SIOUX FALLS— The University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (4-1), which has on four-of-five games to open the season, will travel to Southwest Minnesota State (3-2) to begin their 2018-19 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 4p.m.
 
In their last contest against Presentation College on Tuesday (Nov. 27), USF posted five players with double digit scoring efforts in a 98-46 victory. Junior guard Kaely Hummel, who registered her 57^th career double digit scoring game, made 6-of-15 shots from the floor with three treys (10 attempts) from three-point range in 16 minutes on the floor. USF also received 13 points and four assists from redshirt freshman Jasmine Harris, 11 points and four rebounds from freshman Krystal Carlson, 11 points and two rebounds from junior Andie Mataloni and 10 points from junior Mariah Szymanski.
 
Don't miss any of the action
Radio for all USF Women's Basketball conference games are available at KWSN AM 1230 or KWSN.com with longtime USF play-by-play announcer Tom Frederick on the call. 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 2018-19 USF Women's Basketball Schedule.

Hummel leading USF in scoring at 13.0 points per game
So far in the 2018-19 season, USF, which has received consideration in the D2SIDA and WBCA national polls, has shot 42.1 percent from the field (141-of-335), while also recording 50 made three-point shots on 144 attempts for a 34.7 three-point percentage. USF has outscored their opponents 406-to-258 while also outrebounding their opponents by 46 (211-to-165).
 
Hummel leads the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game on 41.1 percent shooting (23-for-56) from the field. Hummel has recorded 57 total double-digit scoring games in her career with four so far this season, and has also accumulated 722 career points. Szymanski is second on the team in scoring at 8.2 points per game while shooting at a 35.3 percent clip. She also has accumulated 12 total rebounds and seven assists on the season. Gloria Mulumba, who is averaging 8.0 points per game, is second on the team in rebounding, securing five per game and has 25 on the season. Freshman guard Hanna Jones leads the team in rebounds, recording six per game and 30 total on the year. Jones also has scored 7.0 points per game so far this season.
 
Lauren Sanders has also had an efficient start to the season, scoring 8.3 points per game while making 57.1 percent from the field (12-for-21) and 64.7 percent from beyond the arc (11-for-17). Sanders has accumulated nine double-digit scoring games in her career with two coming this season.  Junior Augusta Thramer has totaled seven double-digit scoring games in her career and has continued to play a consistent role for the team.

USF picked first in NSIC Preseason Poll
In the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, USF received 9-of-16 first place ballots and was the selected as the favorite to win the league. USF, which has never won an outright league crown in the NSIC, was also the favorite in the South Division Poll in which they received five of eight first place votes.   
 
Series History vs Southwest Minnesota State – USF leads 11-1
With a pair of double-digit victories last season, Sioux Falls extended their series lead to 11-1 against Southwest Minnesota State. When USF joined the NSIC in 2012, the two programs began facing each other twice a season as travel partners and members of the league's South Division. In the previous five years, USF has swept all but one season series, which was the first season they squared off. USF won the first matchup, a 77-66 decision in Marshall, Minn. on Dec. 1, 2012. The following contest was a 66-52 loss on the Cougars' home court on Jan. 15, 2013, but the next five years have been a string of commanding victories for USF. A 70-60 victory for Sioux Falls on Nov. 30, 2013, was the first of what is now nine straight double-digit wins and has been the narrowest margin of victory for USF in that span. The largest came on Nov. 25, 2014 in Marshall, Minn., when USF toppled the Mustangs, 91-50, a 41-point margin. Heading into Saturday's road game against SMSU, the Cougars are undefeated on the road, 6-0, against the Mustangs, winning all six matchups by double-digits and an average of 21.8 points.
 
Traphagen leads USF Program
Travis Traphagen is in his 11th season as the head coach of the University of Sioux Falls women's basketball team. In his 10 seasons at the helm of the USF Women's Basketball program, Traphagen owns a 198-104 overall record, which makes him the school's career leader. He has led USF to four 20-win seasons and recorded back-to-back 20-win campaigns in 2015-16 and 2016-17. In 2015-16, he led the program to their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in USF Women's Basketball history. Traphagen, who has directed USF to four straight winning seasons, has twice guided the Cougars to the NSIC Tournament title game. The 2015-16 team won the tournament to earn USF's first trip to the NCAA DII National Tournament. He has also led USF to the NSIC Tournament semifinals or better three straight years.
 
Before his time at USF, he was the head assistant women's basketball coach at Augustana College (S.D.) since 2001. In his six years at Augustana, besides his on-court duties, Traphagen coordinated recruiting for the women's basketball program. Overall, Traphagen amassed a 111-69 record as an assistant coach at Augustana.
 
Traphagen and his wife, Ann, reside in Sioux Falls with their three children, Grayson, Riley and Luke.