The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball program will have plenty of hoopla surrounding its final home series of the year.

While the Bulldogs look to pick up wins in Romano Gymnasium Friday against Minnesota State-Mankato (6 p.m.) and Saturday against Southwest Minnesota State (4 p.m.)  to solidify their playoff status, the weekend will revolve around much more than this.

Friday night will be "Faculty Favorite Night," as the UMD women have each selected a faculty member to bring to the game and recognize. With a 3.56 cumulative team GPA and a 100 percent graduation rate within the program, Coach Annette Wiles said this event is something very close to the Bulldogs' hearts.

"We're a team that invests a lot in recruiting student-athletes who will be strong in the classroom here at UMD," Wiles said. "We're honored to be able to recognize those faculty members who have helped our athletes along that process."

Saturday will play host to a pair of events, as UMD will not only recognize its five seniors in the final regular season home game of their careers, but also launch this season's "Think Pink" campaign to help out with Breast Cancer Awareness, research, and treatment.

After raising $1500 in funds from donations and silent auction bids last season, the Bulldogs will again have a silent auction going on during Saturday's game, with items donated by players, coaches and parents, as well as participating businesses. All funds donated will go to St. Luke's breast cancer center, to help the community of Duluth.

"One of the things we certainly take great pride in is doing community service in a lot of different ways," Wiles said.

The five seniors will also be recognized at the conclusion of the game, honoring them for their dedication to the program.

"It's kind of overwhelming that we're seniors, and these are our last home games," senior forward Katie Haas said. "It's definitely an honor and a priviledge to have made it this far."

Haas is one of the seniors planning to remain in Duluth, and will be re-enrolling at UMD, after being accepted to all three Pharmacy schools she applied to, and choosing to stick with Duluth's program.

"I've got family up here, and I've absolutely loved being up here during undergrad. It's a great place to go to college," Haas said. "I had some options, but in the end, UMD just seemed to make sense to me. They were my top choice, and I've already had such a great experience."