Thursday, February 16
Fargo, N.D.
7 p.m.
North Dakota State Athletics
vs
Kansas City
Photo by: Zachary Lucy
NDSU Women’s Basketball Welcomes Kansas City and Oral Roberts to Scheels Center
2/14/2023 2:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (14-10, 8-6 Summit) women's basketball team returns home this week against Kansas City (7-18, 3-11 Summit) on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. The Bison will then take on Oral Roberts (11-14, 8-6 Summit) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m. at Scheels Center.
GAME COVERAGE
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) will be on the call for both games on Bison 1660.
Watch: The game against Kansas City will be available on ESPN+, while the contest against Oral Roberts will be available on ESPN3. Both games will also be available on WDAY Xtra with Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Amy Ruley (analyst) and Logan Campbell (sideline) on the call.
GoBison.com: Live statistics, audio and video links are available on GoBison.com.
SUMMIT LEAGUE FOOD FIGHT
The NDSU Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) will be collecting food and monetary donations throughout the month of February in support of the Summit League Food Fight, a competition among league schools to collect the most donations for their local food pantries.
BISON QUICK HITS
Four Bison reached double digits in scoring as NDSU came up short at Denver, 83-71. Heaven Hamling led the way for the Bison (14-10, 8-6 Summit) with a team-high 14 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
LOOKING AT SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY
Entering the final two weeks of regular season action, the Bison are 8-6 in Summit League play and are in a three-way tie for second place in the conference with Oral Roberts and North Dakota. NDSU is averaging 71.8 points per game, while its opponents are averaging 72.1 in Summit League play. Heaven Hamling (15.9) and Elle Evans (12.8) are both averaging double figures in scoring.
TOUGH DEFENSE
NDSU is limiting opponents to 68.5 points per game this season, which ranks third in the Summit League. The Bison have held nine opponents to 65 points or less, including a season-low 43 points against Denver.
COMFORTABLE BEHIND THE ARC
The Bison drained a season-high 14 triples on 31 attempts with six different players posting at least one in the win over Omaha. That total ranks tied for the sixth-most in a single-game in NDSU history and was the third time this season the Bison have notched 10 or more triples.
BALL MOVEMENT
The Bison have been moving the ball around the floor averaging 13.8 assists per game this season, which ranks third in the Summit League. Heaven Hamling has handed out a team-best and career-high 87 assists, while Abby Schulte has distributed a career-high 75.
NDSU handed out a season-high 20 assists in the win over Western Illinois with Schulte leading the way with a game-high eight. It marked the most assists in a single-game since the Bison passed out 21 against Waldorf on Dec. 22, 2019.
HEAVY WORKLOAD
Heaven Hamling and Elle Evans have both started all 24 games this season and averaging over 30 minutes per game. Evans is averaging 31.9 minutes, while Hamling is logging a team-high 33.1 minutes per game. Over three seasons at NDSU, Hamling is averaging 32.6 minutes per contest, which ranks fourth all-time in Bison history.
HEAVEN DOING HEAVEN THINGS
Heaven Hamling has established herself as one of the best three-point shooters in the Summit League and currently ranks in the top five in three-pointers per game (2nd, 2.38), three-pointers (2nd, 57) and three-point percentage (4th, 33.3).
Hamling is also averaging a team-best and career-high 15.7 points per game this season, which ranks sixth in the Summit League. She also leads the conference and ranks 29th in the nation in free throw percentage shooting 87.1 percent. Defensively, Hamling has been disrupting opposing offenses with a career-high 54 steals, which ranks second in the Summit League. She is also positioned second in the conference in steals per game with 2.25.
Through 24 games this season, Hamling is the only player in the Summit League averaging 15.0 points per game, 3.5 assists per contest and shooting at least 33.0 percent from three.
NOT PLAYING LIKE A FRESHMAN
Elle Evans is off to a fast start in her freshman season starting all 24 games and is averaging 12.7 points per game. That total ranks 10th in the Summit League and second among freshmen.
Evans has reached the 20-point scoring plateau twice this season, including a career-high 23 points in the win over Kansas City. The Edwardsville, Ill., native has reached double digits in scoring 20 of 24 games.
Evans has also been a force on the defensive side of the court with 29 total blocks, which ranks tied for fifth in the Summit League and leads all freshmen.
