THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (4-0) women’s basketball team begins play at the Nugget Classic in Reno, Nev., against Boise State (3-2) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT The Bison will wrap the trip against Nevada (1-2) on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT
GAME COVERAGE
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) will be on the call for both games on Bison 1660.
Watch: Both games will be available on the Mountain West Network.
GoBison.com: Live statistics, audio and video links are available on GoBison.com.
BISON QUICK HITS
- After playing its last three games at home, the Bison are back on the road against Boise State and Nevada this week in the Nugget Classic in Reno, Nev.
- NDSU is off to its first 4-0 start since 2017.
- The Bison are 1-0 on the road this season after picking up a season-opening win at Montana, 65-63, back on Nov. 7.
- This will be only the second all-time meeting between NDSU and Boise State after the Broncos edged the Bison, 80-61, in 2012.
- This will also be the second all-time meeting between NDSU and Nevada after the Bison topped the Wolf Pack, 67-47, in 2011.
- Through the first four games, Heaven Hamling (13.3), Taylor Brown (11.5) and Elle Evans (11.5) are all averaging double digits in scoring for the Bison.
- Heaven Hamling has drained a team-high nine three-pointers through the first four games this season. She has totaled 133 triples over three seasons and is positioned in eighth place on the NDSU all-time three-point field goals list.
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU outscored Northern Colorado, 25-8, in the fourth quarter to pick up a 68-54 win on Tuesday night at Scheels Center. Elle Evans led the way for NDSU with a season-high 15 points to go along with five rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Abby Schulte contributed 13 points and went 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Taylor Brown added in 11 points, while Emily Behnke netted 10 points.
STACKIN’ WINS
The Bison edged Northern Colorado, 68-54, to move to 4-0 on the season. It marks the first 4-0 start for NDSU since the 2017-18 season. NDSU is averaging 75.0 points per game and is limiting its opponents to 56.8.
NOT PLAYING LIKE A FRESHMAN
Elle Evans is off to a fast start in her freshman season starting all four games and is averaging 11.5 points per game. She has hit double figures in scoring in three games, including a season-high 15 points in the win over Northern Colorado. The Edwardsville, Ill., native has also disrupted opposing offenses creating seven steals this season. She notched a season-high four steals in the win over Northern Colorado.
BROWN FITS RIGHT IN
In her first season at NDSU, Taylor Brown has fit right in starting each of the first four games. The Lakeville, Minn., native is averaging 11.5 points per game and has reached double digits in scoring in three of the first four games. Brown notched her first double-double of the season with a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Minnesota.
CONTRIBUTING OFF THE BENCH
Abbie Draper and Abby Graham have both come off the bench in all four games this season. Draper is averaging 7.3 points per game and has reached double digits in scoring in two of the first four games. Graham has added 6.3 points per game and netted a season-high 11 points against Minnesota last week.
CHASING DOWN 1,000 POINTS
Heaven Hamling enters the week with 951 career points and is 49 points away from the 1,000 career points milestone. Hamling started her career at Stephen F. Austin State for one season in 2018-19 and netted 174 points. She has totaled 777 points over the last three seasons at NDSU.
WHO’S BACK THIS YEAR?
The Bison return six letterwinnners from last season, including three starters: Heaven Hamling, Abby Schulte and Katie Hildebrandt.
WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The roster features eight newcomers this season: Taylor Brown, Kristina Ekofo Yomane, Abbie Draper, Elle Evans, Marwa Bedziri, Abby Graham, Leah Mackenzie and Georgia Baldwin.
NEW, BUT PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE
Three of the eight newcomers on the roster this season have played at least 10 NCAA games in their careers. Taylor Brown appeared in 95 games over four seasons at American and Abbie Draper played in 26 games with 15 starts during her freshman season at Bradley last year. Georgia Baldwin also appeared in 11 games at Eastern Kentucky over the last two seasons.
NEW LOOK COACHING STAFF
The NDSU coaching staff has a new look this season with addition of assistant coaches Jaime Adams and Michaela Crall. Adams is back for her second stint with the program after spending four seasons from 2008-12 as an assistant coach. She also played at NDSU from 1997-01 and was inducted to the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
Crall comes to NDSU after spending last season at Dubuque as an assistant coach. She also played for Wisconsin for three seasons from 2013-16 before starting her career in coaching as an undergraduate coach. Emily Dietz, who played at NDSU from 2017-22 and is the all-time leader games played, returns as a graduate manager this season.
HAMLING CHASES HISTORY
Heaven Hamling enters the 2022-23 season with the opportunity to leave her name in NDSU history. She’s positioned inside the top 10 in Bison history in scoring average (6th, 13.6), three-point field goals made (8th, 133), three-point field goal percentage (3rd, .401) and free throw percentage (2nd, .878).
STARTING A NEW 3-POINT STREAK
NDSU shot 1-of-9 from three at Kansas State last season, 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 26 games.
NDSU has a recent history of assembling lengthy three-point streaks. The Bison went 0-of-14 from three-point range against Valparaiso in 2019-20, ending a streak of 113 straight games with at least two 3-pointers.
THIS IS OUR HOUSE
NDSU is 464-141 all-time at home dating back to 1977-78. NDSU has won at least seven home games over the last two seasons, including a 9-3 mark in 2020-21. The Bison registered a 7-7 record at home last season.
PRESEASON ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
Heaven Hamling was selected to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team. She started all 29 games last season and logged a team-high 34.4 minutes per contest. Hamling ranked ninth in the Summit League with a team-best 14.3 points per game and reached double digits in scoring in 24 of 29 games. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native led the conference in three-point field goals per game with 2.31 and three-point field goal percentage shooting 39.0 percent.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
NDSU was picked to finish fifth in the Summit League Preseason Poll. South Dakota State garnered 36 first place votes to take the top spot, while South Dakota picked up four first place votes in second place. Oral Roberts closed out the top three in third place.
BISON IN GREECE
Over the span of eight days, the Bison had the opportunity to practice, play two games and learn about the culture in Greece during a trip in August. NDSU spent the first four days in Athens before concluding the trip in Glyfada.
THE SERIES VS. BOISE STATE
This will be only the second all-time meeting between NDSU and Boise State. In their only encounter in 2012, the Broncos edged the Bison, 80-61, in Boise, Idaho. Danielle DeGagne paced NDSU with a team-high 19 points.
THE SERIES VS. NEVADA
This will be only the second all-time meeting between NDSU and Nevada. In their only encounter in 2011, the Bison topped the Wolf Pack, 67-47, in Minneapolis, Minn., at the Minnesota Subway Classic. Danielle DeGagne led the way with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field.
LOOKING AHEAD
NDSU will continue its road swing at Eastern Michigan on Thursday, Dec. 1. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. CT
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