Scene Setter
    After a bye last weekend, the North Dakota State women's basketball team returns to action this weekend against #23/25 South Dakota State. The Bison will face the Jackrabbits at the Scheels Center inside the Sanford Health Athletic Complex on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on MidcoSN2 and ESPN3, as Jody Norstedt will have the call for both games, while being joined by Freddy Coleman (Friday) and Greg Stemen (Saturday). Keith Brake and Katie Johnson will have the radio call on Bison 1660.

South Dakota State Series History
      The Jackrabbits own a 55-39 advantage in the all-time series that dates to a 77-61 South Dakota State victory on Dec. 3, 1976 in Brookings. South Dakota State has won 13-straight games in the series dating back to Jan. 31, 2015. The Bison are 24-20 at home in the series, including the last victory against South Dakota State on Jan. 4, 2015, an 83-78 NDSU win.

Bison Notes

• NDSU earned its fourth weekend sweep of the year Feb. 6 and 7 against Oral Roberts. The Bison won 70-49 on Friday and 78-63 on Saturday.
• The 21 point win on Friday against Oral Roberts was the largest NDSU victory this year. With the win on Saturday, NDSU is 7-0 on the year in the second game of a weekend series.
• For the second-straight weekend, and third time in conference play, NDSU split a weekend series at Kansas City Jan. 29 & 30. The Bison dropped a 53-45 decision on Friday, but bounced back for a 68-65 win on Saturday.
• Senior Emily Dietz went over 800 points for her career in the loss on Friday, scoring a team-high 17 points. Dietz is the 51st player in school history to surpass 800 career points.
• NDSU split a pair of games with Denver January 22-23, dropping a 62-60 contest on Friday night before beating the Pioneers 74-56 on Saturday.
• Friday's game was the 300th as a head coach for Jory Collins, becoming the fourth coach in the Summit League to reach that mark.

Scouting South Dakota State

• The Jackrabbits are 17-2 on the year and 10-0 in Summit League play.
• SDSU's 14 game winning streak is the sixth longest in the country and the fourth longest among teams that have played at least nine games this season. The Jackrabbits have won 11-straight Summit League games, the 12th longest conference winning streak in the nation.
• The Jackrabbits rank 15th in the nation in free throws made (286) and 20th in attempts (387), while ranking 65th in percentage (73.9).
• Myah Selland ranks 17th in the nation in free throws made (91) and 20th in attempts (118), while ranking 182nd in percentage (77.1). She also ranks 24th in the nation in scoring with 374 points.

Bison Against the Top 25
    NDSU dropped to 0-12 all-time against teams ranked in the USA Today-WBCA and Associated Press polls with a loss at Iowa State earlier this year. The Bison dropped two games against a ranked South Dakota squad last season. Friday will mark the fourth time NDSU has hosted a ranked opponent in Fargo and the third time ever facing the Jackrabbits as a ranked opponent. 

Off to a Hot Start
    NDSU's 8-2 start was the best 10-game start against NCAA Division I opponents in school history. It marked the fourth time since 2000 that NDSU had eight victories in the first 10 games and the second in the NCAA Division I era.

Dietz Joins 800/500 Club
    Against Kansas City, Emily Dietz became the 51st player in school history to surpass 800 career points. With eight rebounds against Oral Roberts, Dietz surpassed 500 boards for her career. She became the 31st player in school history, and fifth during the NCAA Division I era, to surpass 800 points and 500 rebounds in a career.  

Individual Offensive Ratings
    According to HerHoopStats.com, the Bison have five players with an individual offensive rating over 100. An advanced statistic by Dean Oliver, individual offensive rating estimates the number of points produced by a player per 100 total individual possessions. Emily Dietz leads the team with a 119.3, ranking 106th in the country. Last year, Dietz finished the season ranked 839th with a 100.5. Michelle Gaislerova (115.3), Ryan Cobbins (109.1), Emily Behnke (103.5) and Olivia Skibiel (102.7) are in the 90th percentile among NCAA Division I players.

