2022–23 North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team

2022–23 North Dakota State Bison women's basketball
WNIT first round
Conference	Summit League
Record	18–12 (12–6 Summit)
Head coach	Jory Collins (4th season)
Associate head coach	Dylan Geissert
Assistant coaches	Jaime Adams Michaela Crall
Home arena	Scheels Center

2022–23 Summit League women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
South Dakota State †	18	–	0		1.000			29	–	6		.829
North Dakota State	12	–	6		.667			18	–	12		.600
North Dakota	11	–	7		.611			19	–	13		.594
South Dakota	10	–	8		.556			14	–	16		.467
Oral Roberts	8	–	10		.444			12	–	19		.387
Omaha	8	–	10		.444			15	–	17		.469
Denver	8	–	10		.444			12	–	18		.400
St. Thomas*	7	–	11		.389			13	–	17		.433
Western Illinois	5	–	13		.278			10	–	20		.333
Kansas City	3	–	15		.167			9	–	23		.281
† 2023 Summit League Tournament winner * Ineligible for the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division III As of March 19, 2023

The 2022–23 North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team represented North Dakota State University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bison, led by fourth-year head coach Jory Collins, played their home games at the Scheels Center in Fargo, North Dakota as members of the Summit League. After the Bison's win over St. Thomas on February 23, the Bison clinched their highest Division I win count since 2008. The Bison clinched the second seed in the Summit League tournament,^[1] the highest mark in a conference tournament since their Division II days.

Their tournament run ended in the quarterfinals of the tournament when they lost to 10th-seeded Kansas City.^[2]

The Bison were automatically invited to the 2023 Women's National Invitation Tournament since Summit League regular-season champion South Dakota State made the NCAA tournament. Their postseason run ended in the WNIT first round when they lost to Oregon.^[3]

Previous season

The Bison finished the 2021–22 season 11–18, 7–11 in Summit League play, to finish in sixth place. In the Summit League tournament, they lost to third-seeded Kansas City to be eliminated from the tournament.^[4]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Reneya Hopkins	0	G	5' 6"	Senior	Midwest City, OK	Transferred to Texas A&M University–Texarkana (NAIA)
Kylie Strop	2	G	5' 7"	Sophomore	River Falls, WI	Transferred to Wisconsin–Eau Claire (Division III)
Kadie Deaton	3	G	5' 11"	Junior	Wausau, WI	Transferred to Pacific
Ellie Dague	4	G	5' 10"	Freshman	Henning, MN	Transferred to St. Thomas
Ryan Cobbins	5	G/F	6' 0"	Junior	Kansas City, KS	Transferred to Alabama
Abbey Kubas	22	F	5' 11"	Freshman	Dickinson, ND	Left team for personal reasons
Olivia Skibiel	23	G/F	6' 0"	Junior	Snohomish, WA	Transferred to Minnesota State–Moorhead (Division II)

Source:^[5]

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Abbie Draper	2	F	6' 2"	Sophomore	Waverly, IA	Bradley
Georgia Baldwin	4	F	6' 0"	Junior	Melbourne, Australia	Eastern Kentucky
Taylor Brown	14	F	6' 1"	Senior	Lakeville, MN	American

2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Leah Mackenzie G	Melbourne, Australia	Box Hill Senior Secondary College	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	N/A
	Recruit ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A   On3: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: 0
Marwa Bedziri F	Stockholm, Sweden	Fryshuset Gymnasium	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A
	Recruit ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A   On3: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: 0
Abby Graham G	Portland, OR	St. Mary's Academy	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	N/A
	Recruit ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A   On3: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: 0
Elle Evans G	Edwardsville, IL	Edwardsville High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A
	Recruit ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A   On3: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: 0
Recruit rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, ESPN, and On3 may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2022–23 North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Hometown F 2 Abbie Draper 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Waverly, IA G 3 Leah Mackenzie 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Melbourne, Australia F 4 Georgia Baldwin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Melbourne, Australia F 5 Marwa Bedziri 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Stockholm, Sweden G 10 Abby Graham 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Portland, OR G 11 Heaven Hamling 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Grand Rapids, MN G 13 Rachel Novak 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Fort Collins, CO F 14 Taylor Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) GS Lakeville, MN F 15 Kristina Ekofo Yomane 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr Brussels, Belgium F 20 Emily Behnke 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Two Rivers, WI G 21 Elle Evans 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Edwardsville, IL G 24 Abby Schulte 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Maple Grove, MN G 32 Sophie Olson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So El Dorado Hills, CA G 33 Katie Hildebrandt 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So McFarland, WI	Head coach Jory Collins (Emporia State) Assistant coach(es) Dylan Geissert (Emporia State) Jaime Adams Michaela Crall (Wisconsin) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: September 17, 2022

