SIOUX FALLS-- The University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (13-7, 8-6 NSIC), which has won five-of-seven games, will return home to host Bemidji State (5-13, 3-11 NSIC) at 5:30 p.m., on Friday (Feb. 1). They will then turn around and face Minnesota Crookston (10-10, 5-9 NSIC) at 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 2 at the Stewart Center.
Last weekend (Jan. 25-26), the Cougars finished 1-1, including a 65-39 win at Upper Iowa. In the win, USF used balanced scoring as 13 players while holding UIU to the lowest total of the season by a USF opponent. USF had 15 points and a career-high five steals from Jessie Geer but lost a 64-50 decision at Winona State.
How things stand
USF, which has won 5-of-7 games, stand 7-2 at home and 8-6 in the NSIC South for a third-place tie with Winona State and Wayne State. In a NSIC cross-divisional matchup, USF faces BSU, which is 5-13 overall and 3-11 in league place for eighth in the north division. Last weekend, the Beavers suffered a heart-breaking 74-86 double OT loss to Minot State despite a pair of 13 point performances from guard Brooklyn Bachmann and Trinity Myer. Myer led the Beavers the following day with 20 points to a win over U-Mary, 77-66. Last weekend, UMC suffered a, 64-76 defeat against Winona State, then beat Upper Iowa, 75-64 in two away games. In their last two home matchups, USF lost against U-Mary, 63-70, then defeated Minot State, 59-54.
USF ranks sixth in the NSIC in scoring at 69.9 points per game and third in scoring defense at 58.6 points per game. The Cougars lead the league with a 6.45 turnover margin and rank seventh in the NSIC in field goal shooting at 41.1 percent. The Cougars, which sit second in scoring margin in the league at 11.4 ppg, have had just three games - Augustana (65-60 win), Concordia-St. Paul (69-64 loss) and Minot State (59-54 loss) - decided by five points or fewer and five games decided by nine points or less. USF, which defeated Upper Iowa, 65-39 on Jan. 25, has 10 victories by double-digit totals with four wins of 46 points or more. In the Dec. 7 home win over CSP, USF head coach Travis Traphagen picked up his 200th career win at USF. In USF's seven losses, five have occurred by double-digit variety (12, 16, 25, 16, 14). Through 20 games, USF is outshooting opponents, 41.1 percent to 38.1 percent. USF ranks ninth in the NSIC in rebounding at 37.0 boards per game and are third in the league in steals at 9.20 per contest.
USF leads BSU, 6-0
Sioux Falls may boast an undefeated record against Bemidji State in their six matchups as NSIC adversaries, but there have plenty of close calls along the way. However, the last meeting at the Stewart Center on Jan. 12, 2018 was all USF. Led by 19 points by Mariah Syzmanski and 15 from Augusta Thramer, USF opened up a 26-12 lead after a quarter, led 35-24 at halftime and 47-35 through three quarters. In the first-ever meeting USF-BSU played an overtime affair with the Cougars registering an 82-70 decision on Jan. 2, 2013 in Bemidji, Minn. Another close call came on the road in 2015, when the Cougars needed a last-second shot to earn a 70-69 victory. Two years ago (2016-17 season), the teams had a defensive battle with former standout guard Madi Robson (16 points, six rebounds, six assists) leading a late charge for the 55-47 victory on Jan. 13, 2017 in Bemidji, Minn. While USF has experienced some nail-biters in matchups against the Beavers on the road, they can take solace in a pair of comfortable victories at home. The Cougars posted an 82-73 win over BSU in 2014 before handing the Beavers an 87-60 defeat in 2016.
USF leads UMC, 5-2
After dropping two of the first three matchups with NSIC north division foe Minnesota Crookston, Sioux Falls has won four straight over the Golden Eagles and have a 5-2 overall edge in the all-time series. USF is 4-2 mark against UMC in NSIC regular season games with a victory over the Golden Eagles in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals in 2016. In the most recent matchup on Jan. 13, 2018, USF had a career-high 29 points from Kaely Hummel in a 74-57 win. USF led 42-22 at halftime and 60-44 through three quarters. USF dropped the first matchup, 76-59, at Minnesota Crookston on Feb. 1, 2013. A year later, USF won at home, 84-74. Following a loss in 2015, the Cougars reeled off two straight, including two in 2016 with the second a 75-62 victory en route to USF's NSIC Tournament championship.
Hummel 7th in the NSIC in scoring
Hummel ranks seventh in the league with 14.6 points per game and is fourth in the NSIC. In USF's DII era, she ranks second with 166 made three-pointers and third in points with 995 points. She is trying to become USF's 19th player with 1,000 points. 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 (7th, all-time at USF), including 245 treys, from 2014-16. USF's career points leader is USF Hall of Famer Courtney Farrell with 2,433 points from 2002-05.
Syzmanski ranks secontd onUSF in scoring
Mariah Szymanski, who was named second team All-NSIC a year ago, is second on the team in scoring at 8.3 points per game while shooting at a 38.9 percent clip. She has totaled 26 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 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.
USF individual notes
Jessie Geer averaged 11.0 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.5 steals this past weekend. Geer, who is averaging 7.6 points and 1.9 ebounds per game in 2018-19, had her sixth double digit scoring game with 15 points against Winona State. Geer recorded a career high in points against 26 points agaist Wayne State on Jan., 4 in which 20 poitns came in the first half. On the season, Geer has scored 7.6 points per game for third highest on the team. Geer has pulled down 1.9 rebounds per game, as well as recording 1.6 assists per contest.
Anna Goodhope averaged 4.5 points, 9.0 rebounds. 2.5 assists this weekend. She totaled 18 rebounds with her third double-digit rebound game with 10 against Upper Iowa. Goodhope, who prepped at Sioux Falls Washington, had a career-high 28 points with nine rebounds in a win over Minnesota State on Jan. 11. Against CSP on Jan. 12, she had her first career double double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. She is scoring 7.3 points, as well as recording 5.3 rebounds per game which leads the team.
In her first start of the season against Minot State on Jan. 19, junior guard Augusta Thramer had a season-high 14 points along with five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Thramer pulls down 3.6 rebounds per game, which is third on the team, while also averaging 3.5 points per game.
Freshman Krystal Carlson, who is averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, has three double digit games with a career-best 20 points against SMSU on Dec. 1, 2018. Junior forward Gloria Mulumba, who is averaging 5.7 points per game, is fourth on the team in rebounding with 3.3 per game. Mulumba is shooting at an efficient 47.4 field goal percentage.
Sophomore Lauren Sanders leads the team in three-point percentage, shooting at a 49 percent clip. Sanders has gone 22-of-45 from behind the arch, and is recording 3.7 points per game this season. A year ago, Sanders posted a career-high 23 points against Presentation College, where she hit a career-high seven three pointers on 14 attempts. So far in her career, Sanders has accumulated nine double-digit scoring efforts with two coming earlier this season.
