SIOUX FALLS –Opening the postseason as the defending NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament champions, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball earned a home game for the first round by finishing in a tie for third in the NSIC south division standings. The Cougars (19-7) enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed of the south division and will host NSIC north division No. 5 seed St. Cloud State (11-15) on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. in the Stewart Center with the winner advancing to the conference tournament quarterfinals.
 
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 will broadcast the Wednesday's game on KWSN and it will be broadcast on FM 107.9 with pregame starting 15 minutes prior to tip-off each night. 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.
 
USF enters #NSICTourney as defending champs, own 6-3 record in conference tournament
With four wins last season to capture the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament crown, USF Women's Basketball improved their conference tournament record to 6-3. The Cougars have twice advanced to the quarterfinals and won each of those games in the first round held at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. In NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament first round games, USF holds a 2-2 record.
           
Series History - St. Cloud State - USF leads 6-1
In five years as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. USF has squared off with St. Cloud State seven times, the most of any NSIC north division opponent. Wednesday's matchup with the Huskies will be the eighth meeting and the Cougars hold a 6-1 edge in the series. The Huskies are also the only team USF has played twice in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament, splitting their two games with SCSU, both of which were on the road. The Cougars won the first postseason matchup with SCSU in 2013, earning a 75-68 victory in Halenbeck Hall, which preceded USF's overtime upset of top-seeded Wayne State in the NSIC quarterfinals. The following season, USF headed back to St. Cloud State for the first round of the conference tournament, but they were upended, 87-69, by the Huskies. This season, USF trounced St. Cloud State at home, 74-51, on the back of Sam Knecht's 20-point, 12-rebound double-double. Kaely Hummel and Brooke Smith each scored 12 points for the Cougars and the USF defense held St. Cloud State to 25.4 percent shooting from the field. USF is undefeated against St. Cloud State at home, boasting a 3-0 record, all coming in regular season NSIC contests.
 
USF ends regular season as top defense in NSIC
In a change from USF's blistering offense of the 2015-16 team, this years USF Women's Basketball team has grinded out wins and proved to be the top defense in the conference. In league-only games, USF posted the top scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 58.9 points per game. The Cougars tied Northern State for the top spot in the field goal percentage defense with each team limiting their NSIC foes to a league-best 36.6 percent mark from the field. The Cougars the clear No. 1 in three-point field goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to a 27.9 percent effort for the season -- nearly three points better than Augustana's 30.4 percent mark. For the entire season, USF posted an 81.74 defensive rating, meaning they allowed an average of 81.74 points per 100 pessessions, and that mark was No. 1 in the NSIC by more than three points.
 
Knecht finishes regular season with double-double average
In her senior season, center Sam Knecht finished with an impressive stat line, averaging a double-double for the year. The 6-foot-2 Platte, S.D. native scored 13.4 points per game and grabbed 10.0 rebounds per contest. Her scoring average ranks 17th in the NSIC and her rebound average is second, behing Concordia-St. Paul's Kyrah Fredenburg, and 28th nationally. On the season, Knecht recorded 10 double-doubles, second in the league to MSU Moorhead's Drew Sannes's 12 and her double-double sum is 44th in NCAA Division II. Knecht's USF-record 19 rebounds against Augustana on Feb. 10 were the most in the league and her 18 rebounds against Minnesota Duluth are tied for second. 
 
Robson dishes her way to top of NSIC assist rankings
Despite losing an average 46.6 points and 16.6 field goals per game from last year's high-scoring squad, senior guard Madi Robson turned in an special senior season as USF's point guard. The 5-foot-7 Ankeny, Iowa native handed out a USF season record  160 assists for a league-leading average of 6.2 per game. When accounted for time on the court, Robson assisted on 31.9 percent of USF's field goals. Three times this year, Robson handed out double-digit assists and she recorded at least five assists in 20 of USF's 26 games. Her 13 assists against Augustana on Feb. 10 were the most ever for a USF Women's Basketball player and her two-year total of 304 assists is the most in USF's Division II history.