NDSU women's basketball suffers third key injury in home opener

Bison Women Face Uphill Battle After Third Key Player Injury

North Dakota State’s women’s basketball team won its home opener against Division II Augustana 86-60, Wahpeton Daily News reported. The Bison defeated Division II Augustana 86-60 on Thursday night at Scheels Center, but the scoreboard felt almost meaningless. By the game’s end, North Dakota State had absorbed a third significant injury to a key player in the span of just two games, leaving the preseason Summit League favorites reeling and facing an uncertain future.

This is the kind of week that can either break a team or forge it into something unbreakable. “It’s been an emotional week for our team and then compounded again tonight,” said Bison head coach Jory Collins. “I can see in their eyes that they’re sticking together.”

The Mounting Toll of Injuries

The latest blow came with 7 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Junior guard Elena Lazarevic, a crucial piece of the Bison backcourt, went down grabbing her left knee in pain. She had to be helped off the court and spent the rest of the game on the bench with a bag of ice on a knee that has now become the team’s latest source of concern. Collins offered little hope in his postgame press conference, offering a blunt assessment: “It looked to me like a typical not good thing.”

Augustana vs. NDSU Women's Basketball Highlights – November 5th, 2026

Lazarevic’s injury compounds a crisis that was already severe. The Bison were already without Summit League Player of the Year Avery Koenen and fellow starter Abby Krzewinski, both sidelined indefinitely with lower-leg injuries suffered earlier in the week during a game at Gonzaga. That’s not just two starters gone; that’s a combined 204 games and 160 starts of collegiate experience lost in a single week. The visual of the three injured players on the bench was a stark image of the team’s plight. More than an hour before tipoff, Koenen was on crutches in a knee brace while Krzewinski moved around the floor on a rolling scooter, her left leg in a walking boot. Lazarevic later joined them, a trio of sidelined stars watching their teammates try to pick up the pieces.

A Show of Resilience Amid the Struggle

Yet, the Bison (1-1) did not fold. In fact, they never trailed in their rout of Augustana. Senior post Miriley Simon stepped into a larger role and delivered, pacing the team with nine points and eight rebounds. Guard Jocelyn Schiller, who finished with 20 points and six rebounds, and forward Karrington Asp, who added 18, continued to carry the offensive load. The Bison’s defense and execution were crisp enough to build a 19-8 lead in the first quarter and stretch it to as many as 20 points in the third, pulling away from the Vikings for a convincing win.

NDSU women's basketball suffers third key injury in home opener — Photo: inforum.com

The team’s response has been defined by a blend of raw honesty and steely determination. “There’s been a lot of change and we’re all trying to process what’s happening,” Schiller admitted. “We know it’s going to take all of us.” Asp offered a more pragmatic view, acknowledging the harsh reality of the sport. “It’s rough, but adversity happens,” she said. “It’s part of the sport.” This isn’t just a platitude for Asp and her teammates; it’s a mantra they are being forced to live by in real-time.”

Playing for Something Bigger Than Themselves

The adversity has forged a powerful and unexpected bond. “We don’t have a lot of players left, but we’re going to be a really tight group,” Schiller added. Collins echoed this, seeing the challenge not as a burden, but as a crucible that is revealing his team’s character. “Those are all three really good players,” he said. “It’s hard to see people you care about get hurt.”

NDSU Women's Basketball – Postgame Press Conference 11/5/26

The goal, it seems, has not changed. Asp made that clear, stating that the team still has the same aspirations it had at the start of the season. The motivation has simply shifted. “We’re doing it for them,” Asp said, a direct reference to Koenen, Krzewinski, and Lazarevic. “We’ve just got to bounce back and push forward. I love a good challenge. I’m excited for it. I want to play for them.” That sentiment—a team playing for its absent members—is a powerful force, capable of uniting a group in a way few other circumstances can.”

The immediate path forward is clear but daunting. The Bison are scheduled to play Creighton at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9, at Scheels Center in a game that will be televised on WDAY Xtra. The question of how they will play the season without three of their most experienced players remains open. The next few weeks will reveal not just what this team is made of, but whether it has enough depth and resilience to overcome a level of adversity that few teams are ever forced to face. The clock, as Collins noted, couldn’t run fast enough to get to the next challenge, and the next, and the next.