NDSU Women Set to Face South Dakota in Summit League Championship Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 9

Sioux Falls, S.D.

2:30 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

South Dakota

North Dakota State University plays the University of North Dakota on Sunday, January 20, 2019 in Fargo, N.D. Photo by Carrie Snyder North Dakota State Women's Basketball vs. North Dakota - Scheels Center - Jan. 20, 2019

NDSU Women Set to Face South Dakota in Summit League Championship Quarterfinals

3/8/2019 3:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

North Dakota State vs. South Dakota
Saturday, March 9 | 2:30 p.m. (Central) | Sioux Falls, S.D. (Denny Sanford PREMIER Center)
Radio: Bison 1660 / 92.7 FM
TV: MidcoSN / ESPN+
Live Stats: BisonStats.com

Scene Setter
The North Dakota State (7-21, 4-12 Summit) women's basketball team takes on South Dakota (26-4, 14-2 Summit) in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Championship.

South Dakota Series History
The Bison own a 42-30 lead in the all-time series. South Dakota has won the last five
meetings, including a season sweep this year in Fargo on Dec. 30 (67-41) and in Vermillion on Feb. 28 (76-57). The last NDSU win in the series came on Jan. 4, 2017, an 83-73 NDSU win in Fargo. This will be the second meeting between the Bison and the Coyotes in the Summit League Championship. South Dakota beat NDSU 73-53 in the quarterfinals in 2013.

Bison Notes

Purdue Fort Wayne outscored NDSU 30-14 in the fourth quarter, as the Mastodons beat the Bison 66-46 in the regular season finale last week.
Sophomore Michelle Gaislerova moved into third in school history with 74 career 3-pointers with two against Purdue Fort Wayne.
Gaislerova hit a career-high six 3-pointers in the loss at South Dakota. Gaislerova finished with 20 points, her sixth 20-plus point game of the year.
The Bison hit 10 3-pointers against South Dakota, reaching the double digit mark for the second time this year. The Bison are 0-2 on the year when hitting that mark.
NDSU scored 29 points in the fourth quarter against Omaha, rallying for a 55-48 victory over the Mavs. The Bison scored 26 points in the first 30 minutes of the game before going off in the fourth quarter.
Junior Rylee Nudell (11) and sophomore Sofija Zivaljevic (10) scored 21 of North Dakota State's 29 points in the fourth quarter against Omaha.
Gaislerova led the Bison with 16 points in an 88-48 loss against South Dakota State. It was the 20th time this year Gaislerova has hit double figures in a game.
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.

Scouting South Dakota

The Coyotes finished second in the league standings with just a pair of losses during Summit League play. South Dakota lost 104-99 at Denver on Jan. 3 and 82-78 in overtime at Summit League Champion South Dakota State on Feb. 24.
Allison Arens and Ciara Duffy were named to the All-Summit League First Team. Chloe Lamb and Hannah Sjerven earned honorable mention honors. Sjerven was also named the Newcomer of the Year and the Sixth Woman of the Year, while Arens picked up Defensive Player of the Year honors. Sjerven was also named to the All-Newcomer team. Head Coach Dawn Plitzuweit was named the Summit League Coach of the Year.
South Dakota boasts the league's top defense. Earlier this year, they held five-straight opponents to 50 points or less.
Arens is one of four players in program history to tally 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in her career.
Duffy is averaging 16.6 points in Summit League play to pace the Yotes.
South Dakota features a pair of players that were named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District Team in Arens and Duffy. The pair, along with NDSU's Michelle Gaislerova, make up half the selections on the team for the sixth district.

Last Time Out
   Purdue Fort Wayne outscored the North Dakota State women's basketball team 30-14 in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon, as the Mastodons beat the Bison 66-46 in the regular season finale for both teams.
   The Bison (7-21, 4-12 Summit) entered the game locked into the seven seed in the Summit League Tournament, while the Mastodons (7-21, 3-13 Summit) were fighting for the final spot in the tournament.
   NDSU struggled in the first quarter, shooting just 17.6 percent (3-of-17) and trailed 12-9 after Purdue Fort Wayne hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Purdue Fort Wayne took a 27-23 lead at the break.
   Purdue Fort Wayne was 12-of-16 from the field, while connecting on all three 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter. The Bison were 6-of-9 in the final quarter, but turned the ball over six times, which led to 12 Mastodon points.
   Rylee Nudell led the Bison with 14 points, while Michelle Gaislerova joined her in double figures with 12. Gaislerova moved into sole possession of third in school history with 74 3-pointers made on the season. Sh'Toya Sanders led the Mastodons with a game-high 22 points. Gaislerova led the Bison with six rebounds, while Tyrah Spencer and Danneka Voegeli had five boards apiece. Spencer also had a team-high three assists.
   NDSU was 18-of-49 (36.7%) from the floor and 4-of-17 (23.5%) from 3-point range. The Mastodons were 26-of-50 (52%) from the field and 6-of-12 from downtown. Purdue Fort Wayne was 8-of-18 (44.4%) from the free throw line, while NDSU was 6-of-7 (85.7%) at the charity stripe. The Mastodons held advantages in points in the paint (36-16) and points off turnovers (23-6).

110 and Counting
   North Dakota State has made at least two 3-pointers in 110-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 12 games.

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.

Mixing It Up
   The Bison have eight players that have played at least 371 minutes this year, with four of them having played at least 782 minutes. NDSU has used 27 different lineups for at least 10 minutes. The lineup of Michelle Gaislerova, Tyrah Spencer, Danneka Voegeli, Cirkeline Rimdal and Sofija Zivaljevic has outscored opponents 44-30 in 29:27 of action. 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 69.6 percent (289-of-415) at the free throw line this year, but they are hitting them when it matters. NDSU is 68-of-91 (74.7%) at the charity stripe in the final three minutes of games this season. Sofija Zivaljevic has been to the line 20 times in the final three minutes, hitting 18 of them.

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.

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.

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.

Last Time Against South Dakota
   The South Dakota (25-4, 13-2 Summit) women's basketball team used a 17-3 run to close the third quarter, as the Coyotes beat North Dakota State (7-20, 4-11 Summit) 76-57 at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
   NDSU held an early 5-2 lead after a layup by Tyrah Spencer and 3-pointer by Michelle Gaislerova. A late jumper by Sofija Zivaljevic cut the South Dakota lead to 16-14 after the first quarter.
   South Dakota opened the second quarter on a 7-2 run, taking a 23-16 lead with 6:05 to play in the first half. A long ball by Zivaljevic with 5:44 left in the half started a 10-4 Bison run, as a 3-pointer by Gaislerova with 3:40 to play in the second quarter cut the lead to 27-26. The Coyotes scored the final seven points of the half, including a banked in 3-pointer by Liv Korngable at the buzzer, as South Dakota took a 38-30 lead at the break.
   The Yotes led 46-36 with 4:38 to play when they went on a 17-3 run to close the quarter. A late 3-pointer by Monica Arens gave the Coyotes a 63-39 lead going into the fourth quarter.
   NDSU twice cut the lead to 17 in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get any closer. The Bison used a 12-4 run over a 4:11 span to cut the lead to 73-56 with 2:05 to play.
   Gaislerova led the Bison with 20 points, her sixth game this year with at least 20 points scored. She hit six 3-pointers in the game, moving into a tie for third in school history with 72 3-pointers this season. Spencer added 11 points, while Zivaljevic joined them in double figures with 10 points. Hannah Sjerven led the Coyotes with 24 points. Rylee Nudell, Gaislerova, Spencer and Marina Fernandez each had four rebounds. Gaislerova and Fernandez had two assists apiece.
   The Bison were 21-of-47 (44.7%) from the floor and 10-of-23 (43.5%) from 3-point range. The Coyotes were 31-of-58 (53.4%) from the field and 4-of-14 (28.6%) from downtown. South Dakota was 10-of-14 (71.4%) at the free throw line, while NDSU was 5-of-6 (83.3%) at the charity stripe. The Coyotes held advantages in points in the paint (50-14), points off turnovers (26-9) and bench points (38-15).

Down the Stretch
   The highest scoring quarter so far this year for the Bison has been the fourth quarter, where NDSU has put up 459 points. The Bison are averaging 16.4 points in the fourth quarter, while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from 3-point range. Michelle Gaislerova is averaging 3.9 points in the fourth quarter, while Sofija Zivaljevic is averaging 3.7. Rylee Nudell is shooting 59.6 percent (31-of-52) from the field, while Gaislerova is 15-of-39 (38.5%) 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 points per game, while Sofija Zivaljevic joins her in double figures with 10.6 over the stretch. Marina Fernandez is averaging 5.8 rebounds per game in the stretch. Gaislerova is 15-of-33 (45.5%) from 3-point range. Danneka Voegeli is 7-of-16 (43.8%) from the field in the last five games.

Summit League Championship History
   The Bison are 1-9 all-time at the Summit League Championship, earning a win over Western Illinois in the 2009 quarterfinals. This is the fourth time the Bison have earned the seven seed, holding an 0-3 record in the previous games with that seed.