2023-11-03 18:41:27
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THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State women’s basketball team will begin the 2023-24 season once morest No. 23/22 Creighton on Monday night at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., at 6:00 p.m. The Bison will make their home debut hosting Jamestown on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m., at Scheels Center.
GAME COVERAGE
Watch: The game once morest Creighton will be available through Sanford Sports for subscribers. The home opener on Thursday night once morest Jamestown will be available on WDAY Xtra and the Summit League Network for subscribers.
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) will be on the call on Bison 1660 for both games.
GoBison.com: Live statistics, audio and video links are available on GoBison.com.
BISON QUICK HITS
NDSU begins the 2023-24 season once morest Creighton at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Monday night at 6:00 p.m.
Under head coach Jory Collins, the Bison are 3-1 in season openers dating back to the 2019-20 season. Last season, the Bison topped Montana on the road, 65-63.
NDSU posted its most wins in a single-season since 2004-05 with an 18-12 (12-6 Summit) overall record and advanced to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) for the first time in program history last season.
NDSU debuted at No. 24 in the College Insider Preseason Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
This will be the 12th all-time meeting between NDSU and Creighton dating back to 1981 with the Bluejays leading the series, 10-1.
The contest will mark the third all-time appearance at the Sanford Pentagon for NDSU and first since 2021.
NDSU enters the season picked second in the Summit League Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which is the highest ranking since joining the conference in 2007-08.
Heaven Hamling and Elle Evans were also both selected to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team making NDSU the only team in the conference to have multiple first team selections.
The Bison roster features six returners, including three seniors: Heaven Hamling, Abby Schulte and Kristina Ekofo Yomane.
THE SERIES VS. CREIGHTON
This will be the 12th all-time meeting between NDSU and Creighton dating back to 1981 with the Bluejays leading the series, 10-1. Creighton won the most recent meeting in 2019, 70-59, in Omaha, Neb. The two teams have met only once at a neutral site following NDSU picked up a 68-63 win over Creighton in Albuquerque, N.M., on Dec. 9, 2005 at the New Mexico Lobo Shootout.
IT STARTS AT THE SANFORD PENTAGON
The season opener once morest Creighton will mark the third time NDSU has played a game at the Sanford Pentagon following the Bison went 1-1 in the 2020-21 Summit League Tournament. Heaven Hamling helped guide the Bison to a 79-67 win over Denver in the Summit League Tournament Quarterfinals with 16 points, five rebounds and three steals.
FACING TOP 25 OPPONENTS
NDSU will be tested in the first game of the season facing No. 22/23 Creighton. The Bluejays posted a 22-9 (15-5 Big East) record last season and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons. The Bison are 0-15 all-time once morest teams ranked in the USA Today Coaches and Associated Press polls and most recently fell short at then-ranked No. 10/6 Arizona, 59-47, on Dec. 9, 2021.
IN SEASON OPENERS
Under head coach Jory Collins, the Bison are 3-1 in season openers dating back to the 2019-20 season. Last season, the Bison topped Montana, 65-63, following Elle Evans knocked down two free throws and a layup with under a minute to play to help secure the road win. Heaven Hamling also added in a team-high 19 points with six assists and five steals.
COLLEGE INSIDER PRESEASON MID-MAJOR TOP 25
The Bison debuted at No. 24 in the College Insider Preseason Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. NDSU joins South Dakota State as the only Summit League schools listed in the poll following the Jackrabbits were slotted No. 1. Last season, NDSU climbed as high as No. 19 in the poll.
THE SERIES VS. JAMESTOWN
This will mark the 12th all-time meeting between NDSU and Jamestown dating back to 1978 with the Bison leading the all-time series, 11-0. In their most recent meeting in 2021, NDSU cruised past Jamestown, 82-36. Heaven Hamling led the way with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three.
IN HOME OPENERS
Under head coach Jory Collins, NDSU is 2-2 in home openers dating back to the 2019-20 season. Last season, NDSU rolled past Valley City State, 96-45, following Heaven Hamling netted a game-high 21 points.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
NDSU was selected second in the Summit League Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Bison garnered 526 total points and five first-place votes to earn their highest ranking in the preseason poll since joining the Summit League in 2007-08. South Dakota State was picked first with 577 points and 27 first-place votes. South Dakota closed out the top three in third place with 485 points and two first-place votes.
PRESEASON ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
Heaven Hamling and Elle Evans were also both selected to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team making NDSU the only team in the Summit League to have multiple first team selections. Hamling, who was named to the All-Summit League First Team last season, ranked fourth in scoring in the conference in 2022-23 following averaging a team-best 16.5 points per game. Evans, who was named the Summit League Freshman of the Year last season, averaged 13.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in her freshman season.
