NDSU Women’s Basketball Begins 2024-25 Season Hosting Drake

THIS WEEK         
The North Dakota State women’s basketball team is set to begin the 2024-25 season hosting Drake on Monday. Tip-off is set for 11:00 a.m., at Scheels Center.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Watch: The contest will be available on WDAY Xtra and the Summit League Network for subscribers.
 
Radio: Andy Rieckhoff (play-by-play) and Emily Dietz (analyst) will be on the call on Bison 1660 with pregame coverage beginning at 10:30 a.m.
 
GoBison.com: Live statistics, audio and video links are available on GoBison.com.
 
PROMOTIONS
All tickets for the season opener against Drake on Monday are $5 as a part of Mid-Day Madness with the early 11:00 a.m. start time.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NDSU erased a 16-point deficit before falling short in the final seconds at Minnesota, 69-65, in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) Super 16 round back on March 29. Mirley Simon reached double digits in scoring with 12 points, while Abbie Drapper added eight points and five rebounds.
 
THE SERIES VS. DRAKE  
This will be the second straight season NDSU has faced Drake in non-conference play in a series that dates back to 1975 with the Bulldogs leading the series, 3-1. In their most recent encounter last season, NDSU fell short against Drake, 77-67, in Des Moines. Abby Schulte contributed eight points with five rebounds and Abby Krzewinski tallied seven points with four rebounds. Drake begins the season positioned No. 6 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
 
IN SEASON OPENERS
Under head coach Jory Collins, the Bison are 3-2 in season openers dating back to the 2019-20 season. Last season, NDSU dropped a 75-52 decision against then-ranked No. 23/22 Creighton in Sioux Falls, S.D., at the Sanford Pentagon.
 
This will also mark the first season since 2020 that NDSU will open the season at home. Under head coach Jory Collins, NDSU is 3-2 in home openers after the Bison rolled past Jamestown, 112-59, last season at Scheels Center.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Bison are a combined 24-2 over the last two 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 485-143 all-time at home dating back to 1977-78. Additionally, the Bison have won their last 11 straight non-conference games at home dating back to the 2021-22 season.
 
FREQUENT FLYER MILES
After opening the season with three straight home games, NDSU will play eight of its next nine games on the road. Over that span, the Bison will travel over 16,000 miles in non-conference play across four different time zones. The non-conference schedule also features six first time opponents with NDSU facing Eastern Illinois, Vermont, Charleston Southern, Tulane, Washington and Dakota Wesleyan.
 
TESTED EARLY
The Bison will be tested from the very start and throughout non-conference play this season. Among the 10 NCAA Division I opponents in non-conference play, NDSU will face six 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), College of Charleston (22-10, WNIT), Montana (23-10, WNIT), Eastern Washington (29-6, NCAA) and Boise State (21-14, WNIT). The Bison will also travel to Washington, who finished with a 16-15 record last season and participated in the WBIT.
 
SEASON FIVE FOR SCHULTE
Abby Schulte enters her fifth season with the Bison and brings the most experience to the roster. Schulte has appeared in 116 games with 105 starts over five seasons. Her 105 starts rank 10th on the all-time NDSU games started list. She has also handed out over 90 assists in each of the last two seasons, including a career-best 103 in 2022-23.
 
SOPHOMORE SURGE
The Bison return four true 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 prepgirlshoops.com, while Frost was the ninth-rated prospect in Minnesota on prepgirlshoops.com 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.
 
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 276-128 overall record spanning 14 seasons. He notched a 199-58 mark during eight seasons at Emporia State. Collins has posted a 77-70 mark at NDSU over his first five seasons. His 77 wins at NDSU rank as the second-most in Bison history behind Amy Ruley (671 wins).
 
NEXT UP
NDSU will continue its homestand hosting Eastern Illinois on Sunday, Nov. 10. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m., at Scheels Center.