SIOUX FALLS – Opening a four-game road swing, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball heads toward the Twin Cities for two games this weekend. The Cougars (11-5, 8-4 NSIC) look to continue their winning streak against Minnesota State (5-12, 3-8 NSIC) when they face off on Friday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. in Mankato, Minn. Wrapping up the weekend, USF then takes on Concordia-St. Paul (4-13, 1-11 NSIC) at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20 in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Don't miss any of the action
Radio for this weekend's USF Women's Basketball games is available at KWSN AM 1230 or KWSN.com with Craig Mattick on the call. Pregame show starts 20 minutes before tip and includes a preview with USF head coach Travis Traphagen. Keep up with USF Women's Basketball on all of their social media platforms by visiting the USF Social Media Directory. All of USF's home games and NSIC contests are streamed for free through Stretch Internet and can be viewed at usfcougars.com/watch. Live stats for all home games are available at usfcougars.com/livestats and links to away games are available on the 2017-18 USF Women's Basketball Schedule.
 
Cougar quick hits

• After a weekend sweep of Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston, USF improved their conference record to 8-4, which is 4.5 games clear of fifth-place Minnesota State and the right to host a first-round NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament game
• USF has won five straight games against Minnesota State and they hold a 6-4 edge in the series with the Mavericks
• Sioux Falls's three-game winning streak against Concordia-St. Paul was snapped in the second game against the Golden Bears and the Cougars still trail CSP, 8-3
• USF owns the top scoring offense and defense compared to Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul, averaging 66.1 points per game while holding opponents to 58.6 per contest
• This weekend's games should be more of the up-tempo variety as all three teams rank in the faster half of the league in pace (possessions per game), including Minnesota State's second-fastest average of 74 possessions per game
• Keeping their league-best average of 8.4 three-point field goals per game intact, the Cougars bounced back after a slow shooting night with 11 threes vs. Minnesota Crookston
• The Cougars also handed out 20 assists against UMC, their third time with 20 or more this season and improved their assist-to-turnover ratio to 1.19, which ranks 25th in NCAA Division II
• The Cougars' defense held Bemidji State to 28.3 percent shooting while committing they committed a season-low three turnovers, ensuring the 20-point victory
• USF's field goal percentage defense is third in the NSIC, holding opponents to 36.3 percent shooting while Minnesota State (43.3 percent) and Concordia-St. Paul (45.2 percent) rank 15th and 16th, respectively
• Sophomore guard Kaely Hummel scored a career-best 29 points against Minnesota Crookston, improving her scoring average to 16.9 points per game this season, fourth in the NSIC
• Hummel's season average of 16.9 points per game currently ranks second in USF's Division II record books, trailing only Taylor Varsho's 17.7 average in 2015-16
• Hummel surpassed 500 points in her career on Saturday, the eighth Cougar to do so in USF's six-year Division II history
• Junior forward Jacey Huinker made impacts all over the court in USF's two victories this past weekend, averaging 7.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists
• Huinker made just one turnover in 63 minutes and added 10 assists, improving her NSIC-leading assist-to-turnover ratio to 3.7, which ranks second in NCAA Division II
• Huinker kept her rebounding average at 10.5 per game, which is second in the league and currently stands as a USF record if her pace keeps for the season
• Senior forward/center Moira Duffy blocked eight shots against Bemidji State and finished the weekend with 11 swats, moving her into first in the NSIC with a 2.5 blocks per game average
• Duffy's 40 blocked shots this season are already the fourth-most in USF's single-season record book and her current average of 2.5 blocks per game would break Sam Knecht's USF D2 record of 2.2 blocks per game set last season
• With six double-digit scoring efforts in her past seven games, sophomore guard Mariah Szymanski has reached 10.1 points per game for the season
• Augusta Thramer joined the starting the lineup for both games this weekend and it was the eighth different starting lineup for USF this season, six more than the Cougars featured in 30 games last year

 
 
Series Histories
                  vs. Minnesota State – USF leads 6-4
With five straight victories over Minnesota State, Sioux Falls now holds a 6-4 advantage against their NSIC south division rivals. The Cougars earned a victory in the first-ever matchup as Division II opponents, a 77-64 victory at home on Dec. 15, 2012 (Minnesota State would earn a bid into the NCAA Central Region Championship that season). However, USF would be as fortunate over the next four games, dropping each before the Cougars started their run of success against MSU. USF won the second matchup, 74-62, in the 2014-15 season then pounced on Minnesota State, 99-76, in the first of two matchups in their 27-win 2015-16 campaign. After eking out a 66-64 road win to complete the series sweep, USF swept last year's matchup with two double-digit victories. The Cougars took the first matchup 84-72 with Kaely Hummel posting 17 points and six assists. Needing a victory to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the NSIC Tournament, the Cougars had last year's four seniors combined for 53 points in a 75-65 victory. Sioux Falls are looking to even their road record with Minnesota State as they enter Friday's game with a 2-3 mark at the Taylor Center.
 
                  vs. Concordia-St. Paul – CSP leads 8-3
A humbling start to the series with Concordia-St. Paul, the USF Women's Basketball team lost the first six matchups with the Golden Bears and they enter this weekend's contest with a 3-8 record against CSP. The Cougars joined the league at the height of CSP's success in the NSIC. USF dropped two games to CSP by 20-plus points as first-year members of the NSIC. The Cougars struggled again vs. CSP in 2013-14 when the Golden Bears went on to win the NSIC Tournament and advance to the Elite Eight by winning the NCAA Central Region Tournament. A four-point road loss in the first matchup of the 2014-15 season preceded the Cougars' first win over CSP. They needed two overtimes, but Sioux Falls defeated the Golden Bears, 87-79. The Cougars then played the role of aggressor over the next two games, winning at home by five points before rolling to a 64-49 victory at CSP. However, USF's success stopped with two losses last season: a 62-51 home defeat and a 75-68 loss on the road despite 11 points from Kaely Hummel. The Cougars look to improve their record in St. Paul, Minn. as they enter Saturday's game with a 1-4 record in the Gangelhoff Center.
 
Cougars picked 10th in NSIC preseason poll, sixth in south division
USF was picked to finish 10th by the league coaches in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference preseason coaches' poll. The Cougars picked up 123 points in the poll, just three points from eighth. MSU Moorhead was tabbed the overall favorite while Northern State and Augustana each received first-place votes. In the eight-team south division poll, USF was picked sixth and Augustana earned the top spot. The past two seasons, USF has outperformed their preseason billing, placing second in 2015-16 and taking fifth in 2016-17 after they were picked ninth.