2 days Ago By Dom Izzo
FARGO – North Dakota State’s women’s basketball team began practices for this season in late September. It is now the last day of March and the season is still going, and a win Monday will mean the season will go into April. Basketball fans in Fargo of a certain age are used to the Bison women playing into late March.
Last week was the 30th anniversary of NDSU’s 1995 national championship win, a 98-85 win over Portland State played in front of 7,138 fans in a packed Bison Sports Arena. That win capped off a perfect 32-0 season, capturing a third straight title. Hall of Fame head coach Amy Ruley always said “the BSA would be packed for our games and people would leave before the men’s game would tip off.
” Monday’s WNIT quarterfinal against Troy (AL.) will not have that energy, nor crowd size, but it can bring some of the passion back that those crowds used to have. NDSU has benefited from the home crowd in each of the first two games, as the noise and passion from the fans rattled New Mexico State and Washington State.
“It’s super fun, when we score a basket it gets really loud or we get a stop, it’s fantastic,” said freshman guard Marisa Frost. “I’ve had a ton of fun on the team this year.” The first two games of the WNIT have had crowd sizes of 1,016 and 1,239 fans, two of the best of the season, outdone by only the North Dakota and South Dakota State games this year.
The crowd last Thursday ranks in the top 12 of team all-time attended games since NDSU opened the Scheels Center in 2016. “It does make a difference, I don’t care what anyone says,” said NDSU head coach Jory Collins. “You play at home in front of a big crowd, you have some juice in situations.
They can will you to a loose ball or a big shot or a big defensive stop and that always matters. The people that come to our games are loud and proud and we appreciate that.” Collins has long sought for the Scheels Center to be a difficult place to play and that vision has finally been realized.
Entering Monday’s game with Troy, the Bison have racked up a record of 37-4 over the last three years. Three of those losses are to the Jackrabbits and the other was to Drake to open this season. Two of those wins are now over Power Four programs in Minnesota and Washington State.
In a video posted by the school after the win over Washington State Thursday night, the team was ecstatic when Collins told them they would get another game at home. “It’s something that not a lot of teams get to experience at this point of the season,” said Bison all-league forward Avery Koenen. “Try to make the most out of it and any postseason win we can get can boost our program up.
” Several former players of those title teams have been seen in the crowd during the first two rounds of the WNIT and more are expected Monday night. If there’s a chance that NDSU can make women’s basketball be a big deal again, keep on winning in this tournament. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Bison will keep hosting and they could win this whole thing.
Fargo loves winners. NDSU women’s basketball knows that better than anyone. The Bison have a chance to tap into their history to try and help out their future tonight.
“This is for fun right now,” Collins said. “There’s no pressure in these games and we’re trying to get better and compete our butts off, but just go out and play.”.
