Women's Basketball

Top-seeded Bison take down to Omaha to reach semifinals

The Basics
Score: No. 1 North Dakota State 87, No. 8 Omaha 37
Records: North Dakota State (27-3, 15-1 SL), Omaha (6-27, 3-13 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 1 seed North Dakota State shot 50.8 percent from the field and never trailed in an 87-37 victory over No. 8 seed Omaha on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the Summit League Women's Basketball Championship at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

Sophomore guard Marisa Frost paced the Bison with 28 points, one shy of her career high, while junior forward Avery Koenen added 23 points. Frost was 11-of-13 from the floor, while Koenen made 10-of-11 shots.

Ali Stephens and Regan Juenemann both scored eight points to lead a balanced Mavericks attack. Avril Smith added seven points to go along with seven rebounds. Those seven boards gave the freshman Smith the Omaha school record for most rebounds in a season at 380.

NDSU made baskets at the buzzer to end the first and second quarters, building a 41-19 advantage at halftime. All told, the Bison committed just seven turnovers and limited the Mavericks to 28 percent shooting from the field.

NDSU will face the winner of No. 4 seed Oral Roberts and No. 5 seed St. Thomas in Saturday’s first women’s semifinal.

Turning Point
NDSU survived an early scare when Koenen – the conference player of the year – left the game due to an injury. Not only did she return to action, she put up 23 points with seven rebounds and four assists in just 21 minutes. Along the way, she broke the Bison record for most points in a single season at the Division I level.
 
Inside the Box Score 
  • NDSU turned defense into offense, outscoring the Mavericks 24-3 in points off turnovers.
  • The Bison notched 18 assists on 33 field goals.  
  • Three-point shooting was relatively equal with Omaha finishing 5-of-21 compared to NDSU’s 6-of-21. 
News & Notes
  • The Bison are receiving votes in the USA Today WBCA Coaches Poll for the second straight week.
  • NDSU earned its first Summit League regular season title in program history this season. It marked the first time since 2004 that the Bison have won a regular season conference championship.
  • With the win, NDSU advanced to the semifinals for the fifth time in program history and will look to advance to the title game for the second time (2024).
#SUMMITWBB