# 2022–23 North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team

The 2022–23 North Dakota State Bison women's basketball team represented North Dakota State University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bison, led by fourth-year head coach Jory Collins, played their home games at the Scheels Center, as members of the Summit League. After NDSU's win over St. Thomas on February 23, the Bison clinched their highest Division I win count since 2008. The Bison clinched the second seed in the Summit League tournament, the highest mark in a conference tournament since their Division II days.
Their tournament run ended in the quarterfinals of the tournament when they lost to 10th-seeded Kansas City.
The Bison were automatically invited to the 2023 Women's National Invitation Tournament since Summit League regular season champion South Dakota State made the NCAA tournament. Their postseason run ended in the WNIT first round when they lost to Oregon 96–57.

## Previous season

The Bison finished the 2021–22 season 11–18, 7–11 in Summit League play, to finish in sixth place. In the Summit League Tournament, they lost to third-seeded Kansas City to be eliminated from the tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Reneya Hopkins | 0 | G | 5'6" | Senior | Midwest City, OK | Transferred to Texas A&M University–Texarkana (NAIA) |
| Kylie Strop | 2 | G | 5'7" | Sophomore | River Falls, WI | Transferred to Wisconsin–Eau Claire (Division III) |
| Kadie Deaton | 3 | G | 5'11" | Junior | Wausau, WI | Transferred to Pacific |
| Ellie Dague | 4 | G | 5'10" | Freshman | Henning, MN | Transferred to St. Thomas |
| Ryan Cobbins | 5 | G/F | 6'0" | Junior | Kansas City, KS | Transferred to Alabama |
| Abbey Kubas | 22 | F | 5'11" | Freshman | Dickinson, ND | Left team for personal reasons |
| Olivia Skibiel | 23 | G/F | 6'0" | Junior | Snohomish, WA | Transferred to Minnesota State–Moorhead (Division II) |
Source:

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Abbie Draper | 2 | F | 6'2" | Sophomore | Waverly, IA | Bradley |
| Georgia Baldwin | 4 | F | 6'0" | Junior | Melbourne, Australia | Eastern Kentucky |
| Taylor Brown | 14 | F | 6'1" | Senior | Lakeville, MN | American |

### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Leah Mackenzie G | Melbourne, Australia | Box Hill Senior Secondary College | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Marwa Bedziri F | Stockholm, Sweden | Fryshuset Gymnasium | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Abby Graham G | Portland, OR | St. Mary's Academy | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Elle Evans G | Edwardsville, IL | Edwardsville High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Montana | W 65–63 | 1–0 | 19 – Hamling | 9 – Behnke | 6 – Hamling | Dahlberg Arena (1,891) Missoula, MT |
| November 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | Valley City State | W 96–45 | 2–0 | 21 – Hamling | 6 – tied | 5 – Schulte | Scheels Center (365) Fargo, ND |
| November 17, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ABC ND/ESPN+ | | Minnesota | W 71–65 | 3–0 | 16 – Brown | 10 – Brown | 5 – Schulte | Scheels Center (1,759) Fargo, ND |
| November 22, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | Northern Colorado | W 68–54 | 4–0 | 15 – Evans | 6 – Hamling | 6 – Hamling | Scheels Center (531) Fargo, ND |
| November 25, 2022* 6:30 p.m. | | vs. Boise State Nugget Classic | W 68–53 | 5–0 | 23 – Hamling | 4 – tied | 3 – Hamling | Lawlor Events Center (826) Reno, NV |
| November 27, 2022* 2:30 p.m. | | at Nevada Nugget Classic | W 73–68 | 6–0 | 39 – Hamling | 7 – Brown | 6 – Schulte | Lawlor Events Center (775) Reno, NV |
| December 1, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | L 55–73 | 6–1 | 14 – Evans | 7 – tied | 4 – Hamling | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,821) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 3, 2022* 12:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | L 65–66 | 6–2 | 17 – Evans | 10 – Behnke | 5 – Evans | McGuirk Arena (1,078) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| December 6, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 70–79 | 6–3 | 16 – Behnke | 10 – Behnke | 3 – tied | McLeod Center (1,852) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 10, 2022* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Green Bay | L 52–70 | 6–4 | 13 – Evans | 7 – Evans | 4 – Hamling | Kress Events Center (1,674) Green Bay, WI |
| December 14, 2022* 6:00 p.m. | | at Mayville State Rescheduled from November 10 | Cancelled due to inclement weather | Cancelled due to inclement weather | Cancelled due to inclement weather | Cancelled due to inclement weather | Cancelled due to inclement weather | Lewy Lee Fieldhouse Mayville, ND |
| Summit League regular season |||||||||
| December 19, 2022 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | Western Illinois | W 84–60 | 7–4 (1–0) | 13 – Hamling | 8 – Ekofo Yomane | 8 – Schulte | Scheels Center (276) Fargo, ND |
| December 21, 2022 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | St. Thomas | W 74–56 | 8–4 (2–0) | 17 – Hamling | 8 – Benhke | 6 – Hamling | Scheels Center (211) Fargo, ND |
| December 31, 2022 1:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | North Dakota | W 81–76 | 9–4 (3–0) | 28 – Hamling | 9 – Behnke | 6 – Hamling | Scheels Center (1,691) Fargo, ND |
| January 5, 2023 7:00 p.m. | | at South Dakota State | L 63–94 | 9–5 (3–1) | 15 – Graham | 7 – Brown | 5 – Schulte | Frost Arena (1,341) Brookings, SD |
| January 7, 2023 1:00 p.m., MidcoSN+ | | at South Dakota | W 79–76 | 10–5 (4–1) | 22 – Hamling | 8 – Behnke | 6 – Hamling | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,969) Vermillion, SD |
| January 12, 2023 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | Denver | W 71–43 | 11–5 (5–1) | 22 – Graham | 12 – Behnke | 4 – Hamling | Scheels Center (548) Fargo, ND |
| January 14, 2023 1:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | Omaha | W 83–71 | 12–5 (6–1) | 26 – Hamling | 6 – Hamling | 6 – Hamling | Scheels Center (766) Fargo, ND |
| January 19, 2023 7:00 p.m. | | at Oral Roberts | L 53–75 | 12–6 (6–2) | 14 – Evans | 7 – Behnke | 3 – Hamling | Mabee Center (1,574) Tulsa, OK |
| January 21, 2023 2:00 p.m. | | at Kansas City | W 75–66 | 13–6 (7–2) | 23 – Evans | 11 – Behnke | 4 – Hamling | Swinney Recreation Center (480) Kansas City, MO |
| January 28, 2023 1:05 p.m., MidcoSN/ESPN3 | | at North Dakota | L 73–82 | 13–7 (7–3) | 28 – Hamling | 8 – Evans | 2 – Hamling | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,116) Grand Forks, ND |
| February 2, 2023 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | South Dakota | W 86–82 $^{OT}$ | 14–7 (8–3) | 28 – Hamling | 8 – Hamling | 3 – Schulte | Scheels Center (712) Fargo, ND |
| February 4, 2023 1:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | South Dakota State | L 54–82 | 14–8 (8–4) | 11 – Evans | 7 – Brown | 4 – Hamling | Scheels Center (1,722) Fargo, ND |
| February 9, 2023 7:05 p.m. | | at Omaha | L 58–63 | 14–9 (8–5) | 16 – Evans | 15 – Evans | 4 – Hamling | Baxter Arena (453) Omaha, NE |
| February 11, 2023 2:00 p.m. | | at Denver | L 71–83 | 14–10 (8–6) | 14 – Hamling | 6 – Ekofo Yomane | 3 – tied | Hamilton Gymnasium (472) Denver, CO |
| February 16, 2023 7:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | Kansas City | W 86–75 | 15–10 (9–6) | 21 – Hamling | 12 – Behnke | 5 – Hamling | Scheels Center (709) Fargo, ND |
| February 18, 2023 12:00 p.m., WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | Oral Roberts | W 103–86 | 16–10 (10–6) | 29 – Hamling | 9 – Brown | 6 – Hamling | Scheels Center (782) Fargo, ND |
| February 23, 2023 7:00 p.m. | | at St. Thomas | W 64–44 | 17–10 (11–6) | 17 – Evans | 8 – Brown | 4 – tied | Schoenecker Arena (551) Saint Paul, MN |
| February 25, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Western Illinois | W 82–74 | 18–10 (12–6) | 31 – Hamling | 11 – Brown | 5 – Schulte | Western Hall (746) Macomb, IL |
| Summit League tournament |||||||||
| March 4, 2023 3:00 p.m., MidcoSN/ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (10) Kansas City Quarterfinals | L 64–71 | 18–11 | 16 – Hamling | 7 – tied | 5 – tied | Denny Sanford Premier Center (6,830) Sioux Falls, SD |
| Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) |||||||||
| March 17, 2023 9:00 p.m. | | at Oregon First round | L 57–96 | 18–12 | 16 – Hamling | 6 – Hamling | 7 – Schulte | Matthew Knight Arena (2,703) Eugene, OR |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Sources:

## Awards and accolades
### Summit League Player of the Week

| Week | Player(s) of the Week | School |
| November 28 | Heaven Hamling | North Dakota State |
| January 3 | Heaven Hamling (2) | North Dakota State (2) |
| February 20 | Heaven Hamling (3) | North Dakota State (3) |

### Summit League regular season awards
#### Freshman of the Year

* Elle Evans

#### All-Summit League First Team

* Heaven Hamling

#### All-Summit League Honorable Mention

* Elle Evans

#### All-Summit League Defensive Team

* Elle Evans

#### All-Summit League Newcomer Team

* Elle Evans
Source: