SPOKANE, Wash. – Today, we sat down with Valley News Live Sports Director Devin Fry and spoke about the upcoming WNIT Super 16 game between the Washington State Cougars and North Dakota State Bison women’s basketball teams, the programs’ first-ever meeting.
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Jack Wallace 0:00
Welcome into a special segment on 4 News Now digital, we’re going to have Devin Fry here, the sports director at KVLY in Fargo, North Dakota, that will give us a little more of an insight of what to expect from the North Dakota State Bison in their game against the Washington State Cougars and the WNIT Super 16, that game coming up in just a day. And very excited about that one, but it’s funny that this game is being played at North Dakota State. I wouldn’t have expected that pre-tournament. I know there are not many big seedings in this, but it’s interesting this his game is happening in Fargo, and what could be a tough road trip for WSU,
Devin Fry 0:34
Well, and the WNIT likes to keep things a mystery as well for whether who’s going to be hosting when the games are going to be, they like the mystery element to it, and, no, it was a it was a fun surprise for me after watching the end of the Wazzu and Utah Valley game that, oh, they get to come to Fargo. That’s cool. I don’t have to try to coordinate getting video from my lovely friend Jack Wallace. I have to send a video to my friend Jack Wallace, but no, it’s an exciting time, and the first-ever matchup. That’s kind of what postseason basketball is about. That’s what makes it a little bit more fun, is these unfamiliar games. And North Dakota State versus Washington State is certainly an unfamiliar game.
Jack Wallace 1:19
And it’s interesting. You mentioned, of course, the first ever meeting. I looked back into this. And if I’m not mistaken, I think this is correct, that, and we can say, I think it’s fair to say, Washington State is still a major conference-level team. I know they’re not in a major conference, per say, the WCC, but they’re in that we’re in between the Pac-12. This is their curse of only two years in the WCC. So the sake of the argument, say that’s in there. And assuming that is the case, it would be the first major-conference school to be in Scheels Center since Minnesota in 2022 which I actually was there covering that game. So I think it’s kind of funny that it’s been that long. And of course, Minnesota by far the closest team North Dakota State, a rivalry across a lot of sports. So it’s interesting to sort of have that bigger opponent, and how do you think that’s going to go for, you know, getting the fan attendance there, getting sort of the team more excited for that. They’re playing a team that’s sort of a different kind of caliber, and WSU finishing third in the WCC, having a pretty good year in their own right.
Devin Fry 2:15
Well, we saw it a little bit last year when NDSU was in the same spot in the WNIT, the previous round, when they hosted Montana last year, that drew a crowd. New Mexico State didn’t draw a crowd, but Montana did? I find that fun. But anyway, if you have a team with any name recognition in Fargo, North Dakota, you’re going to draw a little bit of a crowd. And that creates a fun atmosphere in the Scheels Center, or the SHAC, and it’s, it’s a very fun environment to be a part of postseason basketball no matter what. And I know, obviously there’s going to be plenty of people poo-pooing the WNIT, because, you know, it’s not familiar affiliated with the NCAA anymore. It’s still postseason basketball. You’re still playing for something bigger than you’re still playing for a title at the end of this tournament. And so I think the the idea of it being postseason basketball and it being an opponent with a name like Washington State, you know, not everybody’s sickos like me and you, they’re not paying attention to the conference realignment, 24/7 for all, a lot of people know Washington State’s still a Pac-12 team, and the Pac-12 is doing fine. We’re going to let them keep believing that. But you No, it’s still, it’s still obviously a big deal. And you know, you mentioned the Minnesota games, those always draw a crowd whenever NDSU is able to host Minnesota in any regard, or any sport even. And you know, that’s the closest Power-4 team that they have. There’s really the only option is the Gophers. And so whenever those games happen, it draws a crowd, creates a cool atmosphere. And so I imagine the same thing happening at Washington State. Do I think against Washington State? Do I think they’re going to sell anything out? Who’s to say? But it’ll be, it’ll be fun to see no matter what, it’ll be fun to be in that atmosphere. Just because it’s postseason basketball, there could be four people in the building, and I’d be excited about it.
Jack Wallace 4:02
Yeah, it and looking at North Dakota State this season, I mean, I know it’s been their history, at least, if you go back 10-15-20 years has not been as time, but in terms of very recent history has been pretty good. I think this is the first back-to-back 20-win season since ‘04-’05, when they had a phenomenal run. I think that was right at the end of the end of the D-II era. And so with this, what’s kind of been their biggest catalyst for success, because I know in the off-season, losing Heaven Hamling and Elle Evans are off to Kansas, that’s a really massive loss from what they were able to do last season. And so how are they able to recover as well as they are and get that 21 mark again?