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Montana	W 65–63	1–0	19 – Hamling	9 – Behnke	6 – Hamling	Dahlberg Arena (1,891) Missoula, MT
November 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		Valley City State	W 96–45	2–0	21 – Hamling	6 – tied	5 – Schulte	Scheels Center (365) Fargo, ND
November 17, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ABC ND/ESPN+		Minnesota	W 71–65	3–0	16 – Brown	10 – Brown	5 – Schulte	Scheels Center (1,759) Fargo, ND
November 22, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		Northern Colorado	W 68–54	4–0	15 – Evans	6 – Hamling	6 – Hamling	Scheels Center (531) Fargo, ND
November 25, 2022* 6:30 p.m.		vs. Boise State Nugget Classic	W 68–53	5–0	23 – Hamling	4 – tied	3 – Hamling	Lawlor Events Center (826) Reno, NV
November 27, 2022* 2:30 p.m.		at Nevada Nugget Classic	W 73–68	6–0	39 – Hamling	7 – Brown	6 – Schulte	Lawlor Events Center (775) Reno, NV
December 1, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Eastern Michigan	L 55–73	6–1	14 – Evans	7 – tied	4 – Hamling	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,821) Ypsilanti, MI
December 3, 2022* 12:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Central Michigan	L 65–66	6–2	17 – Evans	10 – Behnke	5 – Evans	McGuirk Arena (1,078) Mount Pleasant, MI
December 6, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Iowa	L 70–79	6–3	16 – Behnke	10 – Behnke	3 – tied	McLeod Center (1,852) Cedar Falls, IA
December 10, 2022* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Green Bay	L 52–70	6–4	13 – Evans	7 – Evans	4 – Hamling	Kress Events Center (1,674) Green Bay, WI
December 14, 2022* 6:00 p.m.		at Mayville State Rescheduled from November 10[6]	Cancelled due to inclement weather[7]					Lewy Lee Fieldhouse  Mayville, ND
Summit League regular season
December 19, 2022 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		Western Illinois	W 84–60	7–4 (1–0)	13 – Hamling	8 – Ekofo Yomane	8 – Schulte	Scheels Center (276) Fargo, ND
December 21, 2022 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		St. Thomas	W 74–56	8–4 (2–0)	17 – Hamling	8 – Benhke	6 – Hamling	Scheels Center (211) Fargo, ND
December 31, 2022 1:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		North Dakota	W 81–76	9–4 (3–0)	28 – Hamling	9 – Behnke	6 – Hamling	Scheels Center (1,691) Fargo, ND
January 5, 2023 7:00 p.m.		at South Dakota State	L 63–94	9–5 (3–1)	15 – Graham	7 – Brown	5 – Schulte	Frost Arena (1,341) Brookings, SD
January 7, 2023 1:00 p.m., MidcoSN+		at South Dakota	W 79–76	10–5 (4–1)	22 – Hamling	8 – Behnke	6 – Hamling	Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,969) Vermillion, SD
January 12, 2023 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		Denver	W 71–43	11–5 (5–1)	22 – Graham	12 – Behnke	4 – Hamling	Scheels Center (548) Fargo, ND
January 14, 2023 1:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		Omaha	W 83–71	12–5 (6–1)	26 – Hamling	6 – Hamling	6 – Hamling	Scheels Center (766) Fargo, ND
January 19, 2023 7:00 p.m.		at Oral Roberts	L 53–75	12–6 (6–2)	14 – Evans	7 – Behnke	3 – Hamling	Mabee Center (1,574) Tulsa, OK
January 21, 2023 2:00 p.m.		at Kansas City	W 75–66	13–6 (7–2)	23 – Evans	11 – Behnke	4 – Hamling	Swinney Recreation Center (480) Kansas City, MO
January 28, 2023 1:05 p.m., MidcoSN/ESPN3		at North Dakota	L 73–82	13–7 (7–3)	28 – Hamling	8 – Evans	2 – Hamling	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,116) Grand Forks, ND
February 2, 2023 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		South Dakota	W 86–82 ^OT	14–7 (8–3)	28 – Hamling	8 – Hamling	3 – Schulte	Scheels Center (712) Fargo, ND
February 4, 2023 1:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		South Dakota State	L 54–82	14–8 (8–4)	11 – Evans	7 – Brown	4 – Hamling	Scheels Center (1,722) Fargo, ND
February 9, 2023 7:05 p.m.		at Omaha	L 58–63	14–9 (8–5)	16 – Evans	15 – Evans	4 – Hamling	Baxter Arena (453) Omaha, NE
February 11, 2023 2:00 p.m.		at Denver	L 71–83	14–10 (8–6)	14 – Hamling	6 – Ekofo Yomane	3 – tied	Hamilton Gymnasium (472) Denver, CO
February 16, 2023 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		Kansas City	W 86–75	15–10 (9–6)	21 – Hamling	12 – Behnke	5 – Hamling	Scheels Center (709) Fargo, ND
February 18, 2023 12:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+		Oral Roberts	W 103–86	16–10 (10–6)	29 – Hamling	9 – Brown	6 – Hamling	Scheels Center (782) Fargo, ND
February 23, 2023 7:00 p.m.		at St. Thomas	W 64–44	17–10 (11–6)	17 – Evans	8 – Brown	4 – tied	Schoenecker Arena (551) Saint Paul, MN
February 25, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Western Illinois	W 82–74	18–10 (12–6)	31 – Hamling	11 – Brown	5 – Schulte	Western Hall (746) Macomb, IL
Summit League tournament
March 4, 2023 3:00 p.m., MidcoSN/ESPN+	(2)	vs. (10) Kansas City Quarterfinals	L 64–71	18–11	16 – Hamling	7 – tied	5 – tied	Denny Sanford Premier Center (6,830) Sioux Falls, SD
Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT)
March 17, 2023 9:00 p.m.		at Oregon First round	L 57–96	18–12	16 – Hamling	6 – Hamling	7 – Schulte	Matthew Knight Arena (2,703) Eugene, OR
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[8][9]

