SIOUX FALLS — The University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (7-3), which has won six-of-eight games, will close its nonconference season against Dakota State (1-9) on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 6 p.m. at the Stewart Center.

USF, which dropped a pair of road NSIC games last weekend, stands 7-3 overall, 3-2 in the league, and have a 4-1 mark in the nonconference schedule this season. Prior to losing to Minnesota-Duluth, 51-36; and St. Cloud State, 66-41, on the road, USF had won six straight games. Dakota State, which has opened 1-9, has played USF five times since 2012 and the Cougars own five wins. A game breakdown includes -  USF 70 DSU 46, Nov. 22, 2016; USF 95 DSU 54, Nov. 17, 2015; USF 90 DSU 70, Nov. 18, 2014; USF 78 DSU 64, Nov. 24, 2012; and USF 74 DSU 46, Jan. 17, 2012.

USF, which has 10 players averaging at least 12 minutes per game, ranks fifth in the NSIC in scoring at 71.5 points per game and rank fourth in the league in scoring defense at 56.8 points per game. The Cougars also sit 10th in the NSIC in field goal shooting at 39.8 percent. USF, which is allowing just 38.3 percent in opponent's field goal percentage (7^th in the NSIC) and 27.4 percent (4^th, NSIC) in opponent three-point percentage, has been solid on defense all season. The Cougars lead the league in turnover margin at 7.50 (12.1-to-19.6 for opponents) while ranking fifth in the NSIC in steals with 9.40 per game. With six players averaging 5.9 points or more, USF has had around 32 points per game off the bench.  In terms of three-point shooting, the Cougars rank eighth in the NSIC at 31.5 percent.

Last Time at Home – USF gives Coach Traphagen win No. 200 and 201
In their last home contest against Minnesota State on Dec. 8, junior guards Mariah Szymanski and Kaely Hummel, and each scored 20 points to lead USF to an 80-68 victory. A night after recording his 200th win, USF head coach Travis Traphagen added one to his career total as the Cougars rallied to earn the their seventh win. Hummel, who had a team-high four assists, had 20 points for the second straight night as she made 6-of-13 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Syzmanski, who reached double-digits for the fourth time this season, scored 20 points for the first time this season. She made 7-of-14 shots from the field and 2-of-6 from three-point range while grabbing three rebounds.  For the third time this season, freshman guard Hannah Jones reached double-digits with 11 points while grabbing a team-high five rebounds, dishing two assists and recording a steal.  In the 83-74 win over CSP on Friday, Dec. 7, Hummel had a season-high 25 points.
 
USF, which was picked to win the NSIC in a league preseason coaches' poll, has attracted national attention this year. USF received votes in the most recent Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll which was released on Dec. 12. USF received 12 ballot points in the poll and finished just outside the top-25. USF's only ranking in the WBCA DII poll was in the 2015-16 season when the Cougars earned a No. 25 ranking.  Union (Tenn.) was the top team in the poll with 594 points and 18 first-place votes. They were followed by Indiana (Pa.) (8-0) with 563 points and three first-place votes with West Texas A&M (8-0) in third with 538 points and Drury (Mo.) (9-0), fourth, at 504 points.
 
Opponent Breakdown - Dakota State
Dakota State, which is directed by head coach David Moe (Mayville State graduate), is 1-9 on the season and coming off a 93-63 setback to Dakota Wesleyan. Through 10 games, DSU is averaging 65.6 points and giving up 82.0 points per game. Guard Jessi Giles is DSU's leading scoring at 11.2 points per game. Giles, who has a high of 21 points against Trinity Bible (N.D.), has made 36.2 percent from the floor and 25.9 percent from three-point range. Guard McKenzie Hermanson, who has a high of 13 points against Briar Cliff, is averaging 8.7 points while guard Alexis Robson is providing 8.2 points per game. She has a high of 13 points against Briar Cliff and McPherson (Kan.).
The last time USF played Dakota State, the Cougars took a 70-46 decision on Nov. 22, 2016, as Sam Knecht and Madi Robson had double doubles. Knecht had 16 points and 12 rebounds while Robson had 11 points and 10 assists. USF led, 36-16, at halftime, and 58-32 after three quarters.
  
