NDSU WBB Battles Montana in WNIT Second Round

THE SECOND ROUND OF THE WNIT IS THIS WEEKEND.

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR)–The NDSU women prepare for the WNIT second round this weekend and look to continue to build upon their historic season.

The Bison enter the tournament after receiving a ‘bye’ in round one with a 21-11 record. The 21 wins is the most for the program in the division one era.

The herd will take on a 23-9 Montana Grizzlies team who defeated Boise State earlier this week to meet the Bison in the second round of the tournament.

This is the second consecutive season NDSU is in the WNIT. Head Coach Jory Collins said it was an easy decision to accept the invite.

“It was a no-brainer,” said Collins. “I mean, what I love about our team is they wanted to keep playing. They wanted to keep practicing. Our group has really enjoyed each other the last couple months. For me, this is a great opportunity for us to keep practicing, keep playing and really maximize what this group can do.

Senior Guard Heaven Hamling believes the team just needs to stay true to their identity if they want to go deep in the tournament.

“We watched them [Wednesday night] and just maybe stop their 3-point shooting,” said Hamling on the mindset heading into their matchup with Montana. “Just stick together as a team. We played them last year, first game of the year. I think we played great basketball [in the Summit League Tournament] and we know where we need to improve a little bit and I’m super excited to see how we have learned and grown from each setback we may have had in the tournament.”

The Bison and Grizzlies will play in the WNIT second round this weekend. The winner will advance to the Super 16 round which will take place March 27-29.