Awards and accolades

Summit League Player of the Week

See also: 2022–23 Summit League women's basketball season § Awards and honors

Week[10]	Player(s) of the Week	School
November 28	Heaven Hamling	North Dakota State
January 3	Heaven Hamling (2)	North Dakota State (2)
February 20	Heaven Hamling (3)	North Dakota State (3)

Summit League regular season awards

See also: 2022–23 Summit League women's basketball season § Awards and honors

Freshman of the Year

• Elle Evans

All-Summit League First Team

• Heaven Hamling

All-Summit League Honorable Mention

• Elle Evans

All-Summit League Defensive Team

• Elle Evans

All-Summit League Newcomer Team

• Elle Evans

Source:^[11]

References

1. "NDSU Women's Basketball Holds Off Western Illinois for Fourth Straight Win, 82-74". NDSU. February 25, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
2. "NDSU Women's Basketball Stumbles Against Kansas City in Summit League Tournament". NDSU. March 4, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
3. "NDSU Women's Basketball Falls to Oregon in WNIT First Round". NDSU. March 17, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
4. "Bison Fall to Kansas City in Summit League Tournament Quarterfinals". NDSU. March 6, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
5. "Women's Basketball Transfers: DI, 2021-22". wbbblog.com. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
6. "NDSU Women's Basketball Reschedules Mayville State Matchup". North Dakota State Bison Athletics. December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
7. "NDSU Women's Basketball Game at Mayville State Cancelled". North Dakota State Bison Athletics. December 14, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
8. "2022-23 Women's Basketball Schedule". North Dakota State Bison. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
9. "North Dakota State Bison Schedule 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
10. "2022-23 TicketSmarter Women's Basketball Peak Performers of the Week". thesummitleague.org. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
11. "South Dakota State's Selland named #SummitWBB Player of the Year". The Summit League. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.