Bison Women Host Omaha on Senior Day

Saturday, February 23

Fargo, N.D.

1 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Omaha

Marina Fernandez Oral Roberts Pink North Dakota State Women's Basketball vs. Oral Roberts - Pink Game - Feb. 13, 2019 - Scheels Center - Fargo, ND

Photo by: Xavier Bonner

Bison Women Host Omaha on Senior Day

2/22/2019 7:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Omaha at North Dakota State
Saturday, Feb. 23 | 1 p.m. (Central) | Fargo, N.D. (Scheels Center)
Radio: Bison 1660 / 92.7 FM
TV: MidcoSN2 / ESPN3
Live Stats: BisonStats.com

Full NDSU Game Notes (PDF)

NDSU WBB on Twitter: @NDSUwbb

Scene Setter
The North Dakota State (6-19, 3-10 Summit) women's basketball team will host Omaha (8-18, 2-11 Summit) in the final home game of the season. The Bison will honor three players before the game in Marina Fernandez, Hanna Norman and Tyrah Spencer. Fernandez and Norman are graduating, while Spencer is stepping away from the game due to injury following this season.

Omaha Series History
North Dakota State leads the all-time series 45-19. The Mavs have won the last five games in a series that started in 1980. The last NDSU victory came Feb. 14, 2016, a 74-67 win at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.

Bison Notes

Sophomore Michelle Gaislerova led the Bison with 16 points in an 88-48 loss against South Dakota State a week ago. It was the 20th time this year Gaislerova has hit double figures in a game.
With three 3-pointers against South Dakota State, Gaislerova moved into a tie for fourth in school history with 65 3-pointers this season.
Sophomore Sofija Zivaljevic tied a career-high with 16 points in a 65-54 loss to Oral Roberts.
Emily Dietz scored a career-high 26 points against Denver, as the Pioneers beat NDSU 87-67. Denver held a 29-13 advantage in the second quarter.
Dietz led the Bison in scoring against North Dakota, as her 13 points gave her double digit scoring numbers for the 10th time this season.
North Dakota State was a perfect 12-of-12 at the free throw line against Western Illinois. It was the most made free throws without a miss in school history and the second time the Bison have been perfect at the line with over 10 attempts in the game in school history.
Gaislerova scored 21 points at Western Illinois, marking the fifth time this season that Gaislerova has scored 20 or more points. She surpassed 600 points for her career against Western Illinois.
Senior Marina Fernandez notched her first career double-double at Western Illinois, pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds to go with her 13 points.
The Bison were scheduled to play Waldorf University in the final non-conference game of the year, but due to brutal cold and travel conditions, the game was canceled.
North Dakota State hit a season-high 11 3-pointers against Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles countered with 18 long balls, tied for the second most in Summit League history, in the 101-72 win by Oral Roberts.
Gaislerova scored 18 points against Oral Roberts, as she hit the double digit mark for the 16th time this season and 33rd time in her career.
Rylee Nudell scored a career-high 22 points against the Golden Eagles, as she went over 600 points for her career.

Scouting Omaha

The Mavericks enter Saturday's game with an 8-18 overall record and 2-11 mark in the Summit League. Omaha defeated NDSU 78-61 in the third Summit League game of the season. Omaha dropped nine-straight Summit League games following the victory until picking up a 70-61 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Senior Day last week.
Omaha ranks 41st in the nation, and second in the Summit League, in personal fouls per game at 15.0. They also rank 72nd in the nation, and second in the Summit League, in fewest fouls with 389.
In the last meeting, three Mavericks scored in double figures. Rayanna Carter and Claire Killian tallied a game-high 16 points apiece, while Mariah Murdie had 15 points.
The Mavericks hit a season-high 10 3-pointers in the win over NDSU. They have matched that total just once since, with that coming 10 days later against Western Illinois.

Last Time Out
   South Dakota State (20-6, 12-1 Summit) used a 10-0 run late in the first quarter to take the lead for good, as the Jackrabbits beat North Dakota State (6-19, 3-10 Summit) 88-48 in women's basketball action at the Scheels Center.
   The Bison were up 7-6 on a 3-pointer by Tyrah Spencer with 7:07 to play in the first quarter when the Jackrabbits started the run. Macy Miller, who finished with 30 points, scored the first eight points of the run. A layup by Paiton Burckhard with :05 left in the quarter gave SDSU a 21-15 lead after the opening frame.
   A Miller 3-pointer started the second quarter, as the Jackrabbits opened the quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 33-17 lead with 4:27 left in the half. A quick 7-0 run by the Bison trimmed the lead back to single digits, but SDSU ended the half by scoring 10-straight points to take a 43-24 lead at the break.
   The Jackrabbits outscored NDSU 24-7 in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 67-31 going into the final frame. The lead would reach 48 in the fourth quarter before NDSU finished the game on a 9-1 run.
   Michelle Gaislerova finished with 16 points for the Bison, as she hit the double figures mark for the 20th time this season. With three 3-pointers, she moved into a tie for fourth in school history with 65 on the season. Emily Dietz and Sofija Zivaljevic added nine points apiece. Rylee Nudell had seven rebounds, while Marina Fernandez and Zivaljevic each had five boards, tying a career-high for Zivaljevic. Nudell led the Bison with four assists, while Zivaljevic had three.
   NDSU was 19-of-52 (36.5%) from the floor and 5-of-17 (29.4%) from 3-point range. The Jackrabbits were 36-of-61 (59%) from the field and 8-for-16 from downtown. SDSU was 8-of-12 at the free throw line, while NDSU was 5-of-6 (83.3%) at the charity stripe. The Jackrabbits had a 46-24 advantage in the paint and led in points off turnovers 22-9.