Deaton is Eligible for 2020-21 Season
    On Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 4:28 p.m., the NCAA passed a blanket waiver that allowed all transfers from one NCAA Division I school to another to be eligible this season. The waiver allowed sophomore transfer Kadie Deaton to become eligible, after her waiver had been previously denied. Deaton proceeded to score six points and grab two rebounds in 14 minutes in NDSU's victory over North Dakota later that night. 

Experience on the Fly
    Seniors Emily Dietz and Michelle Gaislerova are the only two players on the NDSU roster with more than two years experience playing at the NCAA Division I level. With 84.6 percent of the NDSU roster having two years or less experience, the Bison rank 16th in the country. Murray State, Ole Miss and Indiana State all have a roster complete with players with two or less years of NCAA Division I experience.

Gaislerova, Cobbins Honored by The Summit League
    Michelle Gaislerova and Ryan Cobbins were honored by the Summit League last year. Gaislerova earned a spot on the All-Summit League Honorable Mention team, while Cobbins was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team. 
    Gaislerova led the Bison with 13.1 points per game in league play, ranking 10th in the league. She ranked seventh in the league in 3-point percentage at 39.4, while leading the Summit League in free throw percentage at 97.4 percent. Her 28 3-pointers were the sixth most in the league. 
    Cobbins averaged 10.1 points per game in league play, ranking third among newcomers to the league. She also averaged 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in league play. Cobbins ranked 10th in the league in free throw percentage at 78 percent.  

Gaislerova Joins 1,000 Point Club
    Junior Michelle Gaislerova scored 18 points against Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 13, becoming the 34th member of the 1,000 point club. Needing just one point to start the game, Gaislerova scored the opening basket of the game. She is the seventh player to have done so with all years being played during the NCAA Division I era. 

A New 3-Point Streak
    The Bison went 0-of-14 from 3-point range against Valparaiso last year, 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 two in each of the last 45 games. 

Young and Ready to Run
    The Bison enter the 2020-21 season as one of the youngest teams in America. The Bison average 19.769 years old (year only), which ranks as the 12th youngest team in the country. Oral Roberts, LaSalle, Incarnate Word and Montana State all average 19.3 years. 

Gaislerova Makes NCAA History
    With her third made free throw against Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 13, junior Michelle Gaislerova broke the NCAA Division I women's record for most consecutive free throws made with 71. Gaislerova extended the streak to 75 before missing her second attempt against North Dakota on Feb. 23. Her total is the third longest streak in all NCAA women's divisions.

Last Time Against South Dakota State
    A 14-2 run in the first half sent the second-seeded South Dakota State women's basketball team to a 76-56 win over sixth-seeded North Dakota State March 9 in the Summit League Tournament Semifinals. It was the second semifinal appearance in school history for the Bison. The Bison ended the season at 11-19, while South Dakota State moved to 23-9.
    Michelle Gaislerova lead the Bison with 14 points, while Ryan Cobbins had 12. Rylee Nudell finished with nine points and a team-high six rebounds. Cobbins added four boards, while Sofija Zivaljevic had three assists. Tori Nelson led the Jackrabbits with a game-high 21 points.
    NDSU was 18-of-48 (37.5%) from the field and 4-of-16 from 3-point range. South Dakota State was 29-of-63 (46%) from the floor and 8-of-26 (30.8%) from downtown. NDSU was 16-of-22 (72.7%) at the free throw line, while SDSU was 10-of-14 (71.4%). The Jackrabbits had a 23-8 advantage in points off turnovers and 40-24 advantage in the paint. The loss was the 13th-straight to the Jackrabbits for NDSU.
    Neither team led by more than one possession for the first seven minutes. With the game tied at 13-13, SDSU went on a 14-2 run that carried over into the second quarter for a 27-15 lead. NDSU cut the lead to 38-30 at the half, but SDSU opened the second half on a 12-2 run. The Bison cut the lead to 54-39 with 1:54 left in the third quarter, but the Jackrabbits responded with a 14-3 run to put the game away. 

