THIS WEEK         
The North Dakota State (23-2, 12-0 Summit) women's basketball team hosts St. Thomas (13-13, 6-6 Summit) on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. The Bison close the week at South Dakota (20-6, 10-2 Summit) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Watch: Both games will broadcast on the Summit League Network for subscribers. The Thursday night contest will also be televised statewide on WDAY Xtra with Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Amy Ruley (analyst) and Sam Goetzinger (sideline) will be on the call.
 
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) will be on the call for both games on Bison 1660 with pregame coverage starting 30 minutes prior to tip-off. 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.
 
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 February: Feb. 2, Feb. 9, Feb. 16 and Feb. 23.
 
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 Wednesday nights on WDAY Xtra beginning on Nov. 26.
 
PROMOTIONS
The Thursday night contest against St. Thomas will be the Play 4 Kay Pink Game to recognize those who have battled cancer. The team will wear pink uniforms and fans are also encouraged to wear pink. The 2025-26 promotional schedule and details can be found here.
 
SCHEDULE UPDATE
The South Dakota State game will move from Thursday, February 26 to Wednesday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m., at Scheels Center. All previously purchased tickets will be valid for Wednesday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU rolled past North Dakota on the road, 87-51, on Sunday. Avery Koenen led the way tying a season-high 29 points with a game-high 13 rebounds and a career-high four blocks. It marked her 17th double-double of the season.
 
NDSU SCENARIOS TO KNOW
The Bison enter the week the chance to clinch the Summit League regular season title for the first time in program history with the following scenarios:
- Post wins over St. Thomas and South Dakota this week to clinch at least a share of the title.
- Record a 2-0 record this week and at least go 1-1 next week to clinch the outright title.
- The Bison have never been the No. 1 seed in the Summit League Tournament.
 
THE SERIES VS. ST. THOMAS
This will be the 11th all-time meeting between NDSU and St. Thomas dating back to 1980 with the Bison leading the series, 9-1. NDSU has won each the last eight meetings in the series, including a 75-66 win at St. Thomas earlier this season. Avery Koenen led the way with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
 
THE SERIES VS. SOUTH DAKOTA
This will be the 88th all-time meeting between NDSU and South Dakota dating back to 1977 with the Bison leading the series, 49-38. NDSU has won each of the last seven meetings, including 79-56 win earlier this season in Fargo. Five Bison reached double digits in scoring with Avery Koenen logging a game-high 22 points with 10 rebounds.
 
21 STRAIGHT WINS
The Bison enter the week on a 21-game win streak, which is their longest since 2004-05 when the Bison assembled a 24-game win streak. The 21-game win streak is the second-longest active win streak in the nation behind UConn (43 straight wins). The Bison and Huskies are the only two teams in the country with an active win streak of 20 or more games.
 
EXTRA WIN STREAK NUGGETS
- The 21-game win streak spans 11 states (North Dakota, Florida, Utah, Illinois, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska).
- The Bison posted undefeated months of December (6-0) and January (9-0).
- Avery Koenen is averaging a team-high 19.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game over the span.
- The Bison have never trailed in 12 of the 21 wins.
- NDSU is averaging 83.7 points with a +26.7 scoring margin over the stretch.
 
ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
The Bison have reached the 20-win mark for the third straight season with a 23-2 overall record. It marks the first time since 2002-05 that NDSU has assembled three straight 20-win seasons. NDSU has also reached the 23-win mark this season, which is the most in the NDSU Division I era and most since NDSU posted a 26-1 record in 2004-05.
 
12-0 IN SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY
NDSU is the only unbeaten team in Summit League play and is off to a 12-0 mark for the first time in program history. It marks the third straight season and fourth time overall that NDSU has started league play with at least a 4-0 record.
 
HANDLING BUSINESS ON THE ROAD
The Bison have started the season with an 11-0 mark in true road games this season. It marks the best start to a road schedule since 1996-97 when NDSU posted a 12-0 record. The 11-game road win streak is the third-longest active streak in the nation. NDSU joins UConn as the only two schools in the country with at least 10 road wins and zero losses.
 
AP TOP 25 POLL AND NCAA NET RANKINGS
The Bison are receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for the second straight week with two votes and are currently slotted No. 41 in the NCAA NET rankings, which is the highest in the Summit League.
 
COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL
For the ninth straight week, the Bison have been ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. NDSU stayed at No. 1 for the third consecutive week and picked up 29 first-place votes, which is the highest in program history. South Dakota State (No. 6) and South Dakota (No. 22) are the only other Summit League schools in the poll.
 
ROLLED THROUGH NON-CON PLAY
The Bison assembled an 11-2 overall record in non-conference play to start the season, including a 6-0 mark in the month of December. It marked the best start to a season since 2004-05 when NDSU won each of its first 24 games before falling short at TCU on Feb. 22, 2005.
 
