Women's Basketball Exhibition Recap (Oct. 30)

North Dakota State 64, Minnesota-Crookston 59
The North Dakota State women's basketball team began the 2013-14 season with a 64-59

NDSU's Liz Keena

exhibition win over Minnesota-Crookston Wednesday, Oct. 30, at the Bison Sports Arena in Fargo.

NDSU finished the game shooting 19-50 from the field for 38-percent and were 25-30 from the free-throw line for 83-percent. The Bison were only 1-8 from beyond the three-point arc. The Golden Eagles shot 36-percent from the field on 19-53 shooting and were 16-24 from the charity stripe for 67-percent. UMC shot 26-percent on 5-19 shooting from long range.
Johnson led the Bison in scoring for the game and rebounds, posting a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. Keena rounded out the Bison in double figures with 12 points, respectively.

NDSU Names Tom Bird Director of Women's Basketball Operations

Tom Bird has been named women's basketball director of operations at North Dakota State University. NDSU head women's basketball coach, Carolyn DeHoff made the announcement today and said Bird will join the staff July 29.

Bird served as the assistant video coordinator for the University of Florida women's basketball program last year. Among his duties were organizing film exchange for all-conference opponents, and also creating a virtual playbook of all practices and games, offense and defensive plays.

NDSU Names Sawyer Assistant Women's Basketball Coach

Halie Sawyer has been named assistant women's basketball coach at North Dakota State University. NDSU head women's basketball coach, Carolyn DeHoff made the announcement today and said Sawyer will join the staff July 2.

Sawyer was a former player at the University of Utah when DeHoff served as an assistant and associate head coach under Elaine Elliott. A of member of back-to-back Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament championship teams, Sawyer was named to the MWC all-Defensive team her senior year.

NDSU Finds Solace in Basketball

By Graham Hays, ESPN.com

Looking at Hannah Linz lying exhausted on the court, North Dakota State women's basketball coach Carolyn DeHoff saw an opportunity to teach a basketball lesson. Here, it seemed, was an example of the effort required to make a season successful, personified in the prone form of a player who had to come back from cancer to be on the court at all.
 
Practice wasn't going particularly well on the day in question, which is why Linz and her teammates found themselves on the end line waiting to run. The ensuing din of dozens of pounding sneakers was interrupted only by a series of squeaks as each player reversed direction, the same soundtrack heard in every gym in the country in the days before a season. The sprints completed, the coach called attention to the senior short on breath.

If the others wanted the kind of season to which all presumably aspire, they would be wise to follow Linz's lead.

"I really reflect back on that day because then she got up and she actually had tears in her eyes," DeHoff said. "And I didn't really think about it, what was going on, other than, you know -- here's a kid, again, who has gone through what she's gone through and gets to a certain point and can't go any further. Wants to go further but can't.

"So I just kind of felt it was that."

Click here to read the full story.

NDSU's Hoops for Hannah Baskets

North Dakota State University women's basketball player Hannah Linz will begin treatment soon for the recurrence of Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

NDSU student-athletes have rallied for Hannah and are asking for goodwill donations. Those interested are asked to place your offering in a "Hoops for Hannah" baskets during any or all of the remaining home events starting with Thursday's basketball game against IUPUI.

Donations can also be made directly to the Hannah Linz Fund, c/o Gate City Bank, 500 2nd Ave. N., Fargo, N.D. 58102, or in person at any Gate City Bank location. For more information contact, Lynn Dorn, NDSU director of women's athletics, at (701) 231-7807 or email lynn.dorn@ndsu.edu.

Women's Basketball Exhibition Recap (Nov. 1)

NDSU's Dani DeGagne

North Dakota State and South Dakota State each captured exhibition wins Thursday night in women's basketball action.

The Bison defeated Minnesota-Crookston 68-65 behind Katie Birkel's game-high 16 points. Birkel also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds along with teammate Marena Whittle. Dani DeGagne added 15 points with a team-high six assists.

In Brookings, the Jackrabbits downed Black Hills State by a score of 90-48. The Jackrabbits placed four players in double figures to end the exhibition season at 2-0. Senior Ashley Eide led the way with 16 points, followed by 15 points from Megan Waytashek. Gabby Boever added 14 points and Tara Heiser chipped in with 12 off the bench.

NDSU Women's Basketball Volunteers at 61 for 61

The North Dakota State women's basketball team recently volunteered at the 61 for 61 event, which benefits the Roger Maris Cancer Center.

For 20 years, 61 for 61 has become a tradition in the Fargo-Moorhead area which raises funds to support cancer care, research, and survivorship at the Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center. The enthusiasm and the financial support of donors from all over the Midwest has provided a better experience for the thousands of patients who walk through the door of the Roger Maris Cancer Center every year: From coffee and snacks for patients and families, to massages and education, to toys and amenities in the Pediatric Oncology department. These funds have helped establish the Nurse Navigator program, the Genetics and Risk Assessment programs, the Embrace Cancer Survivorship program, the Bottles of Hope program, and many other initiatives. Donations have also helped support the tremendous amount of clinical research being conducted to benefit patients. These services, which improve and enrich the experience of patients and families at Roger Maris Cancer Center, have been made possible through philanthropy.

NDSU Names Dickhudt Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach

North Dakota State University head women’s basketball coach Carolyn DeHoff today announced Keith Dickhudt (pronounced dick-hoot) has been named assistant coach. Dickhudt has served as the women’s basketball director of operations since May 2011. 

A native of North St. Paul, Minn. (Concordia Academy H.S.), Dickhudt worked for five seasons under former NDSU coach Tim Miles and current head coach Saul Phillips as a student manager and graduate assistant manager before being promoted to video coordinator for the men’s basketball program.

Click here to read the complete release.

NDSU Names Tom Goehle Assistant Women's Basketball Coach

North Dakota State head women’s basketball coach Carolyn DeHoff announced the addition of Tom Goehle as an assistant coach for the 2012-13 season.

Goehle has spent the last four seasons as an assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of Sioux Falls under head coach Travis Traphagen. Together they inherited a program that won only eight games prior to their arrival.

Since then USF achieved tremendous success. During his tenure with the Cougars, the program saw a pair of 18-14 seasons and two consecutive seasons with over 20 wins. In 2011, USF set a single-season record with 27 wins, taking the program to its first NAIA Elite Eight appearance since 2003. Last season the University of Sioux Falls completed its first full season as a NCAA Division II member. Goehle assisted the Cougars to an overall record of 86-37.

His duties at USF included player development, scouting of opponents, and recruiting. Goehle will assist in all phases of the Bison program. His primary responsibility will involve recruiting and on-court coaching. 

Click here to read the full recap.

Two Summit League Student-Athletes Honored by South Dakota Sportswriters Association

North Dakota State's Abby Plucker and South Dakota's Bethany Buell were recently honored by the South Dakota Sportswriters Association.  Plucker earned the Independent Female Athlete of the Year award, while Buell was named the College Women’s Athlete of the Year.

Click here to read the entire on article on Plucker and here for the entire article on Buell.