SIOUX FALLS – The No. 15 University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball team, under the direction of 12^th-year head coach Travis Traphagen, will look to right the ship after their heart-breaking 78-76  loss to Winona State on Saturday.  The Cougars (18-3, 11-3 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) will get to action on the road, first at Bemidji State on Friday, then again on Saturday at Minnesota Crookston.
 
The Rundown (2019-20 Record (NSIC North Record))-
Fri., Jan. 31, 5:30 p.m. at Bemidji State Beavers (7-11, 4-10 (2-8 North))
Sat., Feb. 1, 3:30 p.m. at Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (3-15, 2-12 (1-9 North))
 
Bemidji State Beavers (7-11, 4-10 NSIC)-
The Beavers, under fifth-year head coach Chelsea DeVille, a former assistant coach under Traphagen, have went for a 7-11, 4-10 record on the season, including wins over Augustana and Upper Iowa.
 
BSU is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, falling on the road to Winona State, then dropping their weekend series at home to Minot State and UMary.
 
Leading BSU offensively is Trinity Meyer with 13.7 points per game, and Rachel Heittola rounding out the double-digit average scorers at 10.2 points per game.
 
Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (3-15, 2-12 NSIC)-
Under the direction of 14^th-year head coach Mike Roysland, the Golden Eagles have a rough go of things in the 2019-20 campaign, though took a game against Wayne State at home. Before their most recent game against Minot State, a 78-76 victory for UMC, the Golden Eagles dropped eight straight contests.
 
Before the Cougars make their way to Lysaker Gymnasium on Saturday, the Golden Eagles will go toe-to-toe with Southwest Minnesota State.
 
Abby Guidinger is the sole Golden Eagle in double-digits in scoring average, putting up 10.7 points per game.
 
Sioux Falls Cougars (18-3, 11-3 NSIC)-
For the Cougars, the quest for the top seed in the South continues with crucial interdivisional contests. In their last contest, the Cougars fell in a hard-fought contest with Winona State, ending the second nine-game winning streak of the season for USF.
 
Crucial wins for USF so far in the season includes a win over Hawai'i Pacific (18-1), who ranks seventh in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), Emporia State (receiving votes), Wayne State, Augustana, and UMary, as well as regular season sweeps of Minnesota State, Concordia-St. Paul, and Southwest Minnesota State.
 
Senior Kaely Hummel leads the Cougars offensively with an 18.1 points per game average in 21 starts. Senior Mariah Szymanski and redshirt junior Anna Goodhope round out the Cougars in double-digits for scoring averages, with 11.2 and 10.8 points per game, respectively.
 
The Cougars also have the potential of reaching 20 wins on the season at the conclusion of the weekend's action, a feat reached five times prior, including last season.
 
Sioux Falls in the Polls-
In the WBCA poll, the Cougars maintained a spot in the Top 15, falling from No. 11 to No. 15 in the latest installment with 208 points. Despite the drop, the Cougars became the highest ranked team from the Central Region with a 17-point Fort Hays State loss to Missouri Western on the road. Sioux Falls is also the sole team from the NSIC to receive votes in Tuesday's poll.
 
For the D2SIDA poll, the Cougars were voted down 10 spots, from No. 8 to No. 18, finishing the polls with 113 votes. As it was in the WBCA poll, the Cougars are the only NSIC team to receive votes. The only team ranked higher than the Cougars from the Central Region are the Central Missouri Jennies.
 
The Jennies usurped the Cougars from the top spot, albeit very narrowly, receiving only one more point more than USF.
 
The Cougars will look to start a new winning stream when they go on the road to Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston this weekend.
 
The History-
Since the 2013-14 season, USF is nearly perfect against BSU and UMC, combining for a 13-1 record. The only loss the Cougars have is to the Golden Eagles back in the 2014-15 season, a 71-62 victory for UMC in Crookston.