The University of Minnesota Duluth split a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games on a trip through North Dakota last weekend. The Bulldogs continue on the road this week, heading south to face the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State.

UMD (9-9, 7-7 NSIC) is entrenched in a dog fight among three teams tied for third in the NSIC North division after defeating Minot State University 72-60 on Friday night before falling to the University of Mary 83-72 on Saturday night. They'll look to improve their standing this week against the third and eighth place teams in the NSIC South.

FREE THROWS
• Junior forward Taylor Meyer averaged 22.0 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Bulldogs while adding five steals, three assists, and a block. She put together a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds against U-Mary, including seven on the offensive end to give UMD second chances, adding two assists and three steals. She scored 18 points, including a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line against Minot State.
• Senior guard Danielle Flood averaged 16.0 points and 3.0 rebounds on the weekend for UMD, adding nine assists, three steals, and a block. She netted 20 points while dishing six assists in Friday night's victory over Minot State, shooting 57.1 percent on the night from anywhere on the floor, including 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from three-point range.
• UMD has relied on its starting line-up very heavily this season. The Bulldogs' reserves have out-scored opponents' just five times, but UMD owns a 3-2 record in those games. Last Saturday night, the Bulldogs got just a basket off its bench, dropping their record when being out-scored by the opponent's reserves to 6-7. The two points were a season-low for UMD, but the team is actually 4-3 when its bench scores fewer than 10 points this season.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS (Friday, Jan. 30, 6:00 p.m.) - Live Video • Live Stats
• Sioux Falls (13-5, 9-5 NSIC, South: T-3) lost two in a row last weekend on the road against Concordia University, St. Paul and Minnesota State University Mankato, but has won two straight at home.  The Bulldogs and Cougars have split a pair of contests against each other the last two seasons - the only meetings between the two teams.
• Senior guard Jaicee Ulmer and junior guard Taylor Varsho lead the way for the Cougars offensively, scoring 12.2 and 11.6 points per game in conference action. Varsho also ranks 13th in the NSIC with 6.6 boards and sixth with 3.5 assists per outing this year.
• Sophomore forward Sam Knecht is currently seventh, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game as well in shooting average where she's shot 50.7 percent on the season in NSIC play.
• Sioux Falls averages currently ranks in the upper echelon of the NSIC, sixth in scoring at 70.6 points per game, and fifth in defense at 63.5 per game. The Cougars' +7.1 average scoring margin is third-best in the league.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS (Saturday, Jan. 31 5:00 p.m.) - Live Video • Live Audio • Live Stats
• Southwest Minnesota State (2-16, 2-12 NSIC, South: 8) has lost three in a row, but its last win came in upset fashion over the then-No. 4 ranked Northern State University two weeks ago in Marshall. UMD owns a 53-16 all-time record against SMSU.
• Junior guard Annessa Rosch leads the way for the Mustangs, averaging 12.3 points, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game in NSIC play. The latter two stats each rank ninth in the league. She's also fourth in the conference at 35.2 minutes per outing.
• SMSU ranks last in the NSIC in scoring at just 57.8 points per game while also allowing teams to shoot a league-high 46.6 percent. Opponents are also shooting an impress 35.0 percent from long range against the Mustangs.

The Bulldogs will take the court in Sioux Falls on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. Saturday's game with SMSU has a later start time than usual Saturday outings -- 5:00 p.m. in Marshall, Minnesota.