the lone win coming Dec. 7 at Chicago State (88-78).
Western Illinois ranks second in the nation in free throw attempts with 330, while ranking eighth in makes with 208. The Leathernecks rank 281st in the nation in percentage at 63 percent.
The Leathernecks have attempted 389 3-pointers, the fifth most in the nation, while making the eighth most in the country with 122. Their 8.7 treys per game rank 21st in the nation.
Evan Zars ranks eighth in the nation with 143 rebounds and 24th with 10.2 per game. Zars also ranks 37th in the country with 24 blocked shots.
Olivia Kaufmann ranks third in the country with 93 free throw attempts, while ranking 13th with 60 makes.

Last Time Against Western Illinois
   Western Illinois (10-13, 6-4 Summit) closed the first quarter on a 13-5 run to take the lead for good, as the Leathernecks beat the North Dakota State (6-15, 3-6 Summit) women's basketball team 82-70 at Western Hall Feb. 3.
   An early 8-2 run for the Bison gave NDSU an 11-6 lead on a jumper by Cirkeline Rimdal with 6:35 to play in the first quarter. A layup by Emily Dietz gave the Bison a 16-12 lead with 4:46 left in the quarter before the Leathernecks went on the 13-5 run to take a 25-21 lead after the first quarter.
   Tyrah Spencer's layup with 5:27 left in the half cut the lead to 31-26 before Western Illinois went on a 9-2 run to push the lead to 12 with 2:02 left in the half. A layup from Marina Fernandez with :51 left in the half left the Leathernecks with a 40-30 lead at the break.
   Another layup from Spencer started the scoring in the second half, but Western Illinois answered with a 12-4 run over a 4:02 span to put the lead in double digits for the remainder of the game. A pair of free throws by Rimdal closed the scoring in the third quarter, as the Leathernecks led 64-47.
   Western Illinois scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, taking its largest lead of the game at 69-47. The Bison responded with 10-straight points over a 1:41 span to cut the lead to 69-57 with 6:24 to play. A quick 6-0 run by the Leathernecks pushed the lead back to 18. NDSU would cut the lead to 12 twice in the final 1:40, but couldn't get any closer.
   Gaislerova led the Bison with 21 points, her fifth game of 20 or more points this season. Gaislerova also went over the 600 point mark for her career, marking the second-straight game a Bison has hit the number with Rylee Nudell hitting it last week against Oral Roberts. Marina Fernandez added 13 points, while Sofija Zivaljevic and Nudell each had 12. Taylor Higginbotham finished with a game-high 27 points, as she became the all-time leading scorer in Western Illinois history.
   Fernandez had a career-high 11 rebounds, as she notched her first career double-double. Zivaljevic and Spencer each had five boards. Fernandez had a game-high four assists, while Zivaljevic added three.
   NDSU was 25-of-69 (36.2%) from the field and 8-of-19 (42.1%) from 3-point range. The Leathernecks were 31-of-61 (50.8%) from the floor and 5-of-12 (41.7%) from downtown. The Bison were perfect in 12 trips to the free throw line, tying a school record for percentage in a game. It was the most made free throws in school history without a miss. The Leathernecks were 15-of-20 at the charity stripe. The Leathernecks had a 52-28 advantage in the paint and 15-8 advantage in points off turnovers, while NDSU had an 18-8 advantage in bench points.

Last Time Out
   Denver opened the fourth quarter on a 15-5 run, as the Pioneers defeated the North Dakota State women's basketball team 91-82 Sunday afternoon in the Summit League opener for both schools. The Bison dropped to 3-10 overall, while the Pioneers evened their record at 7-7 on the year.
   Michelle Gaislerova tied a season-high with 21 points to lead the Bison. It was the 10th career 20-plus point game for Gaislerova and the 50th double digit performance of her career. Emily Dietz and Danneka Voegeli had 14 points each, while Sofija Zivaljevic and Rylee Nudell had 11 points apiece to join Gaislerova in double figures. It was a season-high for Voegeli. Madison Nelson led five Pioneers in double figures with 31 points, while also adding 12 rebounds.
   Olivia Skibiel had a career-high nine rebounds, while Nudell, Dietz and Voegeli each had seven boards. Zivaljevic had five assists, while Cirkeline Rimdal had a career-high four. Gaislerova added a season-high two steals.
   The Bison were 33-of-80 (41.3%) from the floor and 6-of-25 (24%) from downtown. NDSU was 1-of-10 from 3-point range in the second half. Denver was 35-of-81 (43.2%) from the field and 9-of-25 (36%) from 3-point range, including 6-of-13 from downtown in the second half. Both teams went to the free throw line 15 times, with NDSU hitting 10 and the Pioneers connecting on 12. NDSU led for 26:27 of the game. The Pioneers had a 24-7 advantage in fast break points and a 42-19 edge in bench points.
   NDSU opened the game with a 14-4 lead in the first 4:51 of the game. The Pioneers responded with eight-straight points in less than a minute before NDSU closed the first quarter on a 10-3 run to take a 27-17 lead after the first frame. Gaislerova connected on a 3-pointer to start the second quarter, giving NDSU its largest lead of the game at 30-17. Denver cut the lead to two with 2:47 left in the half, but the Bison took a 48-42 lead at halftime. Dietz opened the third quarter with a layup before the Pioneers went on a 13-4 run over a 3:12 span to take their first lead of the game. The Bison responded with a 9-2 run to go back up 63-57 with 4:42 to play in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Lauren Loven :10 into the fourth quarter gave Denver the lead for good.

A New 3-Point Streak
   The Bison went 0-of-14 from 3-point range against Valparaiso on Nov. 15, ending a streak of 113-straight games with at least two 3-pointers. The last time NDSU didn't hit a 3-pointer in a game was Nov. 29, 2015 against Delaware. Since the game against Valparaiso, the Bison have hit at least five in each of the last 10 games, including a season-high nine against Iowa State.

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.

Collins Earns 200th Career Victory
   With NDSU's win over New Hampshire on Dec. 1, head coach Jory Collins earned his 200th career victory. In his ninth season overall as a head coach, Collins earned his first win on Nov. 13, 2010, as Emporia State beat Tulsa 68-64. His 100th career win came on Nov. 25, 2014, as Emporia State beat Henderson State 93-53.

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.

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.

On The Horizon
   The Bison travel to Oral Roberts on Jan. 8. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Tulsa. NDSU returns home on Jan. 16, as the Bison take on South Dakota. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Scheels Center.