FARGO — The first matchup with the University of Minnesota was a struggle on multiple fronts for the North Dakota State women’s
basketball team. Heading into the rematch on Friday night, in the Super 16 round of the WNIT, the Bison are curious how much of a difference the last four-plus months have made. NDSU left Williams Arena on Nov. 15 on the wrong end of a 75-53 game. Nobody really played well and that started early with the Gophers taking a 41-19 halftime lead. It was 9-0 a few possessions into the game. “We were a young team and some people were still getting their foot in the water and didn’t really know what the college level was like,” said Bison guard Heaven Hamling. “They punched us in the face right away and it shocked a lot of us. I personally didn’t play my best either and I think we were still trying to figure out who we were at that time.” North Dakota State guard Heaven Hamling drives past Denver guard Emily Counsel on Saturday, March 9, 2024, during the women's quarterfinals at the Summit League basketball tournament at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dave Eggen/Inertia Hamling was 4 of 12 from the field and had an uncharacteristic nine turnovers. It was the third game of the season and the Bison had four true freshmen playing against a Big Ten Conference team. Moreover, NDSU started one player and had two others come off the bench who are no longer on the team. It probably wasn’t until after the New Year when the Bison won four straight games with their 10-player roster that they started to mesh. ADVERTISEMENT For Hamling, it’s a chance to go back to Williams Arena for the fourth time. As a high school player in Grand Rapids, she was on the Thunderhawks team that won a game in the Minnesota state tournament for the first time in school history. That came against Holy Angels in 2018. She’s not the only Minnesotan who is familiar with Williams Arena. Point guard Abby Schulte is from Maple Grove and starting forward Abby Krzewinski is from Wayzata, both Minneapolis suburbs. Freshman forward Avery Koenen led her Montevideo team to the Minnesota Class AA tournament at Williams Arena in 2022. North Dakota State forward Avery Koenen (22) elevates for a shot against Denver on Saturday, March 9, 2024, during the women's quarterfinals at the Summit League basketball tournament at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dave Eggen/Inertia “And a lot of them have been to games there as kids, that’s kind of your stomping grounds,” said NDSU head coach Jory Collins. “You always want to go back and play well in front of people you played for and with in high school and all of your family and
Friends that are that close. It’s a great opportunity for them.” Said Hamling: “I think a lot of teams can be tired at this point of the year and we’re not. We come out and get after each other, we’re still competing every single day even when we don’t know who we’re playing.” Read more from Jeff Kolpack Subscribers Only College Midco Sports lays off TV personalities, will focus on streaming Company says it will maintain contractual relationships with UND, SDSU and USD 1d ago · By Jeff Kolpack Subscribers Only Men's Sports Former Bison great Billy Turner considering NFL retirement After 10 years in the league, Turner says the injury issues add up 1d ago · By Jeff Kolpack Subscribers Only Men's Sports It was a Bison offensive line celebration at NDSU's Pro Day With Billy Turner and Cordell Volson on hand, ex-NDSU players Jake Kubas and Jalen Sundell go through NFL tests 2d ago · By Jeff Kolpack Subscribers Only Women's Sports Kolpack: Women's hoops is hot, and Bison are part of the party North Dakota State stops Montana in second round of the WNIT 3d ago · By Jeff Kolpack That’s the format of the WNIT, where games are played on different days at different sites. NDSU defeated the University of Montana 72-63 on Monday night at Scheels Center at Sanford Health Athletic Complex and then didn’t know its Super 16 opponent until the following night when Minnesota beat the University of Pacific (Calif.). The Bison-Gopher game will be aired on Big Ten Plus, the streaming arm of the Big Ten Network. NDSU plays Summit League teams twice during the season, but it's rare the Bison get a nonconference opponent more than once. Especially one where the first time around didn’t go so well. “That’s any player’s dream, if you don’t perform the way you want to and you get another chance, that’s an opportunity you have to take advantage of,” Hamling said. “We know we didn’t perform our best the first time around. I think people are itching to get back out there and see how we’ve all grown.” Collins said watching the videotape from the first Gophers game had him wondering what team was in the visiting green uniforms. ADVERTISEMENT “Pretty unrecognizable on who we were then compared to now,” he said. “All facets of the game have changed for us in what we’re running, the personnel and just about everything. They beat us in every way possible the first time we played them and I think as a team we’re better equipped to handle situations, schemes and things like that.” Share Share this article News reporting News reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags SUBSCRIBERS ONLY BISON MEDIA ZONE INFORUM BISMARCK FARGO BISON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL By Jeff Kolpack Jeff would like to dispel the notion he was around when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he is on his third decade of reporting with Forum Communications. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he's covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995. Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU's Division I FCS national
Football titles and has written three books: "Horns Up," "North Dakota Tough" and "Covid Kids." He is the radio host of "The
golf Show with Jeff Kolpack" April through August. Twitter