Tuesday, July 28, 2015

NDSU Women’s Basketball Unveils Complete 2015-16 Schedule

FARGO, N.D. – Two NCAA tournament teams, two that advanced to the WNIT and two others that played in the Women's Basketball Invitational highlight the 29-game regular season North Dakota State University 2015-16 women's basketball schedule announced on Tuesday, July 28, by second season head coach Maren Walseth.

"Once again, we were able to put together a non-conference schedule which will not only be challenging, but also prepare us for [Summit] league play," Walseth said.

New Mexico State and South Dakota State both advanced to the 2015 NCAA tournament, while South Dakota and Maine qualified for the WNIT. Oral Roberts advanced all the way to the semifinals before losing by one point to Louisiana Lafayette in the Women's Basketball Invitational, a tournament field that included North Dakota.

The Bison will play 15 home games this season, the most since the 2012-13 season when NDSU played 16 games at home.

"The number of home games this year is great," Walseth added. "We learned last year that a full BBF provides a wonderful environment."

After hosting Minnesota-Crookston in an exhibition game on Nov. 5, the Bison tip-off regular season play with four straight home games inside the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. The action begins with a contest against New Mexico State Nov. 13, before the College of Saint Mary comes to Fargo for a contest on Nov. 15. After a four-day break, North Dakota State will close out the homestand with games against Valley City State Nov. 19 and Maine Nov. 22.

NDSU travels to the San Diego State Thanksgiving Classic for its first road tests of the season, facing the host Aztecs on Nov. 27 and Delaware on Nov. 29, before trekking to Kent State for a game on Dec. 5.

The Bison return home to the friendly confines of the BBF on Dec. 8 for a contest against Grand Canyon, before heading north to Grand Forks to battle North Dakota Dec. 12. Six days later, North Dakota State continues its road trip by traveling to Wichita, Kan., for the Wichita State University Classic. The Bison face North Carolina A&T in the opening game of the classic Dec. 18, prior to closing out play in the event with a game against Prairie View A&M Dec. 19. NDSU concludes its road swing with a game at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) on Dec. 22 in Newark, N.J.

The Bison return home to the BBF to host Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 28, before tipping-off Summit League competition two days later at Omaha on Dec. 30.

North Dakota State opens league play at home on Jan. 3 inside Scheels Arena against defending Summit League tournament champion South Dakota State in one of two league doubleheaders with the Bison men's basketball team.

"We are excited to play two games at Scheels Arena again this year," Walseth said. "The players really enjoy playing there, and I think our fans enjoy coming out to a first-class facility as well."

NDSU travels to Denver on Jan. 7, before returning home to the BBF for games against Oral Roberts Jan. 9 and South Dakota Jan. 14.

The Bison head back out on the road on Jan. 16 for a game at IUPUI, prior to hosting Western Illinois and Fort Wayne at the BBF on Jan. 21 and 23.

North Dakota State begins the second-half of the Summit League campaign with three consecutive road games, traveling to South Dakota Jan. 30, Oral Roberts Feb. 4 and South Dakota State Feb. 6.

The Bison then return home for a trio of games against IUPUI Feb. 12, Omaha Feb. 14 and Denver Feb. 20. The game against Denver will mark the final home game of the regular season for NDSU and will be the second league doubleheader with NDSU men's basketball at Scheels Arena.

NDSU concludes regular season action at Western Illinois Feb. 25 and at Fort Wayne Feb. 27.

The Summit League Women's Basketball Championship is scheduled for March 5-8 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., with the top eight teams in the final league standings qualifying for the tournament.

Game times will be announced at a later date on www.GoBison.com and the NDSU women's basketball Twitter account,@NDSUwbb.

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