THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (4-3) women’s basketball team is set to take on Montana (4-3) on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., before traveling to Eastern Washington (2-5) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. CT in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.
GAME COVERAGE
Watch: The contest against Montana will be available on WDAY Xtra and the Summit League Network through the Midco Sports Plus app for subscribers. Dom Izzo (play-by-play) and Amy Ruley (analyst) will be on the call. The game at Eastern Washington 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 game against Montana with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. The contest at Eastern Washington will broadcast on The City 94.5 FM with Rieckhoff on the call and pregame coverage starting at 3:30 p.m. CT
GoBison.com: Live statistics, audio and video links are available on GoBison.com.
PROMOTIONS
The first 300 fans will receive a free NDSU reversible bucket hat against Montana. The game will also be a stripe out with fans encouraged to wear the color of their assigned section below:
Green sections: 106-112 & 118-124 (north & south sides)
Yellow sections: 101-105, 113-117, 201-208, club seats and courtside seating (east and west sides)
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU tied a season-high 10 three-pointers to help pick up a 72-59 win over the College of Charleston on the road. Molly Lenz sparked the Bison with 14 points in the first half on 4-of-7 shooting from three. She went on to finish with a career-high 17 points with two rebounds and one steal. Abbie Draper also tied a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with nine points. Marisa Frost rounded out the top performers providing 11 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the free throw line off the bench.
LAST SEASON IN THE BIG SKY-SUMMIT CHALLENGE
NDSU fell short on the road to begin the Big Sky-Summit Challenge at Montana State, 65-45, last season. The Bison closed out the two-game stretch with a 99-73 win over Northern Arizona at Scheels Center.
THE SERIES VS. MONTANA
This will mark the fourth straight season NDSU has faced Montana in non-conference action. The Bison have won each of the last two meetings and lead the all-time series that dates back to 1977, 3-2. In their most recent meeting last season in the second round of the WNIT, NDSU topped Montana, 72-63, in Fargo. Abbie Draper paced the Bison with 18 points and seven rebounds
THE SERIES VS. EASTERN WASHINGTON
This will mark the first matchup between NDSU and Eastern Washington in the Bison Division I era and fourth time overall. The Eagles lead the all-time series that dates back to 1977, 2-1. In the most recent meeting in 1992, NDSU cruised past Eastern Washington, 82-51, in Denver, Colo.
QUICK STOP AT HOME
NDSU enters the week coming off four straight road games before hosting Montana on Wednesday night. The Bison will then go back on the road for another four straight games before closing out non-conference play against Dakota Wesleyan on Dec. 29 at Scheels Center. Over the last four games away from home, the Bison have notched a 2-2 record and Molly Lenz leads the team with 11.8 points per game over that span.
THE THIRD QUARTER IS KEY
The Bison have led at halftime in six of the first seven games this season and all three losses have come from being outscored in the third quarter. Vermont is the only team to have a halftime lead so far after building a nine-point edge, 31-22, on NDSU at the Great Alaska Shootout. The Bison went on to outscore the Catamounts, 24-10, in the third quarter to help pick up the 58-50 win.
KOENEN STARTS FAST
Through the first seven games this season, Avery Koenen leads the Bison in points per game (11.0), rebounds per game (7.0) and steals per game (1.6). She has notched double digits in scoring in four games, including two double-doubles.
KRZEWINSKI MOVES BACK INTO THE FIVE
After coming off the bench in the first five games, Abby Krzewinski has moved back into the starting lineup each of the last two games. She has notched double digits in scoring in scoring in three games, including a season-high 15 points in the win over Jamestown. Krzewinski made 31 starts last season and averaged 7.2 points per game.
NEW BISON IN THE LINEUP
Molly Lenz, Marisa Frost and Claire Stern all reached the scoring column in their Bison debuts against Drake. Lenz, who also made her first career start, tallied 10 points with four rebounds. Frost added eight points with two steals, while Stern contributed seven points. Amelia Hobson and Sacia Vanderpool each made their first appearances as Bison in the win over Jamestown. Hobson netted eight points and Vanderpool tallied two points off the bench.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Bison are a combined 26-3 over the last three seasons at Scheels Center, including a 13-1 mark at home last season. It marked the most wins at home since the 2004-05 season. NDSU is 487-144 all-time at home dating back to 1977-78. Additionally, the Bison won 11 straight non-conference matchups at home dating back to the 2021-22 season before falling short against Drake in the season opener.
