SIOUX FALLS— Off to the best start since 2015-16, the No. 11 University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (7-0) will face Concordia St. Paul and Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road matchups this weekend. The Cougars, which have opened 7-0, will face CSP at 5:30 p.m., on Friday, Dec. 6 and then head to Mankato, Minn., for a 3:30 pm match up with Minnesota State on Saturday.
The Rundown (2019 Record)-
Fri., Dec.6, 5:30 p.m. vs. Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (3-3)
Sat., Dec. 7, 3:30 p.m. vs. Minnesota State Mavericks (3-1)
Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (3-3)-
Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Amanda Johnson, the Golden Bears have started off .500 (3-3), with wins over Missouri Western, Michigan Tech, and NAIA-member Jamestown. Amongst the three Golden Bear losses included a close neutral-site loss to No. 5 Fort Hays State, a game in which CSP went into the final quarter with a one-point, 46-45 lead over the Tigers on a last second layup by Riley Wheatcraft. The Tigers would run the tables in the fourth quarter, outscoring CSP 22-8 to remain undefeated (at the time).
CSP is led offensively by a trio of double-digit scorers in Meghan DuBois (14 PPG), Danielle Schaub (13 PPG), and Sidney Wentland (13 PPG). Wentland also leads the team in total rebounds (7O-24D-31R), assists (22), blocks (9), and second in rebounds per game (5.2 RPG).
Minnesota State Mavericks (3-1)-
Eighth-year head coach Emilee Thiesse has led the Mavericks to a 3-1 record, with the only loss coming in a close five-point loss to Michigan Tech at home. The Mavericks have played only one game away from the Taylor Center, an eight-point, 91-83 win over UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis.
Tayla Stuttley is the sole Maverick to eclipse double-digit scoring on the young season, averaging 13.8PPG on 46.5 percent shooting (20-for-43), 37.5 percent from beyond the arc (6-for-16), and 9-for-10 at the charity stripe.
Sioux Falls Cougars (7-0, 1-0 NSIC)-
The Cougars received their highest national ranking since joining NCAA Division II as they were ranked No. 11 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top-25 Poll on Monday. USF moved up from 19th the previous week as they are ranked by the WBCA for the third time in school history. Head Coach Travis Traphagen has directed USF to 30 wins in the past 38 games and now has 224 career victories – all at USF.
USF is coming off an impressive showing at the Malika Sports Oahu Thanksgiving Classic in which the Cougars finished 3-0 with a win over Hawai'I Pacific, 79-77, as senior guard Mariah Szymanski hit a game-winning shot in the closing seconds. In the game USF was led by Kaely Hummel with 27 points as she tied her career high of six made threes. Szymanski added 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Redshirt junior Anna Goodhope had 15 points and six rebounds. Also at that tournament, as Szymanski scored 15 points with five rebounds and three steals and both Hummel and Jessie Geer had 14 points in 70-60 win over Hawai'I Hilo. In a 75-41 victory over Chaminade, Hummel had 16 points while Szymanski had 12 and Goodhope chipped in with 10.
USF is 7-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 team opened at 8-0. That USF Team, led by Taylor Varsho finished 27-6, won the NSIC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA DII Regional in Pittsburg, Kan. Through seven games, USF ranks second in the league with 79.9 points as they have scored 559. They also rank seventh in scoring defense at 61.6 points per game. To this point, USF is hitting 44.1 percent from the field for third in the league and holding opponents to 36.8 percent from the floor, which is eighth in the NSIC. USF is also third in the league by hitting 37.4 percent from three-point range while ranking second in the league in free throw shooting at 76.7 percent. USF is the league's best unit in assist-turnover ratio at 1.55. They have averaged 10.7 turnovers with 16.6 assists (fourth in the NSIC). USF also had a 7.43 turnover margin which is third in the league.
Prior to the trio of wins in Hawai'I, the Cougars registered a 100-77 win over Southwest Minnesota State in their season opener in the NSIC. In that game, both Hummel (23 points) and Goodhope (22 points) surpassed 20 points in a game. Szymanski added 16 points and a season-high seven assists while Hannah Jones tied a career high with 15 points and Jacey Huinker had 10 points and eight rebounds.
At the USF Classic, USF opened the season with a 77-62 win over a stout William Jewell team, followed by a 81-45 trouncing of Chadron State. USF also had a 77-68 win over Emporia State.
The Cougars, which ranks second in the D2SIDA Central Region rankings and 14th in the D2SIDA national poll has leaned on Hummel, the NSIC South Preseason Player of the Year, who is third in the NSIC in scoring with 18.6 points per game and has hit 22 three-point field goals, which is the second most in the league. Her 3.1 treys per game is a league-high.
Hummel, who is fifth with a 39.3 percent mark from three-point range, now has 214 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. In addition, Hummel has moved into a tie for ninth all time at USF with 1,318 points. She is tied with USF Hall of Famer Steph Austin, who had 1,318 from 1998-2003 in 124 games. Just ahead of Hummel and Austin are Jamey Hofer, 8th, 1331, 2008-12, 121 games; 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 71 double digit scoring games in her career with six in seven 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 has made 96 starts in 97 career games, has three games over 20 points (23, 23, 27) this season and 19 in her career.
USF has also received strong production from junior forward Anna Goodhope, who has earned an NSIC Player of the Week honor. Goodhope is averaging 13.1 points and ranks eighth in the NSIC in field goal shooting at 47.4 percent.
Senior guard Mariah Szymanski is averaging 11.7 points, 3.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds. 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 five straight games in double digit points with a high of 16 this year. In 97 games and 57 starts, Szymanski has totaled 878 points, 242 rebounds, 181 assists and made 130 three-pointers, which ranks 10th on USF's career chart. With six more treys she will made Holli Aggen (2009-13) who hit 135 treys and with 10 threes, she passes USF Athletics Hall of Famer Lindsey Schneiderman, who had 139.
Also for USF, senior Jacey Huinker is averaging 5.4 points, 2.1 assists, 0.6 steals and 7.1 rebounds per game. Huinker, who has twice scored 15 points in a game, has two double digit scoring games this season and eight in her career. Huinker, a 5-9 forward, has an incredible 571 career rebounds and 20 times reached double digits in rebounds. She set a career high with 15 boards in the win over Emporia State when she recorded her fourth career double double.
USF sophomore Hannah Jones has been a spark-plug after missing last year. She is averaging 5.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Jones tied a career high with 15 points in the win over SMSU as she made 6-of-10 field goals and her only three-pointer. She has totaled two or more assists six times with a high of six against Chadron State.
Senior Jessie Geer has two double digit scoring games this season including a high of 14 against Hawaii Hilo. Geer, who is averaging 6.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, has 14 double digit scoring games and totaled 324 points. Geer has a career high of 29 points against Minnesota Crookston on Feb. 27, 2019 when she was 10-of-15 from the floor and tied her career high with four three-pointers. She also had 26 points a year ago against Wayne State at the Stewart Center. In that game she had a career best 11 field goals and also made four triples.
