Bison Women Host 21st-ranked South Dakota on Thursday

Thursday, January 16

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

South Dakota

Photo by: Ryan Perreault

Bison Women Host 21st-ranked South Dakota on Thursday

1/15/2020 4:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball

NDSU WBB Notes - South Dakota Live Video Live Audio Live Stats

Scene Setter
The North Dakota State women's basketball team returns to the Scheels Center on Thursday, Jan. 16 for a game against #21/25 South Dakota. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game is broadcast on MidcoSN2, while online via ESPN3. On the radio, Keith Brake and Jeremy Jorgenson will have the call on Bison 1660 and 92.7 FM.

South Dakota Series History
North Dakota State holds a 42-31 advantage in the all-time series, while the Coyotes have won the last six meetings. Series history dates back to Jan. 15, 1977 in Vermillion, where the Coyotes came away with a 65-61 victory. The last NDSU victory was Jan. 4, 2017, as the Bison won in Fargo 83-73.

Bison Notes

NDSU dropped to 0-3 in the Summit League with a 70-62 loss at Oral Roberts last week.
Senior Rylee Nudell surpassed 800 points for her career with seven points against Oral Roberts.
Junior Michelle Gaislerova became the fourth player in school history to hit 150 or more career 3-pointers with two against the Golden Eagles.
NDSU played the fourth double overtime game in school history Jan. 2, falling 79-78 against Western Illinois.
Nudell turned in her first career double-double with a season-high 21 points and career-high 15 rebounds. Junior Emily Dietz had her fifth career double-double with a season-high 24 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bison shot a season-low 54.2 percent (13-of-24) at the free throw line in the loss. NDSU was shooting 73.4 percent from the charity stripe entering the game.
NDSU opened Summit League play on Dec. 29, dropping a 91-82 contest at Denver.
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.
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.

Scouting South Dakota

At 15-2 overall and 4-0 in the Summit League, South Dakota is ranked 25th in the Associated Press Top 25 and 21st in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll.
The only losses for the Coyotes this season came against #22 Missouri State (74-66) and at fifth-ranked South Carolina (73-60).
South Dakota is one of the best shooting teams in the country, ranking fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at 48.4 and third in 3-point percentage at 40.2.
Ciara Duffy ranks ninth in the nation with 94 assists, while ranking 14th with 5.5 per game.

Last Time Against South Dakota
   Second-seeded South Dakota outscored seventh-seeded North Dakota State 19-5 in the second quarter, as the Coyotes beat the Bison 74-51 in the Summit League Women's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals.
   The loss ended the Bison season, as NDSU finished with a 7-22 overall record. With the win, South Dakota advanced to the Summit League Championship Semifinals on Monday.
   Emily Dietz had a game-high 20 points for the Bison, as she became the third player in school history to score 20 or more points in a Summit League Championship game. It was the second 20-plus point game for Dietz, who had scored 26 prior points in four career games against South Dakota. Rylee Nudell added seven points, while Marina Fernandez and Danneka Voegeli each had six points. With a 3-pointer in the game, Michelle Gaislerova became the second player in school history to hit 75 or more 3-pointers in a season. Hannah Sjerven led the Coyotes with 20 points off the bench.
   Fernandez led the Bison with five rebounds, while Cirkeline Rimdal and Voegeli each had four. Michelle Gaislerova tied a career-high with four assists. Dietz had a pair of blocked shots, while Gaislerova had two steals.
   With an early five point lead, the Yotes stretched the lead to double digits with an 11-5 run to close the first quarter with a 22-11 lead. Sofija Zivaljevic hit a 3-pointer early in the second quarter to cut the lead to 10, but South Dakota ended the first half on a 17-2 run over an 8:44 span to take a 41-16 lead.
   Another Coyote run late in the third quarter, this time a 12-1 run over a 4:26 span, pushed the lead to 32 with 1:41 left in the third quarter. The Bison went on an 11-4 run in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get the lead under 20 in the second half.
   NDSU was 18-of-40 (45%) from the floor and 2-of-10 from 3-point range. South Dakota was 28-of-60 (46.7%) and 7-of-25 (28%) from downtown. The Bison were 13-of-23 (56.5%) at the free throw line, while South Dakota was 11-of-13 (84.6%) at the charity stripe. The Coyotes had a 22-9 advantage in points off turnovers and 28-10 in bench points.

Bison Against the Top 25
   Thursday's game will be the 10th against a ranked team in the NCAA Division I era for the Bison. NDSU is 0-9 all-time in those meetings. The Bison last faced a ranked team on Dec. 2, 2014, as #25/23 Mississippi State defeated NDSU 109-58. This will be the third meeting against a ranked Summit League team, facing a ranked South Dakota State team twice in 2009. This will be the first ranked opponent to play inside the Scheels Center, while NDSU also hosted #24/- Green Bay on Nov. 11, 2011 and #18/22 South Dakota State on Feb. 21, 2009.

Last Time Out
   A late run by the North Dakota State women's basketball team wasn't enough, as Oral Roberts downed the Bison 70-62 at the Mabee Center on Jan. 8.
   The loss dropped the Bison to 3-12 overall and 0-3 in the Summit League. Oral Roberts improved to 6-10 overall and 1-2 in league play.
   Emily Dietz led the Bison with 20 points, while Michelle Gaislerova joined her in double figures with 15 points. With seven points, Rylee Nudell surpassed 800 points for her career. Keni Jo Lippe led the Golden Eagles with a game-high 24 points. Dietz finished with six rebounds, as she surpassed 300 boards for her career. Sofija Zivaljevic and Nudell had four and three rebounds respectively. Zivaljevic had a career-high eight assists, while Zivaljevic and Nudell each had two steals. With her 93rd career starter, Nudell moved into 10th in school history. Gaislerova became the fourth player in school history to hit 150 career 3-pointers.
   The Bison were 23-of-54 (42.6%) from the floor and 5-of-18 (27.8%) from 3-point range. Oral Roberts was 23-of-49 (46.9%) from the field and 7-of-22 (31.8%) from downtown. NDSU was 11-of-15 (73.3%) at the free throw line, while NDSU was 17-of-19 (89.5%) at the charity stripe.
   With the game tied at 4-4 with 7:30 left in the first quarter, Oral Roberts went on a 20-2 run to close the quarter. NDSU mounted a comeback in the second half, using a 10-3 run early in the third quarter to cut the lead to 48-41 with 5:26 to play in the third quarter. Late in the quarter, NDSU used an 8-0 run to cut the lead to three before Lippe ended the quarter on a 3-pointer. Oral Roberts held a 55-52 lead with 9:29 to play before the Golden Eagles went on a 13-4 run over a 7:00 span.

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 three in each of the last 12 games, including a season-high nine against Iowa State.

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.

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.

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.

On The Horizon
   The Bison are back in action on Sunday, Jan. 19 against North Dakota. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Scheels Center against the Fighting Hawks.