BEHNKE SURGING
After not starting a game in each of her first three seasons at NDSU, Emily Behnke has started 22 games this season and has hauled in a team-high and career-best 155 rebounds. The Two Rivers, Wis., native has also notched a career-high 26 blocks this season, which ranks sixth in the Summit League.
BROWN FITS RIGHT IN
In her first season at NDSU, Taylor Brown has fit right in starting all 24 games. The Lakeville, Minn., native is averaging 9.4 points per game and has reached double digits in scoring in nine games. Brown notched her first double-double of the season with a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Minnesota.
CONTRIBUTING OFF THE BENCH
Abbie Draper and Abby Graham have both come off the bench in all 24 games this season. Graham is averaging 6.1 points per game and notched a season-high 22 points in the win over Denver, while Draper has contributed 4.7 points with 2.3 rebounds per game. Kristina Ekofo Yomane has also appeared in 23 games with two starts this season and posted a season-high 10 points with six rebounds at Denver last week.
250 CAREER WINS
Following the victory over South Dakota on Feb. 2, head coach Jory Collins earned his 250th career win. He has currently amassed a 250-114 overall record spanning 12 seasons. He notched a 199-58 mark during eight seasons at Emporia State. Collins has posted a 51-56 mark at NDSU over his first four seasons and earned his 50th win at Kansas City. His 51 wins at NDSU rank third all-time in Bison history behind Amy Ruley (671 wins) and Carolyn DeHoff (72 wins).
1,000 CAREER POINTS FOR NO. 11
Heaven Hamling has surpassed the 1,000 career points milestone with 1,274. She started her career at Stephen F. Austin State for one season in 2018-19 and netted 174 points. Hamling has totaled 1,100 points over the last three seasons at NDSU.
HISTORIC PERFORMANCE
Heaven Hamling posted a career-high 39 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and 7-of-12 shooting from three in the win over Nevada. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native also went 10-of-10 from the free throw line and added six rebounds, three steals and one assist to her stat line.
Her 39 points rank as the third-most all-time in a single-game at NDSU and marked her second career 30-point performance. Her 39 points are tied for 18th in the nation in a single-game this season.
HAMLING CHASES HISTORY
Heaven Hamling enters the 2022-23 season with the opportunity to leave her name in NDSU history. She's positioned inside the top 10 in Bison history in scoring average (6th, 14.3), three-point field goals made (4th, 181), three-point field goal percentage (3rd, .378), free throw percentage (2nd, .878), defensive rebounding average (7th, 3.8) and minutes average (4th, 32.6).
WHO'S BACK THIS YEAR?
The Bison return six letterwinnners from last season, including three starters: Heaven Hamling, Abby Schulte and Katie Hildebrandt.
NDSU GRAD
Heaven Hamling graduated in December with her degree in construction management and a minor in business administration. She will begin graduate school starting in January.
WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The roster features eight newcomers this season: Taylor Brown, Kristina Ekofo Yomane, Abbie Draper, Elle Evans, Marwa Bedziri, Abby Graham, Leah Mackenzie and Georgia Baldwin.
NEW, BUT PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE
Three of the eight newcomers on the roster this season have played at least 10 NCAA games in their careers. Taylor Brown appeared in 95 games over four seasons at American and Abbie Draper played in 26 games with 15 starts during her freshman season at Bradley last year. Georgia Baldwin also appeared in 11 games at Eastern Kentucky over the last two seasons.
NEW LOOK COACHING STAFF
The NDSU coaching staff has a new look this season with addition of assistant coaches Jaime Adams and Michaela Crall. Adams is back for her second stint with the program after spending four seasons from 2008-12 as an assistant coach. She also played at NDSU from 1997-01 and was inducted to the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
Crall comes to NDSU after spending last season at Dubuque as an assistant coach. She also played for Wisconsin for three seasons from 2013-16 before starting her career in coaching as an undergraduate coach. Emily Dietz, who played at NDSU from 2017-22 and is the all-time leader games played, returns as a graduate manager this season.
STARTING A NEW 3-POINT STREAK
NDSU shot 1-of-9 from three at Kansas State last season, which ended a streak of 56 straight games that the Bison have netted at least two triples. The Bison have bounced back and have connected at least two triples in each of their last 46 games.
NDSU has a recent history of assembling lengthy three-point streaks. The Bison went 0-of-14 from three-point range against Valparaiso in 2019-20, ending a streak of 113 straight games with at least two 3-pointers.
