SIOUX FALLS- The No. 13 University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball team, under the direction of 12^th-year head coach Travis Traphagen, will look to strengthen their tournament resume when they have a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) interdivisional series this weekend against Northern State on Friday, and MSU Moorhead on Saturday.
 
Saturday's matchup for the Cougars (20-3, 13-3 NSIC) pits the two preseason division favorites. The visiting Dragons have had a battle on their hands in the North, falling to third in the division behind a strong Duluth team and the hottest team in the NSIC currently in St. Cloud State. In the South, the Cougars have kept control of the South out of the gate, holding a three-game lead over both Winona State and Wayne State heading into the weekend.
 
The Rundown (2019-20 Record (NSIC North Record))-
Fri., Feb. 7, 5:30 p.m. vs. Northern State Wolves (12-10, 8-8 (5-5 NSIC North))
Sat., Feb. 8, 3:30 p.m. vs. MSU Moorhead Dragons (16-7, 11-5 (8-2 NSIC North))
 
Northern State Wolves (12-10, 8-8 NSIC)-
With second-year head coach Paula Krueger at the helm, the Wolves have shown spurts of strong performances, despite their 12-10, 8-8 record. The Wolves, who have already eclipsed their record from a year ago with six more games to go, have had a pair of big wins against the NSIC South, taking down Minnesota State (71-65) and Winona State (69-49), both in Aberdeen.
 
Two of the Wolves' starters have shown to be the offensive power for NSU, with Lexi Wadsworth leading the team at 13.9 points per game. Right behind Wadsworth is former NSIC North Player of the Week Brianna Kusler with 13.4 points per game. Kusler also leads the team in rebounds (187), assists (65), and steals (32). Joie Spier has been a menace in the paint, as the 5-11 junior has recorded a team-leading 12 blocks on the season in 22 appearances off the bench.
 
MSU Moorhead Dragons 16-7, 11-5 NSIC)-
Under the direction of four-time NSIC Coach of the Year and 20^th-year head coach Karla Nelson, have put together a successful and winning season, the 20^th straight for the Dragons under Coach Nelson. The Dragons started their 2019-20 campaign with six straight wins, including a season-opening win against No. 18 Central Missouri, but fell twice in close battles to then-ranked (RV) Cal State-San Marcos and No. 14 UC-San Diego in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
 
Since the pair of losses, the Dragons have rattled off crucial wins against Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, and Concordia-St. Paul. On the flip side, in the Dragons' first true road game, they took on a strong UMary team that snuck out the 69-68 victory over MSUM. The Dragons have also dropped games to Winona State (overtime), Wayne State, Augustana (OT), and St. Cloud State.
 
Leading the Dragons offensively is three-time, 2019-20 NSIC North Player of the Week, Megan Hintz, who has averaged 15.5 points per game. Also putting on a strong performance last weekend is reigning NSIC North Player of the Week, Peyton Boom, who has averaged 10.5 points per game.
 
No. 13 Sioux Falls Cougars (20-3, 13-3 NSIC)-
The Cougars, under Head Coach Traphagen, have amassed one of their best seasons to date, which included two nine-game winning streaks, the second longest winning streams for a USF team (10-game winning streak in 2018-19) under Traphagen. The Cougars got off to a strong start on the season… actually their best start to a season in the Traphagen Era.
 
Hummel From Three!
Senior Kaely Hummel, the preseason NSIC South Player of the Year, has made her mark on USF history, recently becoming only the fourth Cougar to reach 1,600 points (1,602) in her career. Hummel also leads the team in points (414), as she averages 18 points a game (fourth in the NSIC) in 23 starts. Also to mark a strong season and career in purple and white, Hummel has hit 254 three pointers, which is only five shy of the school record, set by Laura Johnson (259). She has 86 double-digit point games with 21 this season and 25 20-point games with nine this season.

Szymanski goes past 1,000 points!
Senior guard Mariah Szymanski, who is averaging 11.3 points per game and 2.5 rebounds with 3.1 assists per game. She has 1,057 career points which includes 261 this season. Szymanski has 51 games of double-digit points with 10 games of 20 points or more.  Szymanski, who has hit 41 threes this season, has 158 in her career, which ranks eighth at USF all-time. She is 11 behind Krista Orsack, who had 169 from 2003-05. 
 
Huinker With the Board!
Defensively, not many teams could go wrong with a presence like USF has in graduate student Jacey Huinker, who has surpassed the 700 mark in rebounds with 717, moving her ahead of Steph Austin (716) to place 10^th in a career. She is averaging 5.2 points and averaging 8.5 rebounds per game which ranks second in the NSIC.
 
Rankings and tournament Resume
The Cougars receive the nod at No. 13 in the WBCA national poll after their defense and strengthening of their NSIC South lead, as well as a pair of losses from those ahead of them. When the dust settled from Tuesday's poll release, the Cougars finished with 279 total points, only 17 points behind No. 12 Walsh.
 
USF is ranked for the eighth consecutive week, and eighth week overall. A key point in the Cougars' tournament resume is their Thanksgiving Break victory over No. 7 Hawai'I Pacific at their home court, which to date is the Sharks' sole loss on the season.
 
From the Central Region, the Cougars now sit atop of the WBCA rankings, with Central Missouri not far behind at No. 18 in the nation (182 points). The Cougars, according to the D2SIDA Central Region poll, are amid a battle with the Jennies for the right to host the regionals, barring any setbacks from either team. In Monday's release of the regional poll, the Cougars received one first place vote in the Central Region (one of the six voters omitted from this week's poll) and trail the Jennies by three points at 46 points, and UCM at 49 points. The Cougars have a 14-point lead over NSIC North-leading Duluth, who amassed 32 points and the No. 4 spot in the poll.
 
In the D2SIDA national poll, the Cougars made a substantial jump from No. 18 a week ago, to earning 193 points for No. 13 overall. From the Central Region, USF trails only the Jennies, who were ranked No. 11 in Tuesday's poll. From the Cougars' pool of 20 wins, the top win comes against the aforementioned No. 6 Hawai'I Pacific. As it stands, in both national polls, USF stands as the sole NSIC team to earn any votes.
 
The Cougars will look to pad their resume with a pair of stout home games on the docket this weekend, facing a pesky Northern State (12-10, 8-8 NSIC) on Friday, and then a face-off against the NSIC North and conference preseason favorite MSU Moorhead (16-7, 11-5 NSIC). The Cougars could mathematically clinch the NSIC South this weekend, but need a sweep of NSU and MSUM, as well as Winona State and Wayne State being swept. MSU Moorhead are trying to make their way back into the upper echelon of the NSIC North, sitting at third currently with the ability to retake the North with a lot of help.
 
The History-
The Cougars have had a very even series with both Northern State and MSU Moorhead, with the Wolves leading the series 4-5, and it being deadlocked 5-5 with the Dragons. In their last matchup, the Cougars had a 10-game winning streak ended in the NSIC Tournament Semifinals by the Dragons, though the Cougars did clinch the regular season contest at the Stewart Center.
 
Against the Wolves, the Cougars broke a three-game losing streak to NSU with a 73-66 win in Aberdeen.