Bison Women’s Basketball Historic Season Comes to an End — For Now

The North Dakota State Bison women’s basketball team entered the Summit League tournament seeking its first championship in program history. It all started on Thursday when they took on the Omaha Mavericks, who took down UND 49-39 in the play-in game on Wednesday night.

The Bison would have a scare almost immediately, as not even two minutes into the game, Avery Koenen landed awkwardly on her right ankle and struggled to get up. She was in visible pain, and it sort of sucked the energy out of the NDSU bench.

“It took us a while to get going in the first place,” said Jory Collins. That wouldn’t last long, though, as Koenen would return late in the first quarter, and that opened up the door for the Marisa Frost show.

“We have really good posts, so it leaves shots open on the outside,” said Frost. She was open early and often, scoring 13 points in the first half for the Bison.

Koenen scored 14 points in the first half despite her injury, which was visibly slowing her down. The Bison led 41-19 at the half, leaving a lot of comfort room for a smooth second half.

The Bison played maybe their best quarter of basketball of the year in the third quarter, scoring 35 points and 13 of them coming from Frost. Most of the starters subbed out late in the third and early in the fourth, and the Bison would cruise to an 87-37 first-round win.

It got a sour taste out of NDSU’s mouth after the 2025 season when they lost in the first round to Kansas City. “Last year we knew that wasn’t us, it’s almost like a redemption year,” said Frost.

Frost and Koenen combined for 51 of NDSU’s 87 points, along with Karrington Asp getting 11 of her own in her first career start. Jocelyn Schiller did not play, but was available.

On Saturday, the Bison took on the Tommies of St Thomas for a trip to the title game on the line. The biggest questions coming into this game were about Schiller and Koenen’s health status.

They both played. Schiller was playing for the first time since the South Dakota State game inside the SHAC in mid-February. “She looked rusty,” said Jory Collins.

Koenen did not. She was an impact right from the get-go, scoring six of NDSU’s 12 points. “I knew that I would have to suck it up and show up for my team,” said Koenen. “Just getting through that first hump, once I got into the game, I didn’t think about it.”

The Bison did trail 15-12 heading into the second quarter, but thanks to a huge defensive effort, they would enter halftime up 24-22. “I thought we guarded really well, and I was proud of our intensity in the first half,” said Jory Collins.

“We pride ourselves in our defense, especially when some shots aren’t going down on offense,” said Abby Krzewinski. The offense would turn on a bit for both teams as NDSU would outscore St. Thomas 18-15 and take a 42-37 lead into the fourth quarter.

Koenen closed the door on any hope of St. Thomas getting to the finals as she would put up 10 points and the Bison would close out a 63-51 win to advance to their second Summit League championship game in the past three seasons.

Koenen silenced the questions leading into this game, putting up a career high 31 points, going 9-10 from the free throw line. “Obviously, Avery coming off her ankle, everybody was questioning how she was gonna be, and I think she answered that pretty clearly,” said Collins.

The Bison would have to get over the hump of the 12-time Summit League champion South Dakota State Jackrabbits and Aaron Johnston. “This is what our team has worked for all year,” said Krzewinski. “We had multiple goals this year, and we wanted to be in this position,” said Collins.

The Bison would take the court in front of nearly all South Dakota State fans, presenting pretty much an away championship game for the Bison. “The environment is what the environment is. We were 12-0 on the road this season,” said Collins.

“I mean, it’s pretty much a home game for them,” said Koenen. One of the many challenges facing South Dakota State was presented early, as Brooklyn Meyer had everything she wanted against NDSU.

She accounted for eight of South Dakota State’s 16 points, leading to a 16-12 SDSU lead after the first quarter.

The second quarter would be a draw as both teams put up 15 points, giving SDSU a 31-27 lead heading to halftime. Frost hit a huge three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead to four.

The Bison didn’t hit a ton of shots in the first half, and it led to them trailing. “Against them, you have to hit somewhat contested shots,” said NDSU’s Molly Lenz.

The Bison would open up the second half with a bang as Brooklyn Meyer suffered two fouls early, leading to her getting subbed out and giving NDSU an advantage. The Bison went on a 7-1 run, including a Koenen “and one” to give NDSU a 36-34 lead.

Just when you thought the Bison were about to do the impossible, SDSU gave NDSU a reality check, and they stole all the momentum, outscoring NDSU 12-7 for the rest of the quarter, giving themselves a 44-41 lead going to the final ten minutes.

The final score won’t say it, but this was a game in the final minutes. 57-51 SDSU was the score with 49 seconds remaining when Frost committed two turnovers, leading to SDSU getting to the free throw line and putting NDSU away 64-51.

South Dakota State and Aaron Johnston took home their fourth straight Summit League title, and 13th all-time. “They’ve been the standard of the league for a long time, and that’s the level we gotta get to,” said Collins.

It was an emotional postgame press conference, particularly for Koenen. “It’s been a blessing to be a part of this team,” she said before choking up. You could tell she wanted this win, and she wanted it badly.

NDSU’s fate would be up to the selection committee on Sunday evening on whether they would be going to the NCAA tournament or not. “I hope that there is a discussion. I hope there are people talking about us on 28-4,” said Collins. “I would guess it’s a long shot.”

He was right on that part. NDSU was not selected to the NCAA tournament but would get into the WBIT, similar to getting into the WNIT in 2025, where they made it all the way to the elite eight.

The WBIT is the best postseason tournament other than the NCAA tournament. The Bison got a top seed, which means they are in line to host up to three games at the SHAC if they can advance.

They will take on unseeded Chattanooga on Thursday at the SHAC in the first round.