OUR STARTING FIVE
The Bison have used the same starting lineup combination of Molly Lenz, Marisa Frost, Avery Koenen, Jocelyn Schiller and Abby Krzewinski for all 25 games. NDSU is 1-of-14 teams in the country that has used the same combination all season so far.
 
WIRE-TO-WIRE WINS
The Bison have notched wire-to-wire wins in 12 of the their 23 wins this season. NDSU hasn't trailed in eight of its 11 Summit League wins this season.
 
HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
NDSU enters the week ranked in the top 20 nationally in both field goal percentage (7th, 48.8) and scoring offense (18th, 81.6). NDSU has scored 90 or more points in three of its last five games, including a season-best 102 in the win at Omaha. NDSU is 14-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points.
 
WIDE MARGINS
The Bison are slotted eighth in the nation with a +22.8 scoring margin. NDSU has notched nine Summit League wins by at least 20 points. The Bison posted a +55 scoring margin in the win over Omaha on Jan. 10, which was the largest in league play.
 
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
The Bison rank ninth in the nation with 11.6 turnovers per game the season. Jocelyn Schiller leads the Summit League with a 1.84 assist/turnover ratio.
 
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
The Bison have held seven opponents to under 50 points this season, including limiting Saint Mary's and 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. Kansas City (49), UNI (49), Campbell (49), Denver (44), Omaha (39), Bethune-Cookman (36) and Saint Mary's (36) were all held below 50 points this season.
 
BENCH PRODUCTION
The NDSU bench has netted 20 or more points in 12 games this season. Karrington Asp has come off the bench in all 25 games and has contributed 11.2 points with 5.2 rebounds over 19.5 minutes per game. She also ranks second on the team with 17 total blocks.
 
MID-MAJOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD SEMIFINALIST
Avery Koenen was selected as a semifinalist for the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award. Koenen is one of 10 semifinalists and the first-ever Bison named to the list. She's also one of two players in the Summit League to earn the recognition, joining Brooklyn Meyer from South Dakota State.
 
THERE'S ONLY ONE AVERY KOENEN
Avery Koenen is currently the only player in the country averaging at least 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 64.0 percent or better from the field.
 
KOENEN NATIONAL RANKINGS AND STREAKS
Avery Koenen ranks in the top 15 nationally in double-doubles (3rd, 17), field goal percentage (3rd, 64.4), free throw attempts (6th, 182), defensive rebounds per game (9th, 8.6), rebounds per game (11th, 11.2), rebounds (12th, 279) and free throws (13th, 129).
 
Koenen started the season reaching double digits in scoring in each of the first 22 games this season. After only scoring seven points at Kansas City, it snapped a streak of 29 straight games dating back to last season with double digit scoring. She has also produced multiple double-double streaks this season, including seven straight from Jan. 1 at Oral Roberts to Jan. 24 vs. South Dakota. Koenen put together another stretch of six straight double-double performances from Nov. 29 vs. Bethune-Cookman to Dec. 17 vs. UTRGV.
 
KOENEN MILESTONE WATCH
Avery Koenen surpassed the 1,100 career points mark and has totaled 1,145 points over three seasons. Koenen became the 38th member of the Bison 1,000 career points club earlier this season. She is also one of only three players in the NDSU Division I era to surpass the 700 career rebounds mark with 715. Koenen also reached the 100 career steals mark last week at North Dakota with 100.
 
KOENEN IN BISON DIVISION I HISTORY
Avery Koenen has totaled the most free throws in a single-season in the Bison Division I era with a career-best 129 this season. She also ranks third with a career-high 279 rebounds and is 13 rebounds away from passing Abby Plucker (292, 2010-11) for the most rebounds in a season in the Division I era. She is also positioned inside the top five in free throws made (3rd, 286) and rebounds (3rd, 715) in Bison Division I career history.
 
PEAK PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Avery Koenen was named the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week for the eighth time this season, which is the most in Summit League history in a single-season. She passed Kevi Luper from Oral Roberts in the 2009-10 season. The Montevideo, Minn., native tied a season-high 29 points with a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with a career-high four blocks in the win at North Dakota.
 
COLLINS ON MIDSEASON WATCH LIST FOR MID-MAJOR COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Head coach Jory Collins was named to the midseason watch list for the 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award. Collins is one of only 10 coaches named to the midseason watch list. He's also one of two head coaches in the Summit League on the list, joining Aaron Johnston from South Dakota State.
 
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.
 
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 45-6 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 three straight 20-win seasons. He recently reached the 100-win mark with a 121-84 overall record. His 121 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 320-142 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.
 
UP NEXT
NDSU will be back in action hosting South Dakota State on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.