LOOKING BACK AT LAST SEASON
NDSU put together one of the most successful seasons in the Division I era last season following posting its most wins since 2004-05 with an 18-12 overall record and advancing to the WNIT for the first time in program history. The Bison also notched a 12-6 mark in Summit League play and finished in second place in the conference.
PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE IN THE LINEUP
The Bison return six players this season, including three seniors: Heaven Hamling, Kristina Ekofo Yomane and Abby Schulte. Hamling and Schulte provide the most experience in the lineup combining for 155 career starts. Hamling has started a team-high 83 games (includes one start at Stephen F. Austin State) over four seasons, while Schulte has started 72 games over three seasons at NDSU.
WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The roster features five newcomers to the roster this season: Taryn Hamling, Avery Koenen, Miriley Simon, Abby Krzewinski and Grace Massaquoi.
TWICE THE HAMLING FUN
Heaven Hamling is joined by her sister, Taryn Hamling, on the roster this season. The two were briefly teammates at Grand Rapids High School in basketball when Heaven Hamling was in her senior season and Taryn Hamling was in seventh grade. The duo also played tennis together with Heaven Hamling on varsity and Taryn Hamling on junior varsity.
GEISSERT ELEVATED
Dylan Geissert was elevated to associate head coach over the offseason. He has spent the last four seasons with the Bison as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Prior to joining NDSU in 2019, Geissert was a graduate student manager at the University of Kansas from 2017-19. He got his start in coaching as a male practice player for the Emporia State women’s basketball program and served as a student assistant under current NDSU head coach Jory Collins for three seasons.
250 CAREER WINS
Following the victory over South Dakota on Feb. 2, 2023, head coach Jory Collins earned his 250th career win. He has currently amassed a 254-115 overall record spanning 12 seasons. He notched a 199-58 mark during eight seasons at Emporia State. Collins has posted a 55-58 mark at NDSU over his first four seasons. His 55 wins at NDSU rank third all-time in Bison history behind Amy Ruley (671 wins) and Carolyn DeHoff (72 wins).
HEAVEN DOING HEAVEN THINGS
Heaven Hamling enters the 2023-24 season with the chance to leave her mark in NDSU history and currently ranks in the top 10 in scoring average (6th, 14.7), three-point field goals made (3rd, 199), three-point field goal percentage (3rd, .380), free throw percentage (3rd, .859), defensive rebounding average (7th, 3.8), assists average (8th, 3.1) and minutes average (4th, 32.7).
Hamling has also surpassed the 1,000 career scoring mark with 1,392. She started her career at Stephen F. Austin State for one season in 2018-19 and netted 174 points. Hamling has totaled 1,218 points over the last three seasons at NDSU.
HISTORIC FRESHMAN SEASON
Elle Evans wasted no time making an impact in her freshman season following becoming the first player in program history to be named the Summit League Freshman of the Year. The Edwardsville, Ill., native was also the first player to earn Summit League All-Defensive Team honors in program history.
Evans ranked fifth in the Summit League shooting 43.8 percent from the field and averaged 13.4 points with 4.9 rebounds per game. She reached double digits in scoring in 26 of 30 games, including 14 straight to close the season. She was also a force on the defensive side of the floor and ranked second in the Summit League with a team-high 42 blocks.
BALL MOVEMENT
Heaven Hamling and Abby Schulte both reached the 100-assist mark last season and it marked the first time since the 2003-04 season that NDSU had two different players record 100 or more assists in a single-season. Hamling passed out the most assists by a Bison player since 2018 with a career-high 112, while Schulte handed out a career-best 103 assists of her own.
STARTING A NEW 3-POINT STREAK
NDSU shot 1-of-9 from three at Kansas State on Nov. 29, 2021, which ended a streak of 56 straight games that the Bison have netted at least two triples. The Bison have bounced back and have connected at least two triples in each of their last 52 games.
NDSU has a recent history of assembling lengthy three-point streaks. The Bison went 0-of-14 from three-point range once morest Valparaiso on Nov. 15, 2019, ending a streak of 113 straight games with at least two 3-pointers.
THIS IS OUR HOUSE
NDSU is 472-142 all-time at home dating back to 1977-78. NDSU finished last season with an 11-1 mark at Scheels Center following starting the season 9-0. It marked the most home wins since 2009-10.
UP NEXT
NDSU will travel to Minnesota on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., at Williams Arena.
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