Last Time Out
    Three Bison scored in double figures Feb. 6, as the North Dakota State women's basketball team beat Oral Roberts 78-63 for a weekend sweep of the Golden Eagles at the Scheels Center.
    The victory moved the Bison to 14-4 overall and 9-3 in Summit League play, while Oral Roberts dropped to 6-10 overall and 4-4 in the league. NDSU's nine league wins are the most since the 2010-11 team went 9-9.
    Ryan Cobbins had her second career double-double, finishing with 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Heaven Hamling scored 14 points, while Reneya Hopkins added 13. Faith Paramore led the Golden Eagles with 17 points off the bench. Emily Dietz had six rebounds, while Emily Behnke finished with five. Hamling tied a career-high with six assists, while Hopkins added three. Behnke and Hopkins each had a career-high two blocked shots.
    NDSU was 29-of-62 (46.8%) from the floor and 11-of-28 (39.3%) from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles were 25-of-61 (41%) from the field and 3-of-10 from downtown. The Bison were 9-of-10 at the free throw line, while Oral Roberts was 10-of-16 (62.5%).
    The Bison used an early 15-4 run over a 3:23 span to take a 17-8 lead in the first quarter. NDSU led by as much as 12 in the first quarter before Oral Roberts scored the final six points, cutting NDSU's lead to 25-19 after the first quarter. A basket by Tierney Coleman with 6:17 left in the first half tied the game at 30-30, but NDSU went on an 8-1 run to take the lead for good after the layup. The Bison scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter and pushed the lead to 18 in the final minute.

NDSU Women's Basketball Picked Fifth In Summit League Preseason Poll
    The North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team was voted fifth in the Summit League preseason poll. This is the first time NDSU has been picked inside the top five since being projected for fourth in 2012. Defending champion South Dakota was tabbed the preseason favorite with 25 first-place votes, while South Dakota State was picked second with 11 first-place votes. Western Illinois was picked for third, while Oral Roberts was tabbed fourth. NDSU was picked for fifth, followed by Kansas City and Denver. North Dakota and Omaha round out the poll in eighth and ninth, respectively. The Bison received 371 points, sitting just five behind Oral Roberts for fourth. Kansas City, the defending WAC Champion who returns to the league this year, had 323 points. 

The Jory Collins Show
    Tune in every Monday night to the Bison Basketball Radio Show with Jory Collins on Bison 1660. Collins and Keith Brake recap the last few games and preview the upcoming schedule. The show airs at 7 p.m. on the following dates: Dec. 7, Dec. 14, Dec. 28, Jan. 11, Jan. 18, Jan. 25, Feb. 1, Feb. 8, Feb. 15, Feb. 22, March 1 and March 15. 

Bison Add Four on National Signing Day
    The North Dakota State women's basketball team has announced four additions to the roster, beginning in the 2021-22 season. Ellie Dague, a 5-10 guard from Henning, Minn., Katie Hildebrandt, a 6-2 forward from McFarland, Wis., Abbey Kubas, a 5-11 forward from Dickinson, N.D. and Sophie Olson, a 5-10 guard/forward from El Dorado Hills, Calif. are all set to join the Bison.
    Dague is ranked the fifth-best guard in Minnesota and the 13th best player overall. She was named to the Minnesota 1A All-State team while averaging 20.7 points and 5.3 rebounds as a junior.
    Hildebrandt is ranked the 18th best player and second-best small forward in Wisconsin. She averaged 14.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game as a junior.
    Kubas is ranked the 12th best player and fourth-best small forward in North Dakota. She hit the 1,000 point mark as a junior, while averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds per game.
    Olson is ranked the 10th best shooting guard and 43rd player overall in California. She led Oak Ridge High School to the state tournament in 2018 and 2020. Olson is the younger sister of Bison redshirt-sophomore Marie Olson.

On The Horizon
    The Bison will close the regular season next weekend at South Dakota. The games will be held on Saturday, Feb. 27 and Sunday, Feb. 28 in Vermillion. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. for both games.