Drake Bulldogs 84 at North Dakota State Bison 78 (NCAA Women's Basketball) - November 4, 2024

The college basketball season started Monday and when I first checked the schedule, I noticed that I could see a couple of games at a Multi-Team Event (MTE) in Sioux Falls and then a late game at South Dakota. But after looking at the women's schedules, I realized that the North Dakota State Bison ladies were home at 11 a.m., which would still allow me to see those two new venues in South Dakota as well, making it a two-state tripleheader. So I spent an extra night in Fargo, enjoying the incredible Drekker Brewing at Brewhalla, certainly a highlight of the town.

The next morning, I picked up a rental car at the airport and drove five minutes to the Scheels Center, parking in the Fargodome lot. The building originally opened in 1970 but underwent a significant renovation in 2016. The picture above is of the east side of the building.

Just inside the main entrance is the Hall of Champions, which includes a couple of actual Bison as well as some history of the championship teams that have played at NDSU.

Make sure to get around to the other side, where the Hall of Fame can be found. The most recent football trophy is there

As well, there is the 1996 Division II basketball trophy that the women won (the school jumped to D-I in 2004), their fifth in six years at the time. I like that you can see both trophy designs in the same spot.

There are also six display cases highlighting other accomplishments, such as academic excellence and Olympic athletes. 

For me, the one below had a slight personal connection as North Dakota State were the visitors in the first on-campus college basketball game I saw at Northern Arizona in 2008. That Bison team had Ben Woodside, who led them to the NCAA tournament in their first year of eligibility and the Summit League game ball, net, and trophy are here. That team lost to Kansas in the first round but have since made three more appearances that include an upset overtime win over Oklahoma in 2014.

Speaking of the Summit League, all the school logos can be found on a wall near the court. Not sure the order that these are in, it is certainly not alphabetical.

Tickets were just $5 for this one, and there was a good crowd of young kids enjoying a break from school. Total attendance was 1,073 and I'd say the kids were about half of that. The men's game that night had 1,219 for comparison.

The seating bowl here consists of four distinct sides with a concourse atop the three sides you see in the photo below. The seats along the sideline and one baseline (above) are padded, while the other baseline is bleachers.

There is also a large section above the padded seats from where the above photo was taken. You can barely see it in the top left of the photo below as it is dark and few fans sat here.

There are banners celebrating the hoops and wrestling successes over the years. The center-hung scoreboard is quite nice for this level.

Overall, Scheels Center is an excellent arena for basketball. The football team and Fargodome gets more press, but if you can, try to see both on the same trip as the two venues are well worth a visit.

The Game

The Drake Bulldogs were visiting from Des Moines, and the first thing I noticed is that the Bison had three starters named Abby or Abbie. Then just over a minute into the game, another Abby subbed in for a non-Abby. A minute after that, Drake subbed in their own Abbie. So half the players were named Abby or Abbie, setting an NCAA record for most players on the court with the same name (just guessing here). I wanted to sit courtside and just scream "Abby! No, the other one!" until I got kicked out, but I resisted the urge.

Anyway, the game was zealously officiated, with 12 fouls in the first and third quarters and a brutal 16 in the second, making it unwatchable. The picture below was one of many whistles on the afternoon. 

The Bison had a 46-36 lead at the half but Drake cut that to 5 points entering the final frame, which they dominated, particularly on defense. As well, the refs finally let them play, with only three fouls called in the first six minutes as the Bulldogs went on a 21-5 run to put things away. The final two minutes were mostly fouls as NDSU vainly tried to get back in the game, making it close but falling short at 84-78.

There were 51 total fouls called, with Drake's advantage at the free throw line (30/39 compared to 18/23) the difference. The game ended in under two hours, giving me plenty of time to make the drive to Sioux Falls for the second game of the tripleheader, which will be covered in the next post.

Best,

Sean