SIOUX FALLS— The No. 7 University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball team, led by 12-th year head coach Travis Traphagen, will put their 9-0, 3-0 record to the test when Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State come to the Stewart Center on Friday and Saturday for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) action.

The Rundown (2019 Record)-
Fri., Dec. 13, 5:30 p.m. vs. Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (6-3, 3-0 NSIC)
Sat., Dec. 14, 3:30 p.m. vs St. Cloud State Huskies (4-3, 1-2 NSIC)

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (6-3, 3-0 NSIC)-
After a pair of tune-up exhibitions against NCAA Division III Bethel (Minn.) and Wisconsin-Superior, fifth-year head coach Mandy Pearson's squad started the season at the St. Joseph Civic Center in Missouri to partake in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA)-NSIC Crossover. 

In their first game of the MIAA-NSIC Crossover, the Bulldogs were pitted against a Fort Hays State, who ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division II at the time. The Tigers were in control in the first half, jumping ahead of the Bulldogs by 17 twice before taking a 30-15 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Bulldogs were able to roar back, outscoring the Tigers 36-29, getting to within four of the No. 7 Tigers twice within the final minute mark of the contest, but fell short (59-51) of upsetting FHSU. The Bulldogs continued their daunting start to the season with a 77-61 loss to Missouri Western State to conclude their MIAA-NSIC Crossover action.

UMD remained in Missouri for two more days, where they had a Monday evening game against No. 1 Drury in Springfield, Mo. In their contest against the Panthers, UMD got a seven-point lead twice between the first and second quarter, but Drury would battle back and make it a 34-34 halftime tie. The game came down to the final 10 minutes, as both teams scored 20 points in the third quarter. The Panthers showed why they are ranked No. 1 in the nation in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 26-14 to get the 80-68 over UMD.

Since their lose to Drury, the Bulldogs have went a perfect 6-0, 3-0, taking down Northern Michigan (45-32), Wisconsin-Parkside (81-65), and Michigan Tech (69-59) in non-conference play.

In NSIC action, the Bulldogs made quick work at home of travel partner and USF's Saturday opponent in St. Cloud State, handing the Huskies a 71-59 defeat last week. During the weekend, the Bulldogs hosted Minot State and U-Mary. The Bulldogs shot an impressive 49.2 percent (58-for-118) from the field, which included a 34-for-66 (51.5 percent) in an 87-75 victory over a good Marauders team on Saturday.

Pacing the Bulldog offense is sophomore forward Brooke Olson who is a week removed from being the NSIC North Player of the Week, and etched her way into the Top Performers list in this Monday's release. Olson is averaging a team-leading 15.8 points per game (142 total points) and 6.9 rebounds per game (16O-46D-62R).

The Bulldogs are also a pest on the defensive end, with four players in double digits for steals, and Olson two away from being a fifth Bulldog in double-digits.

St. Cloud State Huskies (4-3, 1-2 NSIC)-
12th-year head coach Lori Fish has led the Huskies to a 4-3, 1-2 record on the young 2019-20 season, starting with an exhibition with NCAA Division I South Dakota State in Brookings.

The Huskies started the regular season against a struggling Valley City State, who are 3-4, 1-0 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' (NAIA) North Star Athletic Association (NSAA). The Huskies handled business against the Vikings 81-57 to defend Halenbeck Hall.

In mid-November, the Huskies made the trip to Moorhead to take on Michigan Tech and Metro State-Denver, edging Michigan Tech by four (65-61) before winning handily against the Roadrunners (67-44).

The Huskies concluded non-conference play with a two-point, 55-53 loss on the road to Northern Michigan.

In conference play, things have not looked forgiving to the Huskies, who, as aforementioned, fell to Minnesota Duluth, then again at home to U-Mary in a close 60-51 lose to the Marauders.

The Huskies did right the ship in their previous match, beating Minot State at Halenbeck Hall 80-56 on Saturday. Three of the quarters were closely contested points-wise, but where the Huskies separated themselves from the Beavers was in the second quarter where they outscored MiSU 21-9 on 8-for-17 shooting (47.1 percent) and 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) from the charity stripe.

In the entire game against the Beavers, the Huskies had a respectable 46 shooting percentage (29-for-63) while holding the Beavers to a 37.5 shooting percentage (21-for-54).

Before taking Ron Eiesland Court, the Huskies will head to Marshall, Minn., on Friday to take on Southwest Minnesota State.