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 and nonconference games on the live stream 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 ranks ninth in the league in scoring and second in foul shooting
Hummel averaged 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds while make 8-of-15 from three-point range in the two losses last weekend. Hummel was 10-of-28 from the field and made both of her foul shots in games against UMD and SCSU. She had a season-high eight rebounds against Minnesota Duluth. With 11 points against UMD and 19 against St. Cloud State, Hummel now has 48 double-digit scoring games in her career and 855 career points.

Hummel ranks ninth in the league with 15.2 points per game and is second in free throw shooting at 89.7 percent with 26 made foul shots on 29 attempted. She also ranks fifth in the league with 2.4 made threes per game. She owns a career-high 29 points against Minnesota Crookston on Jan. 13, 2018 at the Stewart Center. In USF's DII era, she ranks second with 145 made three-pointers. USF's all-time three-point shot leader is Laura Johnson with 259 from 2010-14 when she scored 1,402 points, which ranks fifth all-time. Taylor Varsho is USF's DII leader in points and three-pointers with 1,379 points, including 245 treys, from 2014-16.  USF's all-time points leader was Courtney Farrell with 2,433 points from 2002-05. She is the only USF player with 2000 points in her career.
 
Szymanski, who was named second team All-NSIC a year ago, is second on the team in scoring at 9.2 points per game while shooting at a 38.5 percent clip. She also has accumulated 28 total rebounds, 20 assists and 12 steals on the season. She has totaled 22 career double-digit scoring games with 11 of 15 points or more and eight over 20 points. She set a school record with 43 points in a win over Concordia St. Paul on Jan. 20, 2018. In that game she also set a school record with nine made three-pointers in 10 attempts. In addition, she had a third record in the game with 14 made field goals in 20 attempts
 
Individual Notes – Frosh Carlson and Jones both have three double-digit games
Freshman Krystal Carlson, who has three double digit games with a career-best 20 points against SMSU on Dec. 1, 2018, is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 6.2 points. She has totaled 37 rebounds (3.7 per game), as well as four blocks this season.
 
Freshman guard Hanna Jones, who is scoring 6.4 points per game, leads the team in rebounds with 6.1 per game. She has three double digit scoring games with a career-high of 15 against Henderson State on Nov. 10 when she had her only career double with 10 boards. She has hit 5-of-15 on treys for 33.3 percent and has 27 assists. Jones has at least one steal in eight of 10 games and at least two assists in every game but one. She has a career-high five assists against Concordia St. Paul. In addition, she has had five or more rebounds seven times.
 
Junior forward Gloria Mulumba, who is averaging 5.9 points per game, is fifth on the team in rebounding with 3.1 per game. Mulumba has two double digit scoring games with a career high of 17 points in a win over Concordia St. Paul on Dec. 7, 2018. In that game, she hit 8-of-11 field goals. She also has a career high of seven rebounds against Ouachita Baptist on Nov. 9 and five or more boards four times.

Sophomore forward Anna Goodhope is supplying 5.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for USF. Goodhope, who prepped at Sioux Falls Washington, has one double-digit scoring game with 11 points against South Dakota Mines on Nov. 16. She has scored at least seven points in a game five times and has a career-best 12 rebounds in a win over Concordia St. Paul on Dec. 7 at the Stewart Center.  
 
Sophomore Lauren Sanders has also had an efficient start to the season, scoring 3.9 points per game while shooting 52.0 percent from the field (13-for-25) and 63.2 percent from beyond the arc (12-for-19). Sanders has accumulated nine double-digit scoring games in her career with two coming this season.
 
 Junior guard Augusta Thramer has totaled seven double-digit scoring games in her career and has continued to play a consistent role for the team. Thramer has a high of six points this year against Ouachita Baptist but has had seven rebounds in a game twice and six assists in the win over Chadron State on Nov. 17. Eight times in her career, Thramer has reached double digits with a high of 17 against MSU Moorhead on Feb. 25, 2018 in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals. She hit 6-of-10 field goals, collected seven rebounds and had three steals as USF won that game to advance to the tournament semifinals.
 
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. 
 
Traphagen reaches and surpasses 200 career wins at USF
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 201-106 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. Traphagen and his wife, Ann, reside in Sioux Falls with their three children, Grayson, Riley and Luke.