THIS WEEK         
The North Dakota State (28-4) women's basketball team will make its debut in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) in the first round hosting Chattanooga (20-10) on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m., inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
 
TOURNAMENT COVERAGE
Watch: ESPN will serve as the television broadcast partner for all WBIT games, with ESPN+ airing preliminary round games, while the semifinals will air on ESPNU and the finals on ESPN2.
 
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) and Emily Dietz (analyst) will be on the call 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.
 
POSTSEASON BASKETBALL RETURNS TO FARGO
NDSU will be making its fourth straight appearance in a postseason tournament and playing at least one game at home for the third consecutive season. The Bison played in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) each of the last three seasons and advanced to the WNIT Great 8 round before falling short against Troy in overtime last year. NDSU boasts a 3-3 overall record over the last three seasons in postseason tournaments. NDSU joined Brigham Young, Utah and Texas A&M as the top four seeds in the WBIT, which were the last four teams not selected to the NCAA Tournament.
 
TICKETS
Reserved and adult general admission tickets are $17. Youth general admission and NDSU student tickets are $12. Fans can also purchase single game tickets at GoBison.com/tickets or at the ticket office. Season ticket holders have until Wednesday, March 18 at 5:00 p.m. to purchase their same seats. Season ticket holders can purchase through their GoBison.com account or stop by the ticket office in the south lobby of Scheels Center, or call the ticket office at 701.231.6378.
 
THE SERIES VS. CHATTANOOGA
This will be the first all-time meeting between NDSU and Chattanooga.
 
HOLTON CONNECTIONS
Head coach Jory Collins and Chattanooga head coach Deandra Schirmer are both natives of Holton, Kansas and attended Holton High School.
 
LOOKING BACK AT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT             
- NDSU made its second appearance in the Summit League championship game in program history before falling short against South Dakota State.
- The Bison totaled 87 points in the quarterfinal win over Omaha, which was the most an NDSU team has scored in a single-game in Summit League Tournament history.
- NDSU earned the top seed in the tournament for first time in program history.
- Avery Koenen was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 22.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She also led the tournament with 11 total assists.
- Avery Koenen netted 31 points in the semifinal win over St. Thomas, the most-ever by a Bison player in the Summit League Tournament.
 
BISON ON TOP OF THE SUMMIT
NDSU earned its first Summit League regular season title in program history this season. It marked the first time since 2004 that the Bison have won a regular season conference championship after winning the North Central Conference (NCC) 10 total times.
 
ALL-LEAGUE BISON NUGGETS
- Jory Collins is the first coach in Bison history to be named Summit League Coach of the Year.
- Avery Koenen is the first player in NDSU history to be tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year.
- Avery Koenen joins Lisa Bue (2007-08) as the only players in Bison history to garner Player of the Year honors.
- Karrington Asp the first player in Summit League history to be named both the Freshman of the Year and Sixth Woman of the Year in the same season.
- Marisa Frost and Jocelyn Schiller were both named to the Second Team for the first time in their careers.
 
ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
The Bison have reached the 20-win mark for the third straight season with a 28-4 overall record. It marks the first time since 2002-05 that NDSU has assembled three straight 20-win seasons. NDSU has also reached the 28-win mark this season, which is the most in the NDSU Division I era and most since the 1999-00 season.
 
23 STRAIGHT WINS
The Bison assembled a 23-game win streak this season before falling short against South Dakota State on Feb. 25. It marked the longest win streak since 2004-05 and the longest in Summit League history.
 
15 SUMMIT LEAGUE WINS
NDSU picked up a program record 15 Summit League wins this season. The Bison also started league play winning each of their first 14 games. In Summit League play this season, NDSU averaged 81.4 points per game and posted a +22.8 margin of victory. Avery Koenen led the way with 19.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game over that span.
 
HANDLING BUSINESS ON THE ROAD
The Bison have notched a 12-0 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 12-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.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
The Bison have received votes in both the USA Today WBCA Coaches Poll and Associated Press Top 25 Poll at different points this season. Entering selection Sunday, NDSU was slotted No. 47 in the NCAA NET Rankings.
 
COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL
After starting the season unranked, the Bison have now been slotted inside the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll for the 14th straight week. NDSU climbed to the No. 1 spot for the four straight weeks for the first time in program history and is currently positioned at No. 5.
 
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.
 
WIRE-TO-WIRE WINS
The Bison have notched wire-to-wire wins in 13 of the their 28 wins this season. NDSU also didn't trail in eight of its 15 Summit League wins this season.
 
HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
NDSU enters the week ranked in the top 20 nationally in both field goal percentage (8th, 48.2) and scoring offense (19th, 79.2). NDSU is 17-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points.
 
WIDE MARGINS
The Bison are slotted eighth in the nation with a +20.3 scoring margin. NDSU notched 10 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.
 
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
The Bison have held eight 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, 37), 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 13 games this season. Karrington Asp has come off the bench in 31 games and has contributed 10.8 points with 4.9 rebounds over 19.7 minutes per game. She also ranks second on the team with 20 total blocks. Asp made her first career start against Omaha in the Summit League Tournament quarterfinals and posted 11 points with eight rebounds.
 
100 CAREER GAMES CLUB
Molly Lenz, Avery Koenen and Abby Krzewinski enter the week with 99 total games played. The trio would join Abby Graham as the only players on the roster to have appeared in 100 career games. Graham has played in a team-high 121 games over four seasons.
 
COLLINS FINALIST FOR MID-MAJOR COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Head coach Jory Collins was named a finalist for the 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award. Collins is one of five finalists named to the list and joins Aaron Johnston from South Dakota State as the only Summit League coaches to earn the honors.
 
MID-MAJOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALIST
Avery Koenen was selected as a finalist for the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award. Koenen is one of only five finalists and the first-ever Bison named to the list. She joins Brooklyn Meyer from South Dakota State as the only players from the Summit League to earn the recognition.
 
THERE'S ONLY ONE AVERY KOENEN
Avery Koenen is currently the only player in the country averaging at least 19.0 points and 10.0 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 free throw attempts (3rd, 242), field goal percentage (4th, 64.7), double-doubles (7th, 20), free throws (8th, 175), defensive rebounds per game (10th, 8.5), rebounds per game (12th, 10.9) and rebounds (12th, 348).
 
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 MILESTONES
Avery Koenen enters the week three points away from the 1,300 points mark with 1,297 over three seasons. She is also one of only three players in the NDSU Division I era to surpass the 700 career rebounds mark with 784. Koenen has grabbed a career-best 348 rebounds this season and is four rebounds away from passing Kim Brekke (351, 1981-82) for the most in a single-season in NDSU history.
 
KOENEN IN BISON DIVISION I HISTORY
Avery Koenen has assembled one of the most historic seasons in the NDSU Division I era. The Montevideo, Minn., native holds the top spot in several categories in a single-season in the Bison Division I era: points (1st, 624), scoring average (1st, 19.5), field goals made (1st, 223), field goal percentage (1st, .646), free throws made (1st, 175), free throws attempted (1st, 242), rebounds (1st, 348) and rebounding average (1st, 10.9).
 
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.
 
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 47-7 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 126-86 overall record. His 126 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 325-144 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.
 
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. Georgia Ell also joined the roster in January as an early enrollee after signing with NDSU back in November.