THIS WEEK The North Dakota State (12-6, 4-1 Summit) women’s basketball team wraps up its three-game road trip at South Dakota (9-10, 3-2 Summit) on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. The Bison then return home to face North Dakota (8-11, 3-3 Summit) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m., inside the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Watch: The Wednesday night contest at South Dakota will broadcast on Midco Sports for subscribers, while the Saturday game against North Dakota will be available on WDAY Xtra with Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Amy Ruley (analyst) and Sam Goetzinger (sideline) on the call. Both games will also 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 for both games on Bison 1660. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. at South Dakota and 12:30 p.m. against North Dakota.
 
GoBison.com: Live statistics, audio and video links are available on GoBison.com.
 
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 each Monday for the rest of 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.
 
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. Wednesdays and 6:30 p.m. Thursdays on WDAY Xtra.
 
NORTH DAKOTA DOUBLEHEADER GAME PROMOTIONS
NDSU will host North Dakota for a doubleheader on Saturday with the women playing at 1:00 p.m. and the men following at 4:00 p.m. One ticket gets fans into both games and can be purchased here. Fans are encouraged to wear gold and the Fairly Odd Dogs will perform their frisbee act at both games during halftime. The dance team from the BAS Studio in Fargo will also perform at halftime of the women’s game.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU saw its season-best six-game win streak come to a close with a 56-51 loss at Kansas City on Saturday. Abby Krzewinski paced the Bison with 11 points and five rebounds, while Marisa Frost also reached double digits in scoring with 10 points and four rebounds. Abbie Draper rounded out the top performers with a game-high 10 rebounds and eight points.
 
LOOKING AT SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY
The Bison started Summit League play with a 4-0 mark for the second straight season before falling short at Kansas City. Last season, the Bison went on to finish with a 13-3 mark in league play, which was the most Summit League wins since joining the conference in 2007-08.
 
THE SERIES VS. SOUTH DAKOTA               
This will be the 85th all-time meeting between NDSU and South Dakota dating back to 1977. The Bison have won each of the last four matchups and lead the series, 46-38. In their most recent meeting last season, NDSU topped South Dakota in Fargo, 63-54. Abbie Draper narrowly missed a double-double with a team-best 15 points to go along with seven rebounds.
 
THE SERIES VS. NORTH DAKOTA
This will be the 98th all-time meeting between NDSU and North Dakota dating back to 1967 with the Fighting Hawks holding the slight edge in the series, 49-48. The Bison are 9-1 over the 10 meetings with the Fight Hawks, including a 107-80 win in Fargo last season. Abby Schulte filled her stat line with 15 points,  six steals, five rebounds and four assists. Over the last two games between NDSU and North Dakota, the Bison are averaging 104.0 points per game and have a +21.5 scoring margin.
 
TURNING UP THE DEFENSE
NDSU has limited nine teams to 59 points or less this season. 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 8-1 this season and 34-3 under head coach Jory Collins when holding an opponent to 59 points or less.
 
DEFENDING THE THREE
The Bison are limiting opponents to 26.4 percent from three, which leads the Summit League and ranks 32nd in the nation. NDSU has held 10 of its first 18 opponents to 25.0 percent or lower from beyond the arc.
 
THE THIRD QUARTER IS KEY
The Bison have led at halftime in 15 of the first 18 games this season and four losses have come from being outscored in the third quarter (Drake, Troy, Charleston Southern, Tulane). Vermont, Washington and Oral Roberts are the only teams to hold a halftime lead against NDSU so far this season.
 
GETTING TO THE LINE
NDSU enters the week averaging 15.78 made free throws per game, which leads the Summit League and ranks 17th in the nation. The Bison are also pacing the league and are positioned 21st in the nation in free throw attempts per game with 21.22. Marisa Frost is shooting a team-best 81.8 percent from the line, which ranks fourth in the Summit League.
 
KOENEN PUTTING UP NUMBERS
Avery Koenen begins the week leading the Bison in points (11.3), rebounds (7.1), blocks (1.2) and steals (1.4) per game. She has reached double figures in scoring in 11 of the first 18 games this season. Koenen has notched four double-doubles this season and has totaled a team-best and career-high 21 total blocks on the defensive end of the floor, which leads the Summit League.
 
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 134 games, which is the most in NDSU history. She is also slotted third on the NDSU games started list with 123. Kasey Morlock (1993-97) is the all-time leader with 125 starts.
 
MORE SCHULTE MILESTONES TO WATCH
Abby Schulte has eclipsed 300 career assists with 322 over five seasons. She’s seven assists away from entering the top 10 in Bison history. Rachel Otto is slotted 10th on the NDSU all-time assists list with 329. Schulte has also connected on 280 career free throws, which ranks ninth on the all-time Bison free throws made list.
 
FROST WARNING
Marisa Frost has produced double digits in scoring in 10 games coming off the bench this season, including two 20-point performances. 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.
 
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 13 games. She has notched double digits in scoring in nine games, including a season-high 15 points in the win over Boise State. Krzewinski is also shooting a team-high 39.7 percent from three this season. The Wayzata, Minn., native made 31 starts last season and averaged 7.2 points per game.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Bison are a combined 30-3 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 491-144 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 enrolled 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 288-134 overall record spanning 14 seasons. He notched a 199-58 mark during eight seasons at Emporia State. Collins has posted a 89-76 mark at NDSU over six seasons. His 89 wins at NDSU rank as the second-most in Bison history behind Amy Ruley (671 wins).
 
NEXT UP
NDSU will travel to South Dakota State on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.