FREQUENT FLYER MILES
After opening the season with three straight home games, NDSU will play eight of its next nine games on the road. Over that span, the Bison will travel over 16,000 miles in non-conference play across four different time zones. The non-conference schedule also features seven first time opponents with NDSU facing Eastern Illinois, Vermont, Troy, Charleston Southern, Tulane, Washington and Dakota Wesleyan.
TESTED EARLY
The Bison will be tested from the very start and throughout non-conference play this season. Among the 11 NCAA Division I opponents in non-conference play, NDSU will face seven teams that finished last season with at least 20 wins and advanced to a postseason tournament. That list includes: Drake (29-6, NCAA), Vermont (25-12, WNIT), Troy (22-12, WNIT), College of Charleston (22-10, WNIT), Montana (23-10, WNIT), Eastern Washington (29-6, NCAA) and Boise State (21-14, WNIT). The Bison will also travel to Washington, who finished with a 16-15 record last season and participated in the WBIT.
SEASON FIVE FOR SCHULTE
Abby Schulte is in her fifth season with the Bison and brings the most experience to the roster. Schulte has appeared in 123 games with 112 starts over five seasons. Her 112 starts rank seventh on the all-time NDSU games started list. Schulte is five starts away from passing Katie Birkel (2008-13) and Heaven Hamling (2020-24) for fifth place after both players made 116 career starts. She has also handed out over 90 assists in each of the last two seasons, including a career-best 103 in 2022-23.
SOPHOMORE SURGE
The Bison return four true sophomores this season with Abby Krzewinski, Avery Koenen, Miriley Simon and Taryn Hamling in the lineup. NDSU played a total of 6,800 minutes last season, which was the most in NDSU history. The quartet of Krzewinski, Koenen, Simon and Hamling accounted for 30 percent (2,033 minutes) of the total minutes played. Krzewinski led the group with 739 minutes played over 34 games with 31 starts.
FRESH FACES IN FARGO
NDSU welcomed two transfers to the roster last spring with the additions of Molly Lenz and Sacia Vanderpool. Lenz appeared in all 34 games off the bench for Illinois State in her freshman season and reached the scoring column in 26 of 34 games. Vanderpool played three seasons at Wisconsin and appeared in six games after redshirting during the 2021-22 season.
YOUNG BISON
The Bison added three freshmen to the roster with the addition of Claire Stern, Marisa Frost and Amelia Hobson. Stern was the sixth-rated prospect in Minnesota on Prep Girls Hoops, while Frost was the ninth-rated prospect in Minnesota on Prep Girls Hoops and was also ranked as the 229th best prospect on Dan Olson’s Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. Hobson was the fourth-highest scorer in the Victorian Championship League in Australia and was selected to the under 18s Victorian State Team.
BISON ADD THREE ON SIGNING DAY
NDSU signed three players on signing day with the additions of Karrington Asp, Sophie Hawkinson and McKenna Johnson. Asp, who will enroll early in January, was a top-100 recruit on Dan Olson’s Collegiate Basketball Report ranked 92nd and was also the 11th ranked prospect in Iowa according to Prep Girls Hoops. Hawkinson was the ninth-ranked prospect in Minnesota according to Prep Girls Hoops and Johnson was the second-ranked prospect in North Dakota according to Prep Girls Hoops and was ranked 248th on Dan Olson’s Collegiate Basketball Report.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
For the second straight season, NDSU was picked inside the top three in the Summit League Preseason Poll. The Bison garnered 427 total points and one first-place vote to earn the third spot in the poll. South Dakota State was picked first with 562 points and 34 first-place votes, while Oral Roberts was slotted in second place with 479 points and one first-place vote.
LOOKING BACK AT LAST SEASON
The Bison finished last season with the most wins in the NDSU Division I era with a 22-12 overall record and advanced to the Summit League Tournament championship game for the first time in program history along with their second straight appearance in the WNIT. NDSU also finished the season ranked inside the top 30 in the nation in three-point percentage (13th, 36.8), free throws per game (21st, 15.03) and scoring offense (29th, 75.4). =
COLLINS CAREER NUMBERS
Following the victory over South Dakota on Feb. 2, 2023, head coach Jory Collins earned his 250th career win. He has currently amassed a 280-131 overall record spanning 14 seasons. He notched a 199-58 mark during eight seasons at Emporia State. Collins has posted a 81-73 mark at NDSU over six seasons. His 81 wins at NDSU rank as the second-most in Bison history behind Amy Ruley (671 wins).
NEXT UP
NDSU will travel to Tulane on Tuesday, Dec. 10. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. CT
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