A trio of Huskies have eclipsed double-digit point averages, with senior guard Madelin Dammann leading the pack at 12.7 points per game. Junior forward Nikki Kilboten and junior guard Tori Wortz are the other two Huskies in double-digits, just behind Dammann with 11.3 and 10.9 points per game, respectively.

Kilboten has gotten the most work with boards, recording 43 rebounds (6.1 rebounds per game).

Sioux Falls Cougars (9-0, 3-0 NSIC)-
The No. 7 Cougars have started on their best start to a season since Travis Traphagen took over the program in 2008-09. Holding onto a perfect 9-0, 3-0 record, the Cougars have collected two quality wins over current Top 25 teams, defeating No. 23 Emporia State at home 77-68 then taking on No. 20 Hawai'i Pacific in their home court in Honolulu in their second game of the Malika Sports Tour Oahu Thanksgiving Classic.

USF battled with Hawai'i Pacific during the Thanksgiving Classic, having the game come down to the wire. Tied 77-77 with six seconds to go, senior guard Mariah Szymanski got the inbound on the wing, and drove to the basket for the game-winning buzzer-beater.

In other action, the Cougars started the season with their own classic, hosting Bemidji State (whom USF did not play), Chadron State, and William Jewell. The first game of the season for USF came against the Cardinals of William Jewell, which was a much closer game than the boxscore shows, but was a good start to the season for USF. After defeating the Cardinals 77-62, the Cougars made quick work of Chadron State 81-45.

The Cougars had an early conference match at home with SMSU, a game that got out of hand quickly in favor of USF, with Sioux Falls eclipsing the century mark in a 100-77 thrashing of the Mustangs.

Last weekend, the Cougars had a tough pair of road matchups in Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. Reigning NSIC South Player of the Week and graduate student forward, Jacey Huinker, led the way in the games by averaging a double-double on the weekend (11.5 points and 11 rebounds per game). Huinker also set a career-high in rebounds against the Mavericks, collecting 16 rebounds.

Along with Huinker's career-night in rebounds against Minnesota State, senior Guard Augusta Thramer had a night to remember at the Taylor Center, setting a career-high in points (20 (previously 15, vs. MSU Moorhead in 2018 NSIC Tournament)), free throw attempts (11 (previously 10, vs. Minnesota State on Feb. 17, 2018)), and tied her career-high in free throws made (9 (last done vs. Minnesota State on Feb. 17, 2018)).

In the Cougars' first nine games, NSIC South Preseason Player of the Year and senior guard, Kaely Hummel, has paced the offense with her average of 16.4 points per game (fifth in NSIC), scoring in the double-digits in seven games thus far. Szymanski and redshirt junior Anna Goodhope have also been averaging over 10 points a game with 12.1 and 11.3 points per game, respectively.

In conference play (three games), Szymanski and Hummel have gotten many points on the board, with Szymanski averaging a team-high of 14.3 points per game and Hummel with 13.7 points per game. Huinker and Goodhope have also been hard to stop with their 11.0 and 10.7 points per game, respectively. In addition to her 11.0 points per game, Huinker has also averaged 10 rebounds a game, which ranks third in conference (NSIC games only).

Hummel continues her move up the all-time scoring chart and has 1,336 points in 99 games (98 starts) and moved past Jamey Hofer (1,331 points, 2008-12, 131 games) for eighth all-time at USF. Ahead of Hummel includes Taylor Varsho, 7th, 1,379, 2014-16, 89 games; Dawn Morrison, 6th, 1,398, 1999-94, 111 games; Laura Johnson, 5th, 1,402, 2010-14; 115 games; Shelley Fauth, 4th, 1,475, 1982-86, 85 games; Patti Ibis, 3rd, 1,731, 1986-90, 109 games; Janna Austin, second, 1,930, 1992-96, 110 games; and Courtney Farrell, 1st, 2,433 points, 2002-05, 121 games. Hummel has 72 double digit scoring games in her career with seven in nine games in 2019-20.  She has a season-high of 27 points against Hawai'i Pacific when she tied her career best with six threes. Hummel, who career high is 29 in 2017-18 against Minnesota Crookston, has three games over 20 points (23, 23, 27) this season and 19 in her career. In addition, she now has 216 career threes which is third all-time at USF. She only trails Taylor Varsho (2014-16) with 245 and all-time leader Laura Johnson (2010-14) with 259.