Devin Fry 4:40
Well, it’s, it’s, they became a team with an entirely different identity. It was really cool to see them change completely over the off-season, because you mentioned Heaven Hamling and Elle Evans are very guard-oriented. You know, they were knocking down shots. They were finding open looks for Heaven. They were finding open looks for Elle. So that was usually behind the three-point line, and they were winning games that way. This year, it’s all about defense and domination down low. They have a couple of taller players, Avery Koenen and Abby Draper. They’ve been – the boards have really been what wins and loses games for them, and when they don’t allow opponents to score more than 60 points, they tend to win these games. And that’s been the hallmark, really, of North Dakota State this year. And I really think that this is head coach Jory Collins, like final vision of what he wanted North Dakota State basketball to be is just domination down low. I know he loves it, but it also, when you have that domination down low, it also opens up things in the back court. And we’ve seen a freshman named Marissa Frost, she is – she comes up big in games just at random times all of a sudden, Frost will have like, 13 points or 15 points, which is all you really need when you have a double-double from Koenen and Draper and so, and she gets those by having open looks behind the three-point line, because everybody has to pay attention down low. And so it all comes down to the boards, and that’s what North Dakota State’s hallmark has been this year. And like I said, just a fascinating difference from last year. I know most people watching this won’t know what the North Dakota State Bison looked like last year, but you will. And so you, you know exactly what I’m talking about. And so it’s a, it’s a really cool transition that they’ve made, and really seamless back-to-back, 20-win seasons, back-to-back deep runs in the WNIT, it’s, it’s, it’s a cool time for North Dakota State right now. And Jory Collins mentioned post-game against New Mexico State that he wants this to be the norm. He doesn’t want this to be a special thing anymore. He just wants a consistent building that North Dakota State is able to do through, whether they have to change identities or rely, hopefully rely on the same players year in and year out. But you know that all depends on the portal and all kinds of other factors that are out of his control. So we’ll, we’ll, we’ll, uh, we’ll see how this continues to grow. But for right now, things are looking pretty good.
Jack Wallace 7:05
And and even sort of going with that about what you mentioned in the NDSU style of play, and how they sort of live and die by these, by these big rebounds, um, outside of rebounding, I mean how things like, I guess, talking about, like turnovers, and how the three point rate has been this year, like, what other kind of factors have led to their wins and losses? I know this season, especially compared to last year, a big difference was their performance in the Summit League Tournament, where last season got pretty deep in it this season did not. And we all know, anyone who watches any one second of Summit League women’s basketball knows South Dakota State very clearly and obviously runs that conference. I mean, this is a Summit League team that made a 10 seed this year in the tournament, which is, I mean, unheard of, and on the men’s side that essentially, I don’t think that’s ever happened, ever, and it’s it makes sense, because South Dakota State is that level, but at least for NDSU not performing as well in the conference journey this year. How have they been able to turn that around and win that game against New Mexico State, and now sort of getting the ball rolling again after it kind of stuttered at that conference tourney?
Devin Fry 8:04
Well, that was – the turnaround there was impressive, not well, it was a really poor performance. And Jory Collins will tell you, it was a really poor performance against Kansas City in the Summit League Tournament. Then the biggest factor there was turnovers. The games that they lose this year is when they’re missing open looks down low and committing turnovers underneath their own basket, that’s when North Dakota State loses games, and that’s what happened against Kansas City. Kansas City got out to – they dominated them defensively early, forced a ton of turnovers, and it just kind of set the tone for the rest of the game. And so when you have that kind of game, and then you have to wait a little over two weeks to play again, that’s tough. And they’ve had two total games since March 1. And so that, you know, against New Mexico State, there was a little bit of rust there. I think both teams combined for like, six points in the first quarter. And so there was a little bit of a rust factor there. But for them to be able to come back out and get re-fired up after what happened in the Summit League Tournament, wait a couple weeks playing against scout guys that were going out the night before, and that’s your only look that you get until actual game time. It’s tough to do. And so for them to have, for them to win against New Mexico State in any way. Of course, it was a closer win that I’m sure a lot of people would have preferred, but to have a win in any way in those kind of situations is very impressive. So I think that says a lot about this team, and just kind of how much they’re enjoying this postseason run. And also, I hate to bring up the transfer portal again, but if you look at like what other mid-major schools are looking like right now in the portal, North Dakota State doesn’t have that. They have two people in the portal right now, and none of them, and neither of them are starters. It kind of speaks to what they are doing there at the program, and how much they’re enjoying this run that they’re on. And they have, they have some players that are probably getting some looks. But it’s, I, well, I’m just assuming any, any mid-major that shows any promise is getting offers from somewhere. And so, yeah, no, it’s, it’s an exciting time right now, and I am very excited to see what happens tomorrow when they host Washington State, host Washington State, still very fun to say. I didn’t expect to have to say that this year.
Jack Wallace 10:25
No, it should be a lot of fun into that. And actually, I am now reading which this is, I think, now official that Dayana Mendes is in the transfer portal, which is pretty big. She’s 6’2, averaged about eight and five, and was a big, big player for them. She at least I saw her and Charlotte Abraham were phenomenal. I know viewers would know that after watching this team, so that will definitely change the dynamic and how they play against NDSU, especially a team that you mentioned. They have this bigger size. They have better rebounding. That’s going to be an interesting matchup to watch, at least down low, even though Washington State does get a lot more on, sort of the outside shots, but could be very interesting matchup, and very excited to get to that. That’s all I have for today. So I appreciate you coming on, Devin, and we’ll look forward to seeing this matchup come on at five o’clock PST. I know seven for y’all out in the Central Time Zone.
Devin Fry 11:18
In the better time zone, in the better time zone.
Jack Wallace 11:21
It’ll be a lot of fun, looking forward to that and appreciate everyone for watching this has been Jack Wallace on 4 News Now digital.
COPYRIGHT 2025 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