Gaislerova Named to Google Cloud Academic All-District First Team
   Michelle Gaislerova has been named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District Women's Basketball First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
   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. First-, second- and third-team (if applicable) Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in mid-March.
    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.

107 and Counting
   North Dakota State has made at least two 3-pointers in 107-straight games dating back to a loss against Delaware on Nov. 29, 2015. The Bison are averaging 5.8 3-pointers per game this year and have hit at least seven in 11 games.

Mixing It Up
   The Bison have eight players that have played at least 322 minutes this year, with four of them having played at least 695 minutes. NDSU has used 25 different lineups for at least 10 minutes. Two Bison lineups have outscored their opponents by 16 points this year, as Michelle Gaislerova, Tyrah Spencer, Danneka Voegeli, Cirkeline Rimdal and Sofija Zivaljevic have outscored opponents 35-19 in 19:56 of action, while Rylee Nudell, Gaislerova, Tyrah Spencer, Marina Fernandez and Zivaljevic have outscored opponents 34-18 in 12:29 on the floor together. 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.

Perfect at Home in January
   For the second-straight year, the Bison finished a month with a perfect home record at the Scheels Center. This year, the Bison were 2-0 in games played at home in January. North Dakota State earned wins over Western Illinois (68-60) on Jan. 11 and North Dakota (69-57) on Jan. 20. The Bison were scheduled to play Waldorf University on Jan. 30, but weather and travel conditions forced that game to be canceled. The Bison were also perfect in November of 2017, finishing that month with a 4-0 record at home to start the season.

The Rare Cancelation
   With the game against Waldorf University canceled due to weather and travel conditions, it marked the third time since NDSU moved to NCAA Division I that a game had been canceled. The previous two times were against Jamestown in December 2008 and Dakota State in December 2010.

Making Them When They Matter
   The Bison are shooting 68.5 percent (257-of-375) at the free throw line this year, but they are hitting them when it matters. NDSU is 58-of-77 (75.3%) at the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games this season. Sofija Zivaljevic has been to the line 16 times in the final three minutes, hitting 15 of them (93.8%).

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 Omaha
   Three Bison scored in double figures, 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.

Down the Stretch
   The highest scoring quarter so far this year for the Bison has been the fourth quarter, where NDSU has put up 398 points. The Bison are averaging 15.9 points in the fourth quarter, while shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from 3-point range. Michelle Gaislerova is averaging 4.0 points in the fourth quarter, while Sofija Zivaljevic is averaging 3.4. Rylee Nudell is shooting 57.8 percent (26-of-45) from the field, while Gaislerova is 14-of-37 (37.8%) from 3-point range.

Norman Joins the Squad
   Former NDSU Soccer player Hanna Norman has joined the women's basketball team. Norman was a two-time All-Summit League selection on the pitch, earning first team honors this past fall. She was also named to the all-freshman team during her rookie campaign. She appeared in 72 games for the Bison, notching a start in 69 of them including every match the last two years. She scored nine goals and had an assist, finishing with five game-winning goals. Coming out of high school, Norman was a Top Drawer Soccer four-star recruit and ranked No. 21 in the Midwest and was the No. 3-ranked defender in the region. On the basketball court in high school, she was a three-time all-conference selection and scored over 1,000 points in her career at Hastings (Minn.) High School.

Last Five Games
   In the last five games, Michelle Gaislerova is averaging 14.0 points per game. Emily Dietz (11.6) and Sofija Zivaljevic (10.8) join Gaislerova in double figure average over the last five games. Marina Fernandez is averaging 8.2 rebounds per game in the stretch. Gaislerova is 13-of-29 (44.8%) from 3-point range. Dietz is 23-of-47 (48.9%) from the field in the last five games, while Gaislerova is shooting 42.1 percent (24-of-57) during the stretch.

On the Horizon
   The Bison will play a pair of doubleheaders to close out the season with the men. On Thursday, Feb. 28, NDSU travels to 23rd-ranked South Dakota. The Bison will close the regular season on Saturday, March 2 at Purdue Fort Wayne.