SIOUX FALLS – Entering the final weeks of the regular season, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball hosts their final two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference north division teams this season. The Cougars (13-7, 10-6 NSIC) welcome University of Mary (11-11, 7-9 NSIC) on Friday, Feb. 2 for a 6 p.m. game that will be featured on Midco Sports Network (Sioux Falls stations – HD: Channel 622; SD: Channel 26). Closing the weekend, Sioux Falls hosts Minot State (11-9, 8-8 NSIC) at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3.
 
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 longtime play-by-play announcer Tom Frederick on the call. Pregame show starts 20 minutes before tip and includes a preview with USF head coach Travis Traphagen. Friday's game against University of Mary will be featured on Midco Sports Network live. All of USF's home games and NSIC contests are streamed for free through Stretch Internet and can be viewed at usfcougars.com/watch. Keep up with USF Women's Basketball on all of their social media platforms by visiting the USF Social Media Directory. 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

• USF enters the weekend after dropping both games on the road last weekend while U-Mary and Minot State come into the weekend with a combined eight wins
• The Cougars own a 7-2 record at home while U-Mary (2-6) and Minot State (2-5) are a combined 4-11 on the road this year
• A win will guarantee the Cougars of an overall winning record, their fourth straight and fourth in six years as members of the NSIC
• Sioux Falls has used eight different starting lineups this year, which is five more than they used last season and three more than they used in the past two seasons combined
• Sioux Falls leads the NSIC in scoring defense, holding opponents to an average of 60.4 points per game this season – U-Mary (65.6 opp ppg) ranks 10th and Minot State (68.1 opp ppg) is 13th in the league
• USF and U-Mary both play at similar paces, averaging 69 possessions per game and USF holds a slight edge in efficiency over the Marauders
• U-Mary averages 0.95 points per possession while the Cougars average 0.94, but the Cougars hold their opponents to 0.86 points per possession while U-Mary is at 0.88
• Minot State plays at a slower pace, averaging 67 possessions per game, which helps increase their offensive efficiency to 1.01 points per possession but hurts their defense, which allows 0.96 ppp
• Sioux Falls relies heavily on the three-point shot, 40.5 percent of all of their field goals beyond the three-point line – no other NSIC team has taken more than 37.8 percent of their field goals behind the three-point line
• In conference play, USF is hitting 35.6 percent of their three-point shots, the No. 4 mark in the league and they are making an average of 8.1 three-point attempts per game, second in the NSIC
• Leading scorer Kaely Hummel's game has evolved from catch-and-shoot freshman to 16.6 points per game on the back of a balanced offensive game that features 47.8 percent of her attempts from behind the arc (down from 65.5 percent as a freshman)
• Mariah Szymanski and Lauren Sanders – USF's No. 2 and 3 leading scorers – are combining for nearly four made 3-pointers per game on an average of 10.4 attempts per game
• After the loss of starting point guard Jasmine Harris for the season, Hummel has had a usage rate of 29.4, meaning that 29.4 percent of the Cougar possessions are used by Hummel with either a shot, free throw, or turnover
• Jacey Huinker continues to lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio, handing out 60 asssists to 21 turnovers for a 2.96 ratio that has her ranked sixth nationally – she is the only player listed as a forward in the top 25 of the NCAA Division II assist-to-turnover ratio leaders
• Huinker is also the Cougars' leading rebounder with a 10.3 rebound per game average, which ranks second in the league and 20th nationally
• Huinker's defensive rebounds per game average of 7.5 per game leads the league and is eighth nationally while also helping her assist rate as she is likely to lead the Cougars on the fast break immediately after grabbing the defensive rebound
• Huinker has a total rebound rate of 16.3 percent (grabbing 16.3 percent of available rebounds when she is on the floor), which is above average, but her defensive rebounding rate is 23.7, meaning she grabs nearly a quarter of all of USF's opponent's misses when she is on the court
• With eight more blocks this past weekend, senior center Moira Duffy extended her lead on the rest of the NSIC with 58 total blocks at a 2.9 per game average
• Duffy has blocked a shot in 18 of USF's 20 games, she has blocked multiple shots in 14 of 20 games and blocked three or more shots on nine occasions, including five of the last six games
• With 58 blocks this season, Duffy is seven behind former All-American center Sam Knecht's school record of 68 blocked shots in a single season, which was set in 2016-17

 
Series Histories
                  vs. University of Mary – UM leads 3-2
After three losses to open the series against University of Mary, which began in 2013 when USF joined the NSIC, University of Sioux Falls has clawed within one game of the Maraduers and trail 3-2 in the series. Outside of the 11-point, 76-65 win by U-Mary on Feb. 9, 2013 in the series opener, no other game has been separated by more than two possessions. USF dropped a 78-75 decision at U-Mary in 2014 then suffered a 62-58 loss on the road again in 2014. Two years ago, the Cougars held off U-Mary for a nice 69-67 victory at home. Last season, Sioux Falls clamped down defensively in the fourth quarter to earn a 65-60 win as Andi Mataloni scored a career-high 19 points. The Cougars stand at 1-1 against U-Mary at home.
 
                  vs. Minot State – USF leads 3-2
Both University of Sioux Falls and Minot State joined the NSIC in 2012 to bring the league to its present 16-institution total. In women's basketball, the Beavers held and early upper hand before the Cougars have won the last three contests, including two by double digits. MSU took the first matchup, 75-70, on Feb, 8, 2013 at the Stewart Center, then won their second straight with a 68-67 win in Minot, N.D. Since those two losses, USF has won three straight over the Beavers. The Cougars notched their first head-to—head win over MSU with a 71-61 decision in the 2014-15 season then rolled to an 87-54 victory in the 2015-16 campaign. Last season, USF's current leading scorers Mariah Szymanski (14 points) and Kaely Hummel (12) combined for 26 points in USF's 61-58 win. USF has as 1-1 record against Minot State when hosting the Beavers in the Stewart Center.
 
Szymanski scores 43 points to break USF record
Two weeks ago, sophomore guard Mariah Szymanski broke a 20-year old record with 43 points to lead the Cougars to an 84-56 victory over Concordia-St. Paul. Szymanski was 14-for-20 from the field and a near-perfect 9-for-10 on 3-pointers. Her nine 3-pointers and three-point percentage (90%) are both USF records, joining her new single-game scoring record. She added three rebounds, three steals and three assists, which led to six points so she was responsible for 49 of the Cougars' 84 points that night. With her effort, Szymanski earned her first career NSIC South Division Player of the Week honor on Jan. 22.
 
Hummel extends double-digit scoring streak to 20 straight games
As mentioned in Cougar Quick Hits, Kaely Hummel has evolved her offensive game and established herself as USF's top scoring option and a burgeoning offensive force in the NSIC. A sophomore from Cherokee, Iowa, Hummel scored 11 and 17 points against Northern State and MSU Moorhead, respectively, which extends her streak to 20 straight games and keeps her average rated No. 4 in the NSIC at 16.6 points per game. That level of consistency has been critical for the Cougars' success and Hummel's offensive output has been indicative of USF's overall success. In USF's 13 victories, Hummel is averaging 18.1 points, but just 13.9 in USF's seven losses. In those losses
 
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.