THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (8-5) women’s basketball team begins Summit League play at St. Thomas (8-5) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m., at Schoenecker Arena.
GAME COVERAGE
Watch: The contest will broadcast on the Summit League Network through the Midco Sports Plus app for subscribers.
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) will be on the call on Bison 1660 with pregame coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m.
GoBison.com: Live statistics, audio and video links are available on GoBison.com.
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU closed out non-conference play with a 64-55 win over Dakota Wesleyan at Scheels Center. Four Bison hit double figures in scoring with Abby Krzewinski netting a team-high 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three. Avery Koenen added 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line to go along with eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal. Abbie Draper and Marisa Frost registered 10 points each to round out the top performers.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY IS HERE
NDSU has won each of its last three Summit League openers and is 3-2 under sixth-year head coach Jory Collins. Last year, NDSU topped South Dakota, 84-69, in Vermillion, S.D. Abby Krzewinski netted 14 points with six rebounds against the Coyotes. This will also mark the first time NDSU has opened Summit League play against St. Thomas.
THE SERIES VS. ST. THOMAS
This will mark the eighth all-time meeting between NDSU and St. Thomas dating back to 1980. The Bison have won the last five meetings and lead the series, 6-1. In the most recent meeting last season, the Bison rolled past the Tommies, 96-53, in St. Paul. NDSU drained 13 three-pointers on 18 attempts and notched the second-best all-time three-point percentage in a single-game in Bison history.
TURNING UP THE DEFENSE
Through the first 13 games, NDSU has limited six teams to 59 points or less. The Bison held Eastern Washington to a season-low 47 points on 27.5 percent (19-69) shooting from the field. It marked the lowest point total NDSU has held an opponent to since limiting Denver to 43 points on Jan. 12, 2023. NDSU is 6-0 this season and 32-2 under head coach Jory Collins when holding an opponent to 59 points or less.
DEFENDING THE THREE
The Bison are limiting opponents to a 25.4 percent three-point shooting percentage, which leads the Summit League and ranks 28th in the nation. NDSU has held eight of its first 13 opponents to 25.0 percent or lower from beyond the arc.
THE THIRD QUARTER IS KEY
The Bison have led at halftime in 11 of the first 13 games this season and four losses have come from being outscored in the third quarter (Drake, Troy, Charleston Southern, Tulane). Vermont and Washington are the only teams to hold a halftime lead against NDSU so far this season. NDSU overcame a nine-point halftime deficit against Vermont and went on to outscore the Catamounts, 24-10, in the third quarter to help pick up the 58-50 win.
KOENEN PUTTING UP NUMBERS
Avery Koenen enters the week leading the Bison in points (10.5), rebounds (6.9) and blocks (1.2) per game. She has reached double figures in scoring in seven of the first 13 games this season with two double-doubles. Koenen has also totaled a team-best and career-high 16 total blocks on the defensive end of the floor.
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 129 games with 118 starts over five seasons. Her 118 starts rank fourth on the all-time NDSU games started list. Additionally, Schulte ranks second on the NDSU all-time games played list with 129. She’s three games away from passing her former teammate, Emily Dietz (2017-22), who sits in the top spot with 131 games played.
SCHULTE CLIMBING ASSISTS LIST
Abby Schulte has eclipsed 300 career assists with 307 over five seasons. She’s 22 assists away from entering the top 10 in Bison history. Rachel Otto is slotted 10th on the NDSU all-time assists list with 329.
FROST WARNING
Marisa Frost has produced double digits in scoring in six games coming off the bench this season. The Lino Lakes, Minn., native netted a career-high 27 points in the win over Montana. It marked the most points by a freshman in a single game in the NDSU Division I era and second-most by a freshman in Bison history. Frost is also shooting a team-best 85.1 percent from the free throw line connecting on 40 free throws on 47 attempts.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PEAK PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Marisa Frost was named the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week for the first time in her career on Dec. 9 after helping NDSU to wins over Montana and Eastern Washington. She averaged a team-high 20.0 points per game on 75.0 percent shooting from the field, 71.4 percent from three and 84.6 percent from the free throw line. Frost also distributed a team-high six assists to go along with three steals and one block.
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 eight games. She has notched double digits in scoring in seven games, including a season-high 15 points in the win over Boise State. Krzewinski made 31 starts last season and averaged 7.2 points per game.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Bison are a combined 28-3 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 489-144 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 played eight of its next nine games on the road. Over that span, the Bison traveled over 16,000 miles in non-conference play across four different time zones. The non-conference schedule also featured six first time opponents with NDSU facing Eastern Illinois, Vermont, Troy, Charleston Southern, Tulane and Washington.
TESTED EARLY
The Bison were tested from the very start and throughout non-conference play this season. Among the 11 NCAA Division I opponents in non-conference play, NDSU faced 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 also traveled to Washington, who finished with a 16-15 record last season and participated in the WBIT.
SOPHOMORE SURGE
The Bison return four 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 284-133 overall record spanning 14 seasons. He notched a 199-58 mark during eight seasons at Emporia State. Collins has posted a 85-75 mark at NDSU over six seasons. His 85 wins at NDSU rank as the second-most in Bison history behind Amy Ruley (671 wins).
NEXT UP
NDSU will be back in action hosting Denver on Thursday, Jan. 9. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m., at Scheels Center.
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