THIS WEEK         
The North Dakota State (5-2) women's basketball team is set to host Montana State (5-1) on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., before traveling to Weber State (2-5) on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. CT in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Watch: The game against Montana State will air nationally on CBS Sports Network with Alex Heinert (play-by-play), Missy Heidrick (analyst) and Ana Bellinghausen (sideline) on the call. The contest at Weber State will broadcast on ESPN+ for subscribers.
 
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) and Emily Dietz (analyst) will be on the call on Bison 1660 for the Montana State game with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. Rieckhoff will be on the call for the contest at Weber State on 94.5 The City with pregame coverage starting at 12:30 p.m. CT. Fans can also listen to the radio broadcast for free on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.
 
GoBison.com: Live statistics, video and audio links are available on GoBison.com/coverage.
 
PROMOTIONS
Fans are encouraged to wear their ugliest holiday sweater for the game against Montana State. The 2025-26 promotional schedule can be found here.
 
BISON BASKETBALL RADIO COACHES SHOW
The Bison Basketball Radio Show with NDSU men's basketball head coach David Richman and women's basketball head coach Jory Collins will broadcast live on Bison 1660 from the Holiday Inn Fargo on Mondays throughout the season from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Fans are invited to attend in-person and submit questions for the show as hosts Sam Neidermann and Andy Rieckhoff break down the week of Bison basketball and preview the upcoming games. The show airs the following dates in December: Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and Dec. 30 (Tuesday).
 
BISON BASKETBALL TV COACHES SHOW
Join host Sam Neidermann, men's basketball head coach David Richman and women's basketball head coach Jory Collins for highlights, analysis and feature stories throughout the season on The Bison Basketball Show airing at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays on WDAY Xtra beginning on Nov. 26.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Bison picked up their third straight win after cruising past Bethune-Cookman, 85-36, at the Osprey Thanksgiving Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. Five Bison reached double digits in scoring with Avery Koenen leading the way with a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. Marisa Frost also reached double digits in scoring for the third straight game with 16 points and three rebounds.
 
THE SERIES VS. MONTANA STATE
This will be the seventh all-time meeting between NDSU and Montana State dating back to 1976 with the Bison leading the series, 4-2. In the most recent matchup, the Bobcats topped the Bison, 65-45, in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge on Jan. 3, 2024 in Bozeman. Avery Koenen hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds with five points. Montana State also enters the week ranked No. 7 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
 
THE SERIES VS. WEBER STATE
This will be the first all-time meeting between NDSU and Weber State.
 
BISON IN THE BIG SKY-SUMMIT LEAGUE CHALLENGE
The Bison went 2-0 in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge last season after picking up a 83-74 win over Montana and a 74-47 win at Eastern Washington. NDSU boasts a 3-1 record in Big Sky-Summit League Challenge games dating back to 2023 with the only loss coming against Montana State in 2023.
 
ROAD SWING FOR THE BISON
After the matchup with Tulane on Nov. 21, the Bison will play six of their next seven games away from home. The only home game in that stretch will be against Montana State on Dec. 3 for the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge.
 
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
The Bison enter the week having held each of their last two opponents under 50 points, including limiting Bethune-Cookman to a season-low 36 points. It marked the lowest point total NDSU has held an opponent to since Jamestown scored 36 points on Dec. 19, 2021. NDSU has limited three opponents to 50 points or less this season (UNI - 49, Campbell - 49, Bethune-Cookman - 36).
 
PEAK PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Avery Koenen posted her second straight 20-point game with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the win over Tulane. She also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and tied a career-best five assists against the Green Wave. Koenen was named the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week for the first time this season on Nov. 25.
 
KOENEN AGAINST THE HUSKERS
Avery Koenen netted a game-high 26 points after connecting on a season-best 11 field goals on 15 attempts against Nebraska. She also hauled in a game-best nine rebounds over a season-high 35 minutes of action. Her 26 points against Nebraska were the most points for a Bison player against a power four opponent since Emily Moran netted 28 points against Minnesota on Nov. 20, 2007.
 
ONE OF THE BEST IN THE NATION
Avery Koenen is shooting a team-best 72.6 percent from the field this season through the first seven games, which leads the Summit League and ranks third in the nation. Gracie Merkle (Penn St.) leads the nation shooting 74.0 percent from the field. Koenen has reached double digits in scoring in all seven games this season and in each of her last 14 games stretching back to last season.
 
EXTRA STAT NUGGETS
- Head coach Jory Collins earned his 100th career win at NDSU against Concordia-Moorhead. His 103 wins are the most wins in the NDSU Division I era and second-most in Bison history behind Amy Ruley (671 wins).
- Head coach Jory Collins picked up his 300th career win against Tulane earlier this season.
- Marisa Frost has reached double digits in scoring in each of her last three games, including a season-best 21 points in the win over Campbell last week.
- Abby Graham is approaching her 100th career game with 99 games played over four seasons.
- Karrington Asp has come off the bench in all seven games this season and is averaging 11.0 points per game. She has reached double digits in scoring in five games, including a season-high 16 points against Concordia-Moorhead.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL        
For the second time in the last three seasons, NDSU was picked to finish second in the Summit League Preseason Poll. The Bison garnered 498 total points with two first-place votes to earn the second spot. South Dakota State was picked first with 558 points and 34 first-place votes, while Oral Roberts closed out the top three with 410 points in third place.
 