THIS IS OUR HOUSE
NDSU is 470-142 all-time at home dating back to 1977-78. The Bison started the season 9-0 at Scheels Center for the first time since the 2004-05 season. NDSU fell short against South Dakota State and snapped its 11-game home winning streak, which dated back to last season.
PRESEASON ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
Heaven Hamling was selected to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team. She started all 29 games last season and logged a team-high 34.4 minutes per contest. Hamling ranked ninth in the Summit League with a team-best 14.3 points per game and reached double digits in scoring in 24 of 29 games. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native led the conference in three-point field goals per game with 2.31 and three-point field goal percentage shooting 39.0 percent.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
NDSU was picked to finish fifth in the Summit League Preseason Poll. South Dakota State garnered 36 first place votes to take the top spot, while South Dakota picked up four first place votes in second place. Oral Roberts closed out the top three in third place.
BISON IN GREECE
Over the span of eight days, the Bison had the opportunity to practice, play two games and learn about the culture in Greece during a trip in August. NDSU spent the first four days in Athens before concluding the trip in Glyfada.
THE SERIES VS. KANSAS CITY
This will be the 21st all-time meeting between NDSU and Kansas City dating back to 2008 with the Roos leading the series, 11-9. Earlier this season, NDSU outscored Kansas City, 18-10, in the fourth quarter to pick up a 75-66 win. Elle Evans logged a career-high 23 points with eight rebounds. Emily Behnke also notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
THE SERIES VS. ORAL ROBERTS
This will be the 30th all-time meeting between NDSU and Oral Roberts dating back to 2006 with the Golden Eagles leading the series, 20-9. Oral Roberts has won each of the last two meetings and edged NDSU earlier this season, 75-53. Elle Evans paced the Bison with a team-high 14 points, while Taylor Brown added in 13 points.
LOOKING AHEAD
NDSU will travel to St. Thomas on Thursday, Feb. 23. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
The North Dakota State (14-10, 8-6 Summit) women's basketball team returns home this week against Kansas City (7-18, 3-11 Summit) on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. The Bison will then take on Oral Roberts (11-14, 8-6 Summit) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m. at Scheels Center.
GAME COVERAGE
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) will be on the call for both games on Bison 1660.
Watch: The game against Kansas City will be available on ESPN+, while the contest against Oral Roberts will be available on ESPN3. Both games will also be available on WDAY Xtra with Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Amy Ruley (analyst) and Logan Campbell (sideline) on the call.
GoBison.com: Live statistics, audio and video links are available on GoBison.com.
SUMMIT LEAGUE FOOD FIGHT
The NDSU Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) will be collecting food and monetary donations throughout the month of February in support of the Summit League Food Fight, a competition among league schools to collect the most donations for their local food pantries.
BISON QUICK HITS
- NDSU has dropped its last three games and enters the week in a three-way tie for second place in the Summit League with Oral Roberts and North Dakota (15-9, 8-6 Summit).
- The Bison most recently fell short at Denver, 83-71.
- Saturday will be senior day at Scheels Center as NDSU will recognize Emily Behnke, Taylor Brown and Rachel Novak before tip-off.
- Kansas City has lost its last four games and most recently dropped a 80-57 decision against St. Thomas. The Roos are 2-11 on the road this season.
- Oral Roberts enters the week on a two-game losing skid and most recently came up short against Western Illinois, 91-85. The Golden Eagles are 4-10 on the road this season.
Four Bison reached double digits in scoring as NDSU came up short at Denver, 83-71. Heaven Hamling led the way for the Bison (14-10, 8-6 Summit) with a team-high 14 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
LOOKING AT SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY
Entering the final two weeks of regular season action, the Bison are 8-6 in Summit League play and are in a three-way tie for second place in the conference with Oral Roberts and North Dakota. NDSU is averaging 71.8 points per game, while its opponents are averaging 72.1 in Summit League play. Heaven Hamling (15.9) and Elle Evans (12.8) are both averaging double figures in scoring.
TOUGH DEFENSE
NDSU is limiting opponents to 68.5 points per game this season, which ranks third in the Summit League. The Bison have held nine opponents to 65 points or less, including a season-low 43 points against Denver.
