THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (10-5, 4-1 Summit) women’s basketball team returns home against Denver (7-8, 3-1 Summit) on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. The Bison will wrap up the week against Omaha (8-7, 3-1 Summit) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. at Scheels Center.
GAME COVERAGE
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) will be on the call on Bison 1660.
Watch: Both games will be available on WDAY Xtra with Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Amy Ruley (analyst) and Logan Campbell (sideline) on the call. Both contests will also be available on ESPN+ for subscribers.
GoBison.com: Live statistics, audio and video links are available on GoBison.com.
BISON QUICK HITS
- NDSU enters the week in second place in the Summit League after grinding out a 79-76 win over South Dakota.
- The Bison are 6-0 at Scheels Center this season, which is the best start to a home schedule since the 2020-21 season.
- Denver has won each of its last two games and begins the week with a 7-8 (3-1 Summit) overall record and most recently cruised past Western Illinois, 70-58.
- The Pioneers are 2-5 on the road this season.
- Omaha has won its last three games and enters the week with an 8-7 (3-1 Summit) overall record after edging St. Thomas, 80-77.
- The Mavericks are 2-6 on the road this season.
- Heaven Hamling leads the Summit League and ranks 11th in the nation in free throw percentage shooting 91.7 percent.
- Elle Evans has reached double figures in 12 of 15 games this season, including a season-high 17 points at Central Michigan.
- Heaven Hamling has drained a team-high 34 three-pointers this season. She has totaled 158 triples over three seasons and ranks fourth all-time in NDSU history.
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU went on the road and edged South Dakota, 79-76. Heaven Hamling paced the Bison with a team-high 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting from the field. She tied a season-high seven rebounds and handed out a team-best six assists. Taylor Brown reached double figures in the scoring column for the sixth time this season with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Elle Evans also netted 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three.
SNAPPIN’ SOME STREAKS
With the win over South Dakota last Saturday, the Bison were able to end the following streaks:
– Snapped a 13-game losing streak against South Dakota dating back to 2017.
– It marked the first win at South Dakota since 2013.
– The Bison snapped the Coyotes’ 43-game win streak against Summit League opponents at home dating back to the 2016-17 season.
TOUGH DEFENSE
NDSU is limiting opponents to 66.5 points per game this season, which ranks third in the Summit League. The Bison have held seven opponents this season to 65 points or less, including a season-low 45 points against Valley City State. NDSU is 7-0 this season when holding opponents to 65 points or less.
LOCKED IN AT THE LINE
NDSU buried a season-high 33 free throws in the win over North Dakota with seven different players contributing at least one. Heaven Hamling led the way connecting on a career-high 14 free throws on 15 attempts, which is tied for the third-most in a single-game in NDSU history. She currently leads the Summit League and 11th in the nation in free throw percentage shooting 91.7 percent.
HEAVY WORKLOAD
Heaven Hamling and Elle Evans have both started all 15 games this season and averaging over 30 minutes per game. Evans is averaging 31.3 minutes, while Hamling is logging a team-high 32.2 minutes per game. Over three seasons at NDSU, Hamling is averaging 32.4 minutes per contest, which ranks fourth all-time Bison history.
HAMLING FROM DEEP
Heaven Hamling has established herself as one of the best three-point shooters in the Summit League and currently ranks in the top five in three-pointers per game (2nd, 2.27), three-pointers (2nd, 34) and three-point percentage (4th, 32.7).
Prior to shooting 0-of-2 at South Dakota State last week, Hamling had connected on at least one triple in 17 straight games dating back to last season.
NOT PLAYING LIKE A FRESHMAN
Elle Evans is off to a fast start in her freshman season starting all 15 games and is averaging 11.8 points per game. That total ranks second among freshmen in the Summit League. Denver freshman guard Emma Smith leads all freshman in the conference with 13.7 points per game.
Evans has also hit double figures in scoring in 12 of 15 games this season, including a season-high 17 points at Central Michigan.
BEHNKE SURGING
After not starting a game in each of her first two seasons at NDSU, Emily Behnke has started all 15 games this season. She has hauled in a team-high 93 total rebounds and is 12 rebounds away from tying her career-high of 105, which was set last season. The Two Rivers, Wis., native has already totaled a career-best and team-high 21 blocks on the defensive end.
BROWN FITS RIGHT IN
In her first season at NDSU, Taylor Brown has fit right in starting all 15 games. The Lakeville, Minn., native is averaging 9.7 points per game and has reached double digits in scoring in six 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 15 games this season. Graham is averaging 5.9 points over 20.5 minutes per game, while Draper has added 5.1 points over 13.9 minutes per contest.
IN THE ROTATION
Kristina Ekofo Yomane has provided a boost off the bench contributing at least four points in each of the last six games. She hauled in a season-high eight rebounds and netted a season-best seven points in the win over Western Illinois.
1,000 CAREER POINTS FOR NO. 11
Heaven Hamling has surpassed the 1,000 career points milestone with 1,140. She started her career at Stephen F. Austin State for one season in 2018-19 and netted 174 points. Hamling has totaled 966 points over the last three seasons at NDSU.
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, 14.2), three-point field goals made (4th, 158), three-point field goal percentage (3rd, .383), free throw percentage (2nd, .892), defensive rebounding average (T-7th, 3.7) and minutes average (4th, 32.4).
WHO’S BACK THIS YEAR?
The Bison return six letterwinnners from last season, including three starters: Heaven Hamling, Abby Schulte and Katie Hildebrandt.
NDSU GRAD
Heaven Hamling graduated in December with her degree in construction management and a minor in business administration. She will begin graduate school starting in January.
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.
THIS IS OUR HOUSE
NDSU is 467-141 all-time at home dating back to 1977-78. The Bison have registered a 6-0 mark at Scheels Center this season for the first time since 2020-21.
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. DENVER
This will mark the 27th all-time meeting Denver and NDSU dating back to 1987 with the Bison leading the series, 14-12. In their most recent encounter last season, NDSU fell short on the road against Denver, 62-48. Heaven Hamling netted 14 points, while Abby Schulte added in 12 points of her own.
THE SERIES VS. OMAHA
This will mark the 72nd all-time meeting between Omaha and NDSU dating back to 1980 with the Bison leading the series, 51-20. In the most recent meeting last season, NDSU rolled past Omaha on the road, 69-53. Heaven Hamling totaled 14 points with six assists to pace the Bison.
LOOKING AHEAD
NDSU will travel to Oral Roberts on Thursday, Jan. 19. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
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