All-SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON TEAM
Avery Koenen and Jocelyn Schiller were selected to the All-Summit League Preseason First Team, while Marisa Frost was named to the All-Summit League Preseason Second Team. Koenen averaged 17.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in Summit League play last season. On the defensive end, she was slotted third in league play with 17 total blocks. Schiller was named the Summit League Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Summit League Freshman Team last season at North Dakota. She averaged 13.2 points with 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for the Fighting Hawks. Frost averaged 28.8 minutes per game to go along with 10.1 points per game. Her 10.1 points per game ranked third on the team in Summit League play and she reached double figures in nine games.
 
KOENEN ON PRESEASON WATCH LIST FOR MID-MAJOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Avery Koenen was named to the preseason watch list for the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award this season. Koenen becomes the first player in Bison history to earn a spot on the 25-player preseason watch list. She's also one of only two players in the Summit League to earn the preseason recognition, joining Brooklyn Meyer from South Dakota State.
 
COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL
The Bison are receiving votes in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll for the fourth straight week after garnering 20 votes this week. NDSU received votes in the poll three times last season and hasn't been ranked since 2023 at No. 25.
 
ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
The Bison have reached the 20-win mark each of the last two seasons after posting a 21-12 overall record last season. It marked the first time NDSU has assembled back-to-back 20-win seasons under head coach Jory Collins and first since posting three straight from 2002-05.
 
BATTLE TESTED
Following its third straight appearance in the WNIT last season, NDSU has played extended seasons deep into March. The Bison played a combined 33 games last season, tied for the second-longest season in program history. After recording the longest season in program history in 2023-24 with 34 total games, NDSU has combined to play a total of 77 games over the last two seasons. NDSU boasts a 43-24 record over that span.
 
SCHEDULE TIDBITS
The Bison are set to play 29 total regular season games with 13 games inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. NDSU will play 13 non-conference contests and will face five opponents that participated in a postseason tournament last season, including Northern Iowa, Gonzaga, Nebraska, Campbell and Montana State. NDSU will open the 16-game Summit League schedule at Oral Roberts on Jan. 1.
 
OUR HOUSE
NDSU posted a 13-3 record inside Scheels Center last season. The Bison have won at least 13 home games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since assembling a streak of 11 straight from 1994-05. NDSU is a combined 39-6 over the last four seasons at Scheels Center, including a 13-1 mark in 2023-24.
 
THE HEAD COACH
Head coach Jory Collins is in his seventh season at NDSU and has led the Bison to back-to-back 20-win seasons. He recently reached the 100-win mark with a 103-84 overall record. His 100 wins are the most in the NDSU Division I era and the second-most in Bison history behind Amy Ruley (671 wins). Collins also reached the 300 career win mark with a 302-142 overall record, which includes eight seasons at Emporia State from 2010-18. Collins is the second-longest tenured coach in the Summit League in his seventh season.
 
Under Collins, the Bison made their first-ever appearance in the Summit League Championship game in 2024 and three straight appearances in WNIT. NDSU has also had at least one All-Summit League First Team and an All-Summit League Freshman Team selection each of the last two seasons.
 
RETURNING ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS
NDSU returns three All-Summit League selections this season. Avery Koenen was selected to the All-Summit League First Team for the first time in her career last season. Molly Lenz earned a spot on the Summit League All-Newcomer Team and Marisa Frost was tabbed to the Summit League All-Freshman Team.
 
SCHILLER JOINS THE BISON
After spending her freshman season at North Dakota, Jocelyn Schiller transferred to NDSU last spring. She was named the Summit League Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Summit League Freshman Team last season. She averaged 13.2 points with 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for the Fighting Hawks. Schiller started all 31 games and led all freshmen in the Summit League with a team-high 89 assists and team-best 40 steals. She also averaged 16.3 points per game in Summit League play, which led all freshmen.
 
FRESH FACES IN FARGO
NDSU welcomed three transfers to the roster over offseason with additions of Jocelyn Schiller, Lily Niebuhr and Audrey Martinez-Stewart. Niebuhr appeared in 55 games over three seasons at Indiana State after taking a medical redshirt last season. Martinez-Stewart started all 57 games she appeared in over two seasons at Missouri-St. Louis.
 
YOUNG BISON
The Bison added three freshman to the roster with the addition of Sophie Hawkinson, McKenna Johnson and Karrington Asp. Hawkinson was the as the ninth-ranked prospect in Minnesota according to Prep Girls Hoops, while Johnson was the second-ranked prospect in North Dakota according to Prep Girls Hoops. Asp enters her redshirt freshman season after joining the Bison last January as an early enrollee.
 
STERN ANNOUNCES MEDICAL RETIREMENT
Claire Stern announced in September that she will no longer pursue playing career for the Bison and will medically retire from basketball. Stern appeared in 32 games off the bench and logged 13.7 minutes per game in her freshman season. 
 
UP NEXT
NDSU will travel to Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Dec. 11. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.