SIOUX FALLS – Coming off a near two week break, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball embarks on a weekend road trip to resume Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition. The Cougars (9-1, 5-1 NSIC) begin their trip at Wayne State (8-3, 3-3 NSIC) on Friday, Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. then return to Sioux Falls to face cross-town rival Augustana (10-3, 5-1 NSIC) at the Sioux Falls Arena on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 4 p.m.
 
How to watch/listen
All of USF's home games and NSIC contests will be streamed live via Stretch Internet and are available at USFCougars.com/watch. Veteran broadcaster Tom Frederick is on the call for tonight's game on KWSN AM 1230 or FM 98.1 with pregame starting 15 minutes prior to tip-off. Links for all USF home games are available at USFCougars.com/livestats and links to road contest live stats are available on the USF Women's Basketball schedule.
 
Cougars win fourth straight game, eighth straight against Southwest Minnesota State before winter break
On a slow offensive night, the Cougar defense proved to be too much for Southwest Minnesota State to overcome as USF ran away in the third quarter for a 63-47 victory. Alyson Johnsen paced the Cougars with 12 points and nearly had a double with a USF Division II record nine steals. The USF defense held SMSU to a 32.6 field goal percentage on the night and forced a season-high 26 turnovers for a USF opponent. Four more Cougars scored at least seven points and Sam Knecht finished with nine and added eight rebounds while blocking four shots.
 
Series history – Wayne State – WSC leads 6-3
With a resounding victory last season, USF closed the gap on Wayne State's lead in the Division II series history to a 6-3 edge in favor of the Wildcats. USF will be searching for their first win in Rice Auditorium as the Cougars are 0-4 in their Division II series. In NSIC regular season games, Wayne State holds a 6-2 lead in the series. USF's first marquee win of their NSIC era, the Cougars defeated then No. 13 Wayne State in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament in 2014. Last season, Sioux Falls pounced on WSC and ran away to an 84-46 victory at home behind Sam Knecht's 20 points and two more Cougars with 14 or more.
 
Series history – Augustana – AU leads 5-4 (Division II)
After dropping the first three games in their Division II series against cross-town rival Augustana, Sioux Falls has narrowed the Vikings' series lead to 5-4 in their four-year Division II competition. Last year, the Cougars earned two victories over Augustana in three contests, including a 75-57 win in the NSIC Tournament championship game. On the road, USF is 2-2 against the Cougars and since Augustana has moved their home games to the Sioux Falls Arena, USF is 1-1 on the road. The Cougars notched a 67-59 road win in which nine different Cougars scored and suffered a 64-54 loss at home despite forcing 18 turnovers. After the two teams earned a spot in the NSIC Tournament championship, the Cougars erased a three-point halftime deficit with a monster third quarter en route the 18-point victory.
 
Cougar defensive quick hits

• Sioux Falls owns the top scoring defense in the NSIC, limiting opponents to 52.3 points per game
• In part from their top-ranked scoring defense, USF is second in the league with a +16.4 edge
• USF's field goal percentage defense is third-best in the NSIC, holding teams to a 34.0 percent mark
• USF is third in the NSIC with 10.8 steals per game, totaling 108 this season
• Brooke Smith leads the NSIC with a  2.7 steals per game average while Alyson Johnsen's 2.2 average ranks sixth and Madi Robson is 13^th with 1.7 steals per game
• Johnsen's nine steals against Southwest Minnesota State were the most in a game for an NSIC team this season and is tied for the most in NCAA Division II this year
• Sioux Falls has blocked 41 shots in 10 games and their 4.1 average per game is fifth in the league
• Sam Knecht's 23 blocks and 2.3 average is third in the league

 
Cougars coming off historic season
In just their fourth year as a member of NCAA Division II, USF Women's Basketball made a splash in both the league and the national scope of D2 Women's Basketball. The Cougars posted a 27-6 record, tying the mark set by the 2010 team, which advanced to the NAIA Elite Eight. In conference play, the Cougars finished with a 17-5 record, a four-win improvement from their previous best NSIC record. With four wins by eight or more points, Sioux Falls rolled to the NSIC Tournament championship, ensuring their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. During the season, USF earned their first top-25 ranking in the WBCA Coaches Poll, checking in at 25th after receiving votes all season. Individually, Taylor Varsho was the first NSIC Player of the Year for the Cougars and she was named the NSIC Tournament MVP while collecting D2CCA All-Region honors after the completion of the season.
 
USF picked to finish ninth overall in NSIC, sixth in loaded south division
After finishing a program-best second place in 2015-16 and rolling to the NSIC Tournament title, Sioux Falls was slotted to finish ninth in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll released two weeks before the season kicked off. USF collected 108 total points in the 16-team poll while grabbing 24 points in the eight-team division, which placed them sixth. Winona State was the favorite in the overall poll, earning 201 points with the most first-place votes (7). Northern State (3), Augustana (4) and Minnesota State (2) all received first-place votes and were slotted second, third, and sixth, respectively, in the overall poll.
 
Leader of the pride: Traphagen continues Cougars' climb in D2
In his ninth season as head coach of the USF Women's Basketball program, Travis Traphagen has taken the Cougars to the NAIA Elite Eight and the NCAA Division II national tournament. A 1999 graduate of Black Hills State, Traphagen owns a 165-83 career record, a .670 winning percentage. In league play – his first three years as a member of the GPAC and the last four in the NSIC – he owns a record of 84-64.