THE OPENING TIP: Off to its best start since the 2011-12 season, the University of Minnesota Duluth will attempt to defend home court this weekend as it faces Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of Sioux Falls at Romano Gymnasium. First tip Friday night against the Mustangs is at 6:00 p.m. Saturday's action starts at 4:00 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE: The Mustangs are 2-4 and 1-2 in the NSIC and is in their second season with head coach Tom Webb.
SMSU notched a season-high 75 points in a 75-55 home win over Upper Iowa, which was the first home NSIC win for coach Webb. Caleigh Rodning is the Mustangs' leading scorer (12.0) and leading rebounder (9.6)

SCOUTING REPORT ON SIOUX FALLS: The Cougars are 5-1 to start the 2017-18 season and is in their 10th season under head coach Travis Traphagen.
USF opened conference play with three straight win for the second time in their NSIC tenure. Jasmine Harris had a last-second lay up to beat Winona State 61-60 on Friday night. Saturday, they built a 20-point lead by the end of the first quarter and cruised to an 83-41 victory over Upper Iowa.
Kaely Hummel, Harris and Lauren Sanders are all with a point per game of each other as they lead a three-headed attack. Jacey Huinker is the team's leading rebounder (10.2)

THE SERIES: UMD has a 54-18 edge in the all-time series against Southwest Minnesota State. The Bulldogs won in Marshall, Minn. last year 61-48.
Sioux Falls is one of only three NSIC teams to have the advantage in the head-to-head matchup. The Cougars are 4-2 against the Bulldogs and handed UMD a 66-47 loss in Sioux Falls last season.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and their opponents stack up in the conference standings and in the Women's Coaches Basketball Association (WCBA) poll.
TEAM        NSIC        WCBA
UMD          T-3rd          NR
SMSU        T-10th        NR
USF           T-1st           NR

THE BROADCAST: Both games this weekend will be carried live through a video stream and is available at:
portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs won both of their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contests last week against Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston.
UMD erased a seven-point second-half lead over the Beavers and closed out the game on a 14-2 run in the final 5:21 to deliver the knockout blow. The Bulldogs won the battle in points off turnovers (20-7) and second chance points (11-0).
The Golden Eagles led for only 1:06 of the game last Saturday as UMD led almost wire-to-wire. The Bulldogs didn't need a comeback this time as they were up by 14 midway through the third. Sammy Kozlowski netted 20 points, six rebounds and six assists in the game.

FOURTH QUARTER SURGE: The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 90-50 in the last quarter this season, the largest margin of any quarter.  That was prevalent last Friday as UMD ran out to a 21-7 advantage over the Beavers in the final 10 minutes to capture the first NSIC victory of the season. UMD is holding opponents to under 28 percent from the floor in the quarter. 

LIGHT 'EM UP: Three of the four victories this season have come by double figures. UMD won by 24 in the season opener then stacked a 38-point victory in the home opener four days later. In their last game, the Bulldogs won by 10 over the Golden Eagles.
The 38-point margin of victory was the largest since Nov. 19, 2013 when Wisconsin-Superior fell 89-43 at Romano. The last time the Bulldogs had two consecutive victories of more than 20 points goes back to Feb. 21-22, 2014 when UMD defeated Bemidji State by 22 and Minnesota Crookston by 23.

NOT A BAD DEBUT, PUPS: The freshmen have accounted for big minutes this far into the 2017-18 season. Four of the five freshmen scored in their first collegiate action against the Rangers. Ann Simonet led all freshmen with 