SIOUX FALLS - Continuing a four-game road trip, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball embarks on their first road trip of the NSIC season. The Cougars travel to Fayette, Iowa on Friday, Dec. 4 for a 6 p.m. game against Upper Iowa (1-6, 0-1 NSIC). On Saturday, Dec. 5, Sioux Falls will square off with their highest-ranked opponent yet, NSIC favorite No. 10 Winona State (8-0, 1-0 NSIC), at 4 p.m. in Winona, Minn. The Cougars enter their first full week of NSIC competition after closing the door on their non-conference schedule with two double-digit wins in their first road games of the season.

Where to watch/listen

All USF Women's Basketball home games and NSIC games are broadcast online through Stretch Internet at portal.stretchinternet.com/siouxfalls. Links to live stats, and available video webcasts for road games, for all USF games are listed on the Women's Basketball on USFCougars.com. The radio broadcast of each game is available on KWSN AM 1230 with Tom Frederick on the call.

Season-opening win streak up to seven, all by double digits

With three more wins this past week, USF is off to a 7-0 start for the second consecutive season and are within one win of matching last season's program-best 8-0 start before they suffered their first loss. Not only have the Cougars made it through their first seven games unblemished, but they have won all seven contests by double digits. USF's 63-51 win over Embry-Riddle alst Saturday was their closest margin of victory. Their plus-26.0 points per game scoring margin is second in the NSIC and 17th in the NCAA. The Cougars have won all but one game by 20 points or more, two games by 30 or more, and defeated Presentation by 41 points for their largest margin of victory. Sioux Falls will face the only team with a larger scoring margin than this Saturday when they face No. 10 Winona State, who owns a plus-28.0 scoring margin through eight games.

Cougars crack D2SIDA Media Poll Top 25, gain votes in WBCA poll

For the first time in program history, USF Women's Basketball broke into the top 25 of a national poll. The Cougars, off to a 7-0 start, checked in at No. 21 in the D2SIDA Media Poll, which consists of 16 voters, two from each region, who are sports information directors at their respective institution. USF also collected more points in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches' Poll, narrowly missing the top 25 for the first time in program history. Sioux Falls grabbed 49 total points and is the first team outside of the top 25. The Cougars also gained noticed from HERO Sports, earning the No. 11 billing in the blog's computer rankings.

Varsho named NSIC Player of the Week after impressive trio of games

Tying her career-high in back-to-back games, senior Taylor Varsho earned her first-career NSIC Player of the Week honor. A 5-foot-7 guard, Varsho averaged 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 steals, and 2.3 assists per game to lead USF to three victories. Headlining her monster stat line in a 32-point win over Southwest Minnesota State, Varsho tied a career high with 24 points but also added six steals, six rebounds, and five assists. In the Cougars' first road game of the season, Varsho kept USF rolling with six 3-pointers and 24 points, her second-straight game with a career total. In last week's final game, Varsho batled through a slow shooting night to finish with 16 points, leading USf in scoring for the third consecutive game. Varsho is leading the NSIC with 3.2 made threes per game, and has made three or more 3-pointers in four straight games.