The latest date an NDSU basketball team has ever played took place this past Monday as the Bison women’s basketball team took on Troy in the “Great Eight” of the WNIT tournament. The winner would be off to the final four. It was the highest-attended women’s game all season as the SHAC packed in 2,462 fans to watch this huge matchup. The herd opened up the game leading 19-12 late in the 1st quarter thanks to nine points from all-conference sophomore Avery Koenen. After the first quarter, Troy would storm back and cut it to a 21-20 lead for the Bison. Troy would take their first lead of the night mid-way through the first quarter before the Bison eventually stormed back again, and the game was tied 40-40 with under two minutes to go in the first half.
Troy would respond with a 6-1 run over the final 1:47 in the first half and take a 46-41 lead to the locker room. The third quarter opened up with a ton of action, and the Bison would outscore Troy 10-6 in the first three minutes. Over the course of the next three minutes, though, it was all defense. Nobody scored a point until Troy scored on a layup from Brianna Jackson. The Bison responded with a 6-0 run thanks to Abbie Draper, Abby Schulte, and Marisa Frost all getting themselves layups to give the Bison a three-point lead at 57-54. It looked as if Troy would take the lead heading to the fourth quarter before Molly Lenz hit a huge three-pointer to give the Bison a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Troy opened up the fourth quarter with a 10-1 run of their own, giving them a 71-63 lead with 5:44 remaining, which was to that point their biggest lead of the night. The Bison owned the next five minutes, going on a 12-6 run capped off by Avery Koenen hitting two free throws to make it a 78-75 lead for Troy. Bison fans rose to their feet for the final 51 seconds of regulation, and it gave the Bison a burst as Abby Schulte got a steal, but it would eventually result in zero points, and Troy got to the free throw line with 23 seconds left. They would only make one, so the lead was now four points, and the Bison had to score quickly. Molly Lenz got fouled from three-point range and got three shots from the line. She made all three, and all of a sudden, it was a one-point game with 19 seconds left.
Troy inbounded the ball, and Abby Schulte would foul. Troy drained both free throws, and it was a three-point game once again. The bison drove down the court, and Moll Lenz shot a corner three, which she drained to tie the game. Troy missed a layup, and this one was heading to overtime. It was one of the best environments the SHAC has ever seen and one of the best crowds we have seen for a women’s game in quite some time.
Overtime would not go the Bison’s way as Troy outscored the herd 16-7 and took home the 97-88 win over the Bison. Avery Koenen paved the way with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Abby Schulte, in her final game, scored 12 points in 33 minutes. For a team that was a first-round exit in Sioux Falls to get this far in the WNIT, it should be something that Jory Collins and company to be proud of.
This is something this team can build off of heading into next season and try to really make a run at a Summit League title in the 2025-2026 season. Something that will really help is getting Jocelyn Schiller. The Grand Forks native was the Summit League freshman of the year at UND, averaging just over 13 points per game. She is a great shooting guard, which is exactly what this team was missing. The Bison were really good inside with Avery Koenen and Abby Draper this season, and adding a deadly shooter might just boost this team over the edge. It also never hurts to take players from the team up north. Plenty of things to look forward to with the NDSU women’s basketball program next season.