Still searching for its first win during the month of February in two years, the University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team will enter the final stretch of the 2006-07 regular season Thursday when it hosts the University of Nebraska-Omaha at 6 p.m. in Romano Gymnasium.

The Bulldogs return Saturday for a Senior Day showdown against the No. 4 University of North Dakota. Tip-off for the final Romanao Gym court appearance of Katie Winkelman and Justine Axtell will go up at 1 p.m.

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UMD-NEBRASKA-OMAHA-NORTH DAKOTA GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: UMD retains a slight 4-3 all-time edge over the Mavericks after slipping out of Omaha on Jan. 13 with a 60-59 victory. Kim Wagers knocked down two free throws with 6.9 seconds left en route to a career-high 15 points to help top the home team, handing UNO its first home loss of the season. The January win broke the Mavericks last season stronghold on the Bulldogs, who went a painful 0-3 against UNO a year ago.

The Maroon and Gold hold a most humble 3-30 record against the Sioux after UND handed UMD a 76-60 loss in Grand Forks, N.D. on Feb. 10. Justine Axtell paced the losing cause with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting, while Jacquie Hartman added 11 points off the bench. UMD has lost seven consecutive contests with the Sioux, dating back to Dec. 14, 2002 when the Bulldogs earned a 89-77 win in Romano Gym. Katie Winkelman is the only player on UMD's roster to have ever tasted victory against North Dakota.

LAST WEEK: UMD (13-12, 4-6) is currently in the dark midst of a five-game losing streak after dropping a 62-52 contest to South Dakota last Saturday. Katie Winkelman led the Bulldogs with 14 points and a career-high 18 boards, while Alissa Pauly chipped in 10 tallies.

Winkelman's 18 rebounds was the most hauled down by a Bulldog since Stacy Nelson grabbed 20 on Feb. 11, 1998.

Nebraska-Omaha (15-9, 3-7) lost Saturday night to No. 4 North Dakota, despite 18 points from sophomore guard Alyssa Greenwho added three assists and three steals.

The Sioux (26-3, 9-2) clinched at least a share of the NCC regular season championship with an 81-66 win at Nebraska-Omaha last Saturday. Sophomore forward Kierah Kimbrough had 21 points and 11 boards.



PRESEASON PICKS/ RANKINGS: UMD, currently 5th in the NCC, and was picked to finish 5th in the NCC preseason coaches poll after finishing in a fifth place tie a year ago with a 16-12 overall record and 3-9 in conference play.

Nebraska-Omaha was pegged to finish sixth in the NCC preseason coaches poll after a 20-11, 4-7 finish for fourth place last winter.

North Dakota is currently the No. 4 team in the nation according to the most recent ESPN/USA TODAY poll. UND, who holds the No. 1 spot in the North Central Region, was picked to finish first in the NCC after ending up 34-1 overall and 12-0 in the conference last season.

THE COACHES: After 21 years as an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota Duluth and the University of Minnesota, David Stromme steps in his first starring role as the interim head coach. Stromme succeeds Sue Fiero, who stepped down in June after one season at the Bulldog helm. Stromme spent 17 years (1985-2002) as an assistant coach at UMD, working under his sister, Karen Stromme. While he was a member of the Bulldog staff, UMD rolled up a 370-159 overall record overall record (for a .703 winning percentage), advanced to the NCAA II playoffs five times and the NAIA National Tournament on eight occasions, captured nine Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles, and produced a pair of NAIA/NCAA II All-Americans and 20 All-NSIC first team selections.

Patty Patton Shearer is at the helm of the Mavericks for a third consecutive season.

The Sioux are led by head coach Gene Roebuck, who is currently in his 20th season. The three-time national champion coach (1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99) is 24-2 all-time against the Bulldogs.



SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS: Senior Karen Thies ranks second in the NCC with 17.0 PPG, while senior Ashley Frerrksen is averaging 12.8 PPG, and sophomore Cayla Hargrove is chipping in 10.0 PPG and grabbing 6.1 RPG.

SCOUTING THE SIOUX: North Dakota is led by super-sophomore and four-time NCC Player of the Week Kierah Kimbrough, who is averaging 15.5 PPG. Junior Ashley Langen trails right behind her with a 14.2 PPG average, while hauling in an NCC third-nest 8.5 RPG. In five career games played against UMD, Langen is averaging 22.8 PPG and 9.8 RPG.

GRACIAS SENIORS: Saturday will mark the final time that two Bulldog seniors -- Katie Winkelman and Justine Axtell -- will play on their homecourt of four years. Romano Gym has been kind to the two elders this season, with Winkelman averaging 18.0 PPG and 6.6 RPG, and Axtell following suit with 10.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG.

BY THE NUMBERS: UMD is 7-0 when it scores 70 or more points, and 11-1 when it drops in 66 or more tallies. The Bulldogs are 12-2 with a halftime lead.

WINKELMAN WATCH: Katie Winkelman, the most recent addition to the Bulldog's 1,000-point club, has had five double-doubles this season. Winkelman has reached double figures in scoring on 22 occasions so far this winter, tallying 15 points or more 15 times, and bucketing more than 20 on seven outings.

The senior from Morris, Minn. has scored 1,150 career points, landing her 13th on UMD's all-time scoring list. She leads the Bulldogs with a 15.8 PPG (3rd best in the NCC), 6.7 boards a game.

PASSING FANCY: Alissa Pauly continues to lead the NCC for a seventh consecutive week with her unselfish play, gifting 5.08 assists a game. Pauly is currently ranked 28th in the NCAA for her effort, and has twice dished out 10 dimes in a game this season.