The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team will say farewell to five dedicated seniors Saturday afternoon in Romano Gymnasium, when they host North Central Conference opponent the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The senior quintet will be honored just before the 1 p.m. tip-off.
THE MATCH-UP• The Bulldogs are undefeated in a short-lived 4-0 all-time rivalry with the Mavericks. The two squads met twice last year in UMD's rookie NCC season, with the Bulldogs winning both hardwood showdowns. UMD pounded UNO in Omaha (2/19/05) 72-49, as
Lindsey Dietz riddled the Mavericks with 38 points and 12 rebounds. The two danced just a week later in Romano Gymnasium, again to a Bulldog preferred tune as UMD beat UNO67-50. Once again, Dietz had the Maverick's number, scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the impressive effort.
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UMD Bulldog Women's Basketball Game Notes vs. Nebraska-Omaha (Feb. 18, 2006)LAST WEEK• UMD, (16-8, 3-6), dropped their fifth straight since losing leading scorer and rebounder Lindsey Dietz. The Bulldogs faced a tough No. 2 North Dakota Saturday, as they were defeated 58-81 in Romano.
Katie Winkelman led all scorers with 22 points, but she was the only UMD jersey to break into double figures on the afternoon. It was Winkelman's fifth straight game in which she led the Bulldogs in scoring.
UNO,(16-10, 2-7), are coming off of a two loss week. The Mavericks lost Saturday on the road in Mankato 67-76 .
Ashley Freerksen scored 13 of her team-high 16 points in the second half for UNO.
PRESEASON PICKS/RANKINGS• UMD was picked to finish third in the NCC. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 5 in the latest North Central Regional rankings.
Nebraska-Omaha was picked to finish seventh out of seven teams in the NCC preseason polls.
THE COACHES•
Sue Fiero is in her first season at the helm of the Bulldogs after succeeding
Karen Stromme this past May. Fiero has amassed a 86-36 overall record in her prior four years as an assistant under Stromme. No stranger to success, she helped the Bulldogs make four trips to the NCAA Division II North Central Regionals, won three Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament Championships (2000-2001 and 2002-04) and captured one NSIC title (2002-2003).
The Mavericks are guided by
Patty Patton Shearer, who is in her second season on the bench. Patton Shearer led UNO to a 14-14 record last season, the first non-losing season in five years.
THE RETURN OF DIETZ• She has been out because of injury since Jan. 14, but the long antcipated return of All-American senior
Lindsey Dietz to the hardwood may happen this Saturday. Dietz will not start the contest, but could see some limited playing time in what could be her last game in Romano Gymnasium in a Bulldog jersey.
MISSING BULLDOG• Junior
Justine Axtell, who was injured last Saturday against South Dakota, is out indefinitely as a result of that injury.
SENIOR SALUTE• Before Saturday's game, five Bulldog seniors will be honored for their commitment to the UMD women's basketball team.
Lindsey Dietz,
Megan O'Hern,
Laura Sylvester,
Amy Lulich, and
Alissa Black will hang up their maroon and gold jerseys for good at the end of this season. Here is a quick look at what this senior class has accomplished in the last four years:
* Overall record: 81-33
* 1 NSIC Title in 2002-03
* 1 NSIC Tournament Title in 2003-04
* 2 Second place conference finishes (2003-04 NSIC, 2004-05 NCC)
* 3 consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances (2003, 2004, 2005)
* Former head coach
Karen's Stromme's 400th career win on 3/9/2003
THE SCORING LOW-DOWN• The Mavericks have three players averaging double-digits in the scoring column.
JJ Smith leads the way with 14.1 PPG and 5.2 RPG, while
Karen Thies is pitching in 11.7 PPG and pulling down 6.3 RPG as the team's leading rebounder.
Ashley Freerksen rounds out the scoring trio with 11.0 PPG and 5.1 RPG.
UMD is led by three-time All-American and last season's NCC Player of the Year, senior
Lindsey Dietz. She is averaging a NCC high 24.3 PPG overall and NCC second best 9.2 RPG. Junior
Katie Winkelman has stepped up in a big way as well for the Bulldogs. Winkelman is averaging 14.5 PPG and 6.3 RPG, and is 7th in the NCC in scoring, as well as 9th in rebounding. Winkelman has been unstoppable in NCC play so far this season, taking her scoring total to 20.2 PPG, good for second best in NCC play, and averaging 7.2 RPG, good for 5th in NCC play. Junior
Justine Axtell has also become a force to be reckoned with, averaging 9.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG, good for 11th overall in the NCC.
DOG IN COMMAND•
Katie Winkelman had already stepped up her production in NCC play before
Lindsey Dietz was injured (18.5 PPG 5.5 RPG). Yet Winkelman has taken it up a notch further, averaging 21.8 PPG and grabbing 8.5 RPG in Dietz's absence. Before Dietz's injury, Winkelman had led the team in scoring three times. Winkelman has led the team in scoring five straight times since Dietz's injury.
TITLE TRADITIONS• UMD collected 11 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles in 25 years as NSIC members. Last season, the first NCC season for the Bulldogs, marked the third straight NCAA Regional appearance for UMD. The Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Regional Tournament 13 times overall.
RANK AND FALL• UMD has not lost five consecutive contests since the 1983-84 season, when they lost six games straight.
For the first time since December 4th, UMD is not ranked in the top 25. The Bulldogs were ranked as high as 20th in the USA Today/WBCA coaches poll in January.
NCAA LEADERS• UMD has the NCAA's leading scorer for the second time this season in
Lindsey Dietz (24.3 PPG). Dietz also rings in second with her 68.3 field goal percentage. The Bulldogs as a whole have the third best rebounding margin in the country, checking in at 11.0 RPG.
A RECORD START • The Bulldogs accomplished the best start in UMD women's basketball history. The 14-2 start was unmatched in 29 years of recorded stats. The start also gave
Sue Fiero the best start by a Bulldog head coach in the program's history.
(Note: The stat book for UMD only goes through the 1976-77 season.)
DIETZ SCORES 2,000th POINT•
Lindsey Dietz scored her 2,000th career point against St. Cloud State on Jan. 7th. Dietz is only the second Bulldog, man or woman, to score 2,000 points.
Dina Kangas, the NCAA Divsion II's all-time leading scorer, was the other.
Dietz is currently sitting behind Kangas on the all-time UMD scoring chart in the No. 2 spot. Dietz has amassed 2,068 career-points at this point in her final season. Dietz is 122 points from breaking into the top 25 all-time NCAA scorers. Former Bulldog and current head coach
Sue Fiero is number eleven with 1,243 points and 10.9 PPG.
MATTER OF FACT•
Lindsey Dietz is currently on pace to become the first Bulldog to lead UMD in scoring all four years of her career.
Dina Kangas led the Bulldogs in scoring for three years (1988-89, 1989-90, and 1990-91), but
Kelli Ritzer led the team in scoring Kangas' freshman year. Dietz, like Kangas, has improved her scoring average every season.
ON THE AIR• The Bulldogs can be found on KDAL (610 AM) Saturday afternoon. Pre-game will dial up at 12:45.
