SIOUX FALLS – No. 1 South Seed University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball team (25-5) will face a familiar foe in Winona State (17-10) in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Sanford Health Basketball Tournament at 5:30 pm Sunday, March 1.  

The Cougars advanced to the league quarterfinals for the fifth straight season after an 83-52 win over Minot State in the opening round of the tourney, which was played at the Stewart Center. All-NSIC honoree Mariah Szymanski scored 21 to lead USF to the win.

NSIC Sanford Health Postseason Tournament

Sunday, March 1 - Sanford Pentagon    

(N1) Minnesota Duluth vs. (N5) Northern State, Noon

 (S2) Minnesota State Mankato vs (N3) U-Mary, 2:30 PM

(S5) Winona State vs (S1) Sioux Falls, 5:30 PM

 (N2) St. Cloud State, vs (S3) Augustana, 8:00 PM

 USF ranks 3rd in NCAA DII regional rankings    

The Cougars, who won the NSIC South, has held firm at No. 3 in the second NCAA DII Regional Rankings released Feb. 26. USF, which received votes in the most recent WBCA Top 25 Poll (36 points, 27th overall) and was ranked a DII program-best nine straight weeks, won the NSIC South Division with a 17-5 mark and has together a 25-5 record, which is the second best mark of the program DII era. The Cougars closed the season with a 75-64 win over Wayne State as Kaely Hummel connected on 18 points to lead five players in double digits. Then they defeated Minot State to set the stage for a third matchup this season with Winona State. The Warriors have two wins over USF this season.???????

Series Breakdown -- WSU leads, 10-6

USF has lost two straight to Winona State and trails the all-time series, 10-6. In the first ever matchup on Jan. 5, 2013, WSU took a 47-44 win. The Cougars won the second matchup, 53-49 on Jan. 25, 2013 at the Stewart Center. USF has the largest win in the series, 82-65, on Dec. 6, 2014. The Cougars last win over the Warriors was a 70-68 decision on Feb. 15, 2019. Eight times in the series, the games have been decided by four points or less and four times the difference has been two points with the Cougars 3-1 in those two-point or less decisions.

USF is averaging 75.9 ppg

Entering playing Sunday, USF is the third-best offense in the NSIC at 75.9 points per game and rank fifth in scoring defense at 64.0 points per game. The Cougars sit sixth in field goal shooting at 42.9 percent and allowed 39.1 percent for fifth in the NSIC.  In three-point shooting, USF is second at 37.0 percent.

NSIC Tournament Sanford Health history: USF has advanced to four straight semis

After the win over Minot State, 83-52, on Wednesday, Feb., 26 USF will enter the 2019-20 NSIC Tourney quarterfinals with an impressive 14-6 overall record. Under the direction of  USF's all-time wins leaderTravis Traphagen, they have advanced to the semifinal round four straight seasons. With the dominating 103-76 verdict over Wayne State a year ago, USF moved to 5-0 in tourney quarterfinal games.  In semifinal round games, USF has a 2-3 record after falling to No. 1 North seed Minnesota State Moorhead, 77-64. USF was led by 16 points from junior guard Kaely Hummel while redshirt sophomore Anna Goodhope had a double with 14 points and 12 rebounds and junior guard Mariah Szymanski added 15 points.  USF advanced to the semifinals a year ago with a 103-76 win over Wayne State. It was USF's first time of 100 points in the DII era and the first time since a 103-47 victory in 2008 over Johnson and Wales (Colo.) College. USF led WSC, 54-33 at half and 90-51 through three quarters as five players scored in double-digits. USF also took a 89-74 win over Minnesota Crookston a year ago as Jessie Geer had a career-high 29 points.

In 2017-18, USF defeated U-Mary, 60-50, at the Stewart Center in the first round as Szymanski and Kaely Hummel both scored 20 points. After trailing 28-20 at the halftime break, the Cougars had a 40-22 margin in the final two quarters to earn the first-round win. In the tournament quarterfinals, the Cougars defeated North No. 2 MSU Moorhead, 59-56, as Szymanski scored 26 points and Augusta Thramer scored a career-high 17. Szymanski led USF from a 12-point deficit and scored the go-ahead basket with 8.6 seconds to play and then made a pair of free throws for the final margin. In the win, USF upset MSUM for a second straight year. USF, which was seeded No. 3, fell to South No. 1 seed Augustana, 63-43 in the semifinals. Since the NSIC moved the championship site to the Sanford Pentagon in 2014, USF has played in 11 games at the Sioux Falls facility and are 7-4 in those games. In the last three years at the Pentagon, USF is 6-3 losing only in the NSIC Tournament title game to MSUM in 2018-19, Northern State, 55-52 in 2016-17, Augustana two years ago in the semifinals. The Cougars dropped a 78-66 decision to eventual Central Region champion Concordia-St. Paul in 2014, then returned to the NSIC semis two years later. En route to their NSIC Tournament title, USF defeated Northern State, 71-63, in the 2016 semifinals. In 2015-16, USF's defense stymied Wayne State in a 58-49 victory for their second consecutive title game appearance. In the 2016 NSIC Championship, USF defeated rival Augustana, 75-57, to earn NCAA DII national tourney berth, the first in school history.  In that history-making victory, Taylor Varsho, who was the tourney MVP, had 23 points with seven assists and eight rebounds. Alison Klostergaard added 18 points and Teagan Molden provided 12 points. USF trailed, 29-26 after two quarters but outscored their city rivals, 29-8, in the third quarter to build a big league and cruised to the title.