Szymanski surpassed 900 career points in the weekend road trip to Minnesota last weekend and now has 905 in her career. She also hit four treys in both the wins over Concordia St. Paul and Minnesota State and has 138 in her career for ninth on USF's 3-point career chart. She is just two from moving into eighth place all-time. Szymanski, who has 10 20-point games and four games of 30 or more (career-best 43 vs. Concordia St. Paul in 2017-18), has a team-high seven straight games in double digit points with a high of 16 this year. 

USF Earns First Top 10 Ranking in NCAA Division II Program History-
After being ranked 11th in the WBCA's fourth poll, the Cougars (9-0, 3-0 NSIC) moved up to No. 7 in the WBCA poll released Tuesday. USF is ranked in the top 10 for the first time in program history.

For the Cougars, this is the first time since their final year as a full-member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' (NAIA) Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) (2010-11) to be in the Top 10 nationally.

The 2010-11 season saw the Cougars make it to the GPAC Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinals and the NAIA Women's Basketball Division II National Championship Quarterfinals. In the final poll, the Cougars finished the 2010-11 season as the No. 6 team in NAIA Division II.

The Cougars also made the second largest jump in the latest D2SIDA National Poll of any team that was in the previous installment, jumping six spots. 

On Monday, the Cougars moved into the Power 10 rankings, according to Turner Sports' Wayne Cavadi, at ninth. This is after starting the season in a very tough schedule 9--0, a schedule that included a true road game against No. 20 Hawai'i Pacific in Honolulu during the Malika Sports Tour Oahu Thanksgiving Classic, and an early-season home win over an up-and-coming No. 23 Emporia State.

In addition to the Power 10 rankings, USF earned the top spot in the D2SIDA Central Region Poll, receiving all six first place votes, and subsequently the most points a team can receive in their respective region (60). 

Jacey Huinker Earns NSIC South Player of the Week Honors-
For the first time in her career, senior forward Huinker of the No. 11 University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball, who averaged a double-double in two road wins this past weekend, has been named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week, according to an announcement today by the league office.

Huinker is the second USF player to earn the NSIC Women's Basketball Player of the Week honor after junior forward Goodhope was honored on Nov. 19. Huinker, a 5-9 forward from Altoona, Iowa, played a key role as USF (9-0, 3-0 NSIC) picked up two road wins at Concordia St. Paul, 62-57, on Dec. 6; and Minnesota State, 66-61, on Dec. 7.

In the victory at Concordia St. Paul, Huinker had 12 points, six rebounds, assist, block and steal. She was 5-of-9 from the field and made both of her free throws. On Dec. 7, she helped USF rally for a come-from-behind 66-61 win at Minnesota State as she had her fifth career double-double. Huinker, who was 2-of-4 from the field and made 7-of-8 foul shots, had a career-high 16 rebounds and added 11 points with an assist and steal. In the two games, she was 7-of-13 from the field for 53.8 percent and made 9-of-10 free throws while totaling 22 rebounds with seven off the offensive glass. In the win over MSU, she knocked down four straight foul shots in the final 10 seconds to ice the win which was the third straight for USF to open the season as USF is tied for the league lead at 3-0 with a 9-0 start, which is the best in the program's DII history.

Huinker, who is averaging 6.0 points, 1.9 assists, 0.6 steals and 8.0 rebounds per game (7th, NSIC), has an incredible 593 career rebounds and 21 times reached double digits in rebounds. She has had 15 or more rebounds twice already this season. In the 2017-18 season, Huinker was named the NSIC Elite 18 Award winner for women's basketball and also named to the All-NSIC Defensive Team. 

The History-
The Cougars have faced off against the Bulldogs seven times, with UMD holding the 4-3 advantage over USF, including winning the previous two meetings in Duluth. In their last contest, USF had a tough time shooting, being held to just a 21.3 shooting percentage (13-for-61), with the Bulldogs taking the contest in a low-scoring, 51-36 victory at home over USF. The Cougars have won their last two games at the Stewart Center in the series, and have only lost to the Bulldogs once on Ron Eiesland Court in the 2014-15 season.

Better fortune has been in the cards for No. 7 Sioux Falls against the Huskies, as the Cougars hold a 7-2 lead in the series. Despite the 7-2 record against SCSU, the Huskies won the most recent matchup last year in a 66-41 contest, but have had no success at the Stewart Center, where they are 0-3 and have been outscored by 14-plus points in the previous three games by the Cougars.

Where the Cougars, Bulldogs, and Huskies stand in the NSIC-