The Bison dropped to 0-3 after their home loss
The Bison trying to find their way early in the season.
NDSU Bison’s women’s basketball team fell to a zero to three record last Friday after losing to Valparaiso University Crusaders 66 to 54 at home in the Scheel’s Center.
The loss can largely be attributed to NDSU’s zero to 14 shooting from beyond the three-point line. On top of that, they only made 37.5 percent of field goals. The Bison saw the ball go through the net just 18 times on the night.
On the flip side, the Crusaders were 10 to 30 from beyond the arc. When almost half a team’s offensive production comes from the three-point line it can be a good sign, but the Bison were just too cold from deep to do anything about.
Despite the loss, this was indeed a back and forth game. Early on, NDSU was able to find success. They ended the first quarter with a slim, 17 to 14 lead. In the second frame, the score reached 19 to 16 NDSU, but Valparaiso fought back and went on a 10 to zero run making it 26 to 19.
The Bison were able to notch a couple of buckets before halftime, and went into the break just down three, at 26 to 23. Both Valpo and the Herd’s offense were able to break through in the third quarter. Each team scored 20 points in the third frame, and the game looked to be headed to an exciting finish.
However, the Crusaders were the only ones able to keep their offensive production rolling. Valparaiso exploited the Bison defense again outscoring the Bison 20 to 11 in the fourth quarter. The eight to one to end the game helped the Crusaders safely pull away and secure their first victory on the year
The Herd was lead by Emily Dietz, who went six and seven in field goals and two and four in free throws giving her 14 total points on the night. The Bison had three players, Michelle Gaislerova, Rylee Nudell and Nicole Scales go four and four on free throws.
Redshirt junior Sofija Zivaljevic led NDSU in rebounds with 11 points. On the offensive side, Zivaljevic was just one and 10 from the floor and zero and four from beyond the arc.
The Crusaders were led by Addison Stroller. Stroller had nearly a third of the Crusader’s pointers with 21 from six field goals, three coming from beyond the arc and also notched six field goals
The Bison are an extremely young team. The program turnaround was not going to happen overnight. It is at least encouraging to see the Herd competing early on in this season.