COMFORTABLE BEHIND THE ARC
The Bison drained a season-high 14 triples on 31 attempts with six different players posting at least one in the win over Omaha. That total ranks tied for the sixth-most in a single-game in NDSU history and was the third time this season the Bison have notched 10 or more triples.
BALL MOVEMENT
The Bison have been moving the ball around the floor averaging 13.8 assists per game this season, which ranks third in the Summit League. Heaven Hamling has handed out a team-best and career-high 87 assists, while Abby Schulte has distributed a career-high 75.
NDSU handed out a season-high 20 assists in the win over Western Illinois with Schulte leading the way with a game-high eight. It marked the most assists in a single-game since the Bison passed out 21 against Waldorf on Dec. 22, 2019.
HEAVY WORKLOAD
Heaven Hamling and Elle Evans have both started all 24 games this season and averaging over 30 minutes per game. Evans is averaging 31.9 minutes, while Hamling is logging a team-high 33.1 minutes per game. Over three seasons at NDSU, Hamling is averaging 32.6 minutes per contest, which ranks fourth all-time in Bison history.
HEAVEN DOING HEAVEN THINGS
Heaven Hamling has established herself as one of the best three-point shooters in the Summit League and currently ranks in the top five in three-pointers per game (2nd, 2.38), three-pointers (2nd, 57) and three-point percentage (4th, 33.3).
Hamling is also averaging a team-best and career-high 15.7 points per game this season, which ranks sixth in the Summit League. She also leads the conference and ranks 29th in the nation in free throw percentage shooting 87.1 percent. Defensively, Hamling has been disrupting opposing offenses with a career-high 54 steals, which ranks second in the Summit League. She is also positioned second in the conference in steals per game with 2.25.
Through 24 games this season, Hamling is the only player in the Summit League averaging 15.0 points per game, 3.5 assists per contest and shooting at least 33.0 percent from three.
NOT PLAYING LIKE A FRESHMAN
Elle Evans is off to a fast start in her freshman season starting all 24 games and is averaging 12.7 points per game. That total ranks 10th in the Summit League and second among freshmen.
Evans has reached the 20-point scoring plateau twice this season, including a career-high 23 points in the win over Kansas City. The Edwardsville, Ill., native has reached double digits in scoring 20 of 24 games.
Evans has also been a force on the defensive side of the court with 29 total blocks, which ranks tied for fifth in the Summit League and leads all freshmen.
BEHNKE SURGING
After not starting a game in each of her first three seasons at NDSU, Emily Behnke has started 22 games this season and has hauled in a team-high and career-best 155 rebounds. The Two Rivers, Wis., native has also notched a career-high 26 blocks this season, which ranks sixth in the Summit League.
BROWN FITS RIGHT IN
In her first season at NDSU, Taylor Brown has fit right in starting all 24 games. The Lakeville, Minn., native is averaging 9.4 points per game and has reached double digits in scoring in nine games. Brown notched her first double-double of the season with a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Minnesota.
CONTRIBUTING OFF THE BENCH
Abbie Draper and Abby Graham have both come off the bench in all 24 games this season. Graham is averaging 6.1 points per game and notched a season-high 22 points in the win over Denver, while Draper has contributed 4.7 points with 2.3 rebounds per game. Kristina Ekofo Yomane has also appeared in 23 games with two starts this season and posted a season-high 10 points with six rebounds at Denver last week.
250 CAREER WINS
Following the victory over South Dakota on Feb. 2, head coach Jory Collins earned his 250th career win. He has currently amassed a 250-114 overall record spanning 12 seasons. He notched a 199-58 mark during eight seasons at Emporia State. Collins has posted a 51-56 mark at NDSU over his first four seasons and earned his 50th win at Kansas City. His 51 wins at NDSU rank third all-time in Bison history behind Amy Ruley (671 wins) and Carolyn DeHoff (72 wins).
1,000 CAREER POINTS FOR NO. 11
Heaven Hamling has surpassed the 1,000 career points milestone with 1,274. She started her career at Stephen F. Austin State for one season in 2018-19 and netted 174 points. Hamling has totaled 1,100 points over the last three seasons at NDSU.
HISTORIC PERFORMANCE
Heaven Hamling posted a career-high 39 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and 7-of-12 shooting from three in the win over Nevada. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native also went 10-of-10 from the free throw line and added six rebounds, three steals and one assist to her stat line.
