THIS WEEK         
The North Dakota State (26-3, 15-1 Summit) women's basketball team earned the top seed in the Summit League Championship and will face the winner of ninth-seeded North Dakota and eighth-seeded Omaha on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 25 minutes after game two between South Dakota State and Kansas City at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
TOURNAMENT COVERAGE
Watch: The first-round game, all four quarterfinals and the two semifinals will be televised on Midco Sports and be streamed on the Summit League Network powered by the Midco Sports Plus app. Sunday's championship game set for 3 p.m. CT and will be televised live on CBS Sports Network.
 
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) and Emily Dietz (analyst) will be on the call for each game 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.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU rolled past North Dakota, 95-70, in the regular season finale in Fargo to secure its first Summit League regular season title in program history. Avery Koenen led the way with 29 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and tied a career-high 13 free throws on 16 attempts. She also hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds for her 19th double-double of the season.
 
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.
 
WELCOME TO MARCH
NDSU earned a top three seed in the Summit League Tournament for a third straight season and the top seed for the first time in program history. The Bison have a 5-16 overall record in the Summit League Tournament dating back to 2009, including a 4-6 mark under head coach Jory Collins and one championship game appearance in 2024.
 
ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
The Bison have reached the 20-win mark for the third straight season with a 26-3 overall record. It marks the first time since 2002-05 that NDSU has assembled three straight 20-win seasons. NDSU has also reached the 26-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.
 
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 are receiving votes in the USA Today WBCA Coaches Poll for the second straight week and have also earned votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll at different points this season. NDSU is also slotted No. 45 in the NCAA NET rankings, which is the second-highest in the Summit League behind South Dakota State (43).
 
COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL
For the 13th straight week, the Bison have been ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. NDSU held the No. 1 spot for four straight weeks before coming in at No. 3 this week with three first-place votes. South Dakota State (No. 4) is the only other Summit League school 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.
 
WIRE-TO-WIRE WINS
The Bison have notched wire-to-wire wins in 12 of the their 26 wins this season. NDSU hasn't trailed 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, 48.7) and scoring offense (18th, 80.5). NDSU is 16-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points.
 
WIDE MARGINS
The Bison are slotted eighth in the nation with a +20.7 scoring margin. NDSU has 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.
 
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
The Bison rank eighth in the nation with 11.6 turnovers per game the season. Jocelyn Schiller leads the Summit League with a 1.67 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 13 games this season. Karrington Asp has come off the bench in all 29 games and has contributed 11.1 points with 4.9 rebounds over 19.6 minutes per game. She also ranks second on the team with 20 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 19.0 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 free throw attempts (2nd, 223), field goal percentage (5th, 64.7), double-doubles (7th, 19), free throws (8th, 159), defensive rebounds per game (9th, 8.5), rebounds per game (11th, 11.0) and rebounds (12th, 320).
 
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 1,231points 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 756. Koenen has hauled in 320 rebounds this season, which ranks third on the NDSU all-time single-season list and is 32 rebounds away from passing Kim Brekke (351, 1981-82) for the most in Bison history.
 
KOENEN IN BISON DIVISION I HISTORY
Avery Koenen has totaled the most free throws (141), field goals (198) and rebounds (300) in a single-season in the Bison Division I era. She enters the week with 558 total points this season, which ranks second on the Division I single-season points list. Koenen needs eight points to pass Brooke LeMar (565, 2014-15) for the top spot. On the Division I career list, Koenen has drained the most free throws with 316. She also ranks seventh with 1,231 points and is slotted third on the rebounding list with 756.
 
PEAK PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Avery Koenen was named the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week for the eighth time this season on Feb. 17, 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 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 124-85 overall record. His 123 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 323-143 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.
 
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.