On Coach Travis Traphagen – 

In his 12th season, Traphagen is the program's career leader with 242 career wins. This is the second straight season, and fourth in the last five, for Traphagen teams to eclipse 20 wins. He has directed six USF teams to 20 wins.

Hummel, Szymanski earn third selection to All-NSIC squad and Huinker named to All-Defensive Team

For the third straight season, seniors guards Kaely Hummel and Mariah Szymanski have been named to the All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference squad, according to an announcement by the league office Thursday (Feb. 27). In addition, senior forward Jacey Huinker has been named to the All-NSIC Defensive squad. For the fifth time in their seven-year membership of the NSIC, USF has had two players named All-NSIC. This year, Hummel and Szymanski were both named to the 12-member first team. Hummel and Szymanski become USF's first-ever three-time All-NSIC honorees. Hummel is the second player (Laura Johnson, 2012-13, 2013-14) to earn first-team honors in back-to-back seasons. After two straight second team honors, Szymanski was named to the 12-member first team. Huinker picked up her second All-Defensive Team honor (2017-18). The league MVP was Brooke Olson of UMD and Mandy Pearson of UMD earned the league's coach of the year honor.

Hummel, Syzmanski and Huinker have helped lead USF to a 25-5 record, third seed in the NCAA DII Central Regional rankings, and a program-first NSIC South Division title. In addition, the trio are part of the first team at the DII level to earn a top 10 ranking in the WBCA Top-25 poll (as high as 7th) and nine straight national rankings. 

Kaely Hummel ranks fourth in scoring and first in made threes

Hummel, a 5-8 shooting guard from Cherokee, Iowa, is a two-time Academic All-NSIC honoree, who was named a Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award recipient. Hummel, who was named the NSIC Preseason South Division Player of the Year this season, recently was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District first team selection, which moves her to the national ballot and into consideration for Academic All-America honors. A business administration major with a 3.76 GPA, she is the daughter of Julie and Troy Hummel. Hummel, who is averaging 16.9 ppg which is fourth in the NSIC. She is top five in three NSIC categories including threes per game at 2.5 and free throw percentage at 85.2 percent. Fourth at USF with 1,694 career points, Hummel is USF's all-time leader in three-pointers with 266. With 120 career games, she ranks tied for third all-time at USF with Szymanski. She has 92 double-digit scoring games with 25 of 20 points or more.  Hummel is the first player in school history to have 67 or more three-point field goals in the same season three times and one of two players with 460 points or more in the season three times. With 506 points this season, she ranks 10th all-time.

Szymanski, who is averaging 12.1 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds, has 1,158 career points (16th all-time) and 170 made threes (7th all-time at USF) in 120 games (tied for third all-time) with 89 starts at USF. With 244 assists, she is eighth all-time at USF. She has 56 double-digit scoring games, 12 games of 20-points or more and four over 30.  A native of Pulaski, Wisc., recorded a school record 43 points with a school mark of 9 3s against CSP in 2018. A nursing major and daughter of Steve and Tracey Szymanski, has 362 points this season and has 53 made threes this season.   

Huinker, a 5-9 forward from Altoona, Iowa, was named recipient of the Elite 18 Award by the NSIC in women's basketball in 2017-18. Selected among 32 recipients league-wide of the NSIC's Butch Raymond Scholarship, she has been named Academic All-NSIC twice and to the All-NSIC Defensive Team for the second time. Averaging 4.6 ppg and 8.2 rebounds (3rd NSIC), Huinker leads the NSIC in offensive rebounds with 77 which has tied Sam Knecht (2016-17) at USF for the best in USF's DII era. She ranks eighth in school history and second in DII era with 753 rebounds with 17 games of 12 or more rebounds. Huinker, who has 11 double-digit scoring games and six double-doubles, has her nursing degree and is in the USF Master of Business Administration program with a 4.0 GPA in both disciplines.

The daughter of Darren and Janel Huinker, she is the only remaining player from the 2015-16 team that won the NSIC Tourney title and became the program's first-ever squad to earn an NCAA DII Tournament bid. She has accumulated 222 assists (12th all-time at USF), 98 steals, 463 points and 19 blocks in 107 games with 86 starts in her outstanding career.

A two-time Academic All-NSIC honoree, senior Augusta Thramer has accumulated 436 career points, 290 rebounds, 168 assists, 104 steals, 25 threes and 17 games in double-digit points in 107 games and 14 starts at USF. Twice in 2019-20 she has hit a career-high with 20 points.