Her 39 points rank as the third-most all-time in a single-game at NDSU and marked her second career 30-point performance. Her 39 points are tied for 18th in the nation in a single-game this season.
HAMLING CHASES HISTORY
Heaven Hamling enters the 2022-23 season with the opportunity to leave her name in NDSU history. She's positioned inside the top 10 in Bison history in scoring average (6th, 14.3), three-point field goals made (4th, 181), three-point field goal percentage (3rd, .378), free throw percentage (2nd, .878), defensive rebounding average (7th, 3.8) and minutes average (4th, 32.6).
WHO'S BACK THIS YEAR?
The Bison return six letterwinnners from last season, including three starters: Heaven Hamling, Abby Schulte and Katie Hildebrandt.
NDSU GRAD
Heaven Hamling graduated in December with her degree in construction management and a minor in business administration. She will begin graduate school starting in January.
WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The roster features eight newcomers this season: Taylor Brown, Kristina Ekofo Yomane, Abbie Draper, Elle Evans, Marwa Bedziri, Abby Graham, Leah Mackenzie and Georgia Baldwin.
NEW, BUT PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE
Three of the eight newcomers on the roster this season have played at least 10 NCAA games in their careers. Taylor Brown appeared in 95 games over four seasons at American and Abbie Draper played in 26 games with 15 starts during her freshman season at Bradley last year. Georgia Baldwin also appeared in 11 games at Eastern Kentucky over the last two seasons.
NEW LOOK COACHING STAFF
The NDSU coaching staff has a new look this season with addition of assistant coaches Jaime Adams and Michaela Crall. Adams is back for her second stint with the program after spending four seasons from 2008-12 as an assistant coach. She also played at NDSU from 1997-01 and was inducted to the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
Crall comes to NDSU after spending last season at Dubuque as an assistant coach. She also played for Wisconsin for three seasons from 2013-16 before starting her career in coaching as an undergraduate coach. Emily Dietz, who played at NDSU from 2017-22 and is the all-time leader games played, returns as a graduate manager this season.
STARTING A NEW 3-POINT STREAK
NDSU shot 1-of-9 from three at Kansas State last season, which ended a streak of 56 straight games that the Bison have netted at least two triples. The Bison have bounced back and have connected at least two triples in each of their last 46 games.
NDSU has a recent history of assembling lengthy three-point streaks. The Bison went 0-of-14 from three-point range against Valparaiso in 2019-20, ending a streak of 113 straight games with at least two 3-pointers.
THIS IS OUR HOUSE
NDSU is 470-142 all-time at home dating back to 1977-78. The Bison started the season 9-0 at Scheels Center for the first time since the 2004-05 season. NDSU fell short against South Dakota State and snapped its 11-game home winning streak, which dated back to last season.
PRESEASON ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
Heaven Hamling was selected to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team. She started all 29 games last season and logged a team-high 34.4 minutes per contest. Hamling ranked ninth in the Summit League with a team-best 14.3 points per game and reached double digits in scoring in 24 of 29 games. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native led the conference in three-point field goals per game with 2.31 and three-point field goal percentage shooting 39.0 percent.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
NDSU was picked to finish fifth in the Summit League Preseason Poll. South Dakota State garnered 36 first place votes to take the top spot, while South Dakota picked up four first place votes in second place. Oral Roberts closed out the top three in third place.
BISON IN GREECE
Over the span of eight days, the Bison had the opportunity to practice, play two games and learn about the culture in Greece during a trip in August. NDSU spent the first four days in Athens before concluding the trip in Glyfada.
THE SERIES VS. KANSAS CITY
This will be the 21st all-time meeting between NDSU and Kansas City dating back to 2008 with the Roos leading the series, 11-9. Earlier this season, NDSU outscored Kansas City, 18-10, in the fourth quarter to pick up a 75-66 win. Elle Evans logged a career-high 23 points with eight rebounds. Emily Behnke also notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
THE SERIES VS. ORAL ROBERTS
This will be the 30th all-time meeting between NDSU and Oral Roberts dating back to 2006 with the Golden Eagles leading the series, 20-9. Oral Roberts has won each of the last two meetings and edged NDSU earlier this season, 75-53. Elle Evans paced the Bison with a team-high 14 points, while Taylor Brown added in 13 points.
LOOKING AHEAD
NDSU will travel to St. Thomas on Thursday, Feb. 23. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
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