The University of Minnesota Duluth will host top-ranked competition in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference as No. 9 Wayne State College and Augustana (S.D.) College hit the court at Romano Gym this weekend. UMD will also celebrate "Locks of Love" with an event on Saturday night.
Bulldog fans will have the opportunity to donate their hair to "Locks of Love" at halftime of the Men's Basketball game. UMD is encouraging donations of 8-10" in hair for those who suffer from disease or illness resulting in hair loss. This year the Bulldogs are partnering with Cost Cutters*, who will be cutting hair free of charge during halftime for those willing to donate. For more information, please
click here.
UMD (9-9, 6-8 NSIC) returned to its home court and found itself frustrated by a pair of NSIC North foes in MSU-Moorhead and No. 22 Northern State. The Dragons knocked off the Bulldogs 75-70 on Friday night before the top-rated Wolves slipped by UMD, 70-59 on Saturday afternoon. Offensively, junior guard
Danielle Flood posted a pair of great games, leading the Bulldogs with 17.0 points per night including a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe for the weekend. Senior center
Hannah Rutten shot the lights out when she touched the ball, 57.8 percent for the weekend for 14.0 points per game while hauling in 17 rebounds. It does not get any easier this weekend as the Bulldogs continue their homestand against top-ranked Wayne State and Augustana.
About the VikingsAugustana (11-7, 7-7 NSIC) got off a three-game losing skid last time out with a victory over Southwest Minnesota State 98-66, just the third-highest scoring mark for the Vikings this season. At 81.3 points per game, Augie has the second-highest scoring offense in the NSIC, led by junior Shaunteva Ashley, who's posted a 16.2 PPG average along with a league-high 2.34 assist-turnover ratio on 4.2 dimes per outing. Junior Rhianna Gullickson has shot the lights out at 59.6 percent from the field while also hauling in 6.6 rebounds per outing.
The Vikings are one of just a pair of teams in the NSIC owning a winning record against UMD, with the Bulldogs just 7-15 all-time against Augustana, including a 43-63 defeat last season on Feb. 1.
About the WildcatsWayne State (19-2, 12-2 NSIC) comes into Duluth winning three in a row after dropping just its second game of the league season against Concordia-St. Paul. Wayne State's 77.5 points per game took a dip last weekend at home, but the Wildcats scored 89 points against Minnesota State last time they hit the road. Junior Jordan Spencer ranks third in the league at 18.1 PPG without ever shooting a three-pointer on the year and has averaged 6.7 rebounds on the year. Senior Ellen Hansen leads the Wildcats with 7.9 boards per game.
The Bulldogs are 12-8 all-time against Wayne State, but fell 45-62 on Feb. 2 last season.
UMD will tip off the weekend with Augustana on Friday night, with Saturday's "Locks of Love" afternoon tilt versus Wayne State set for 4:00 p.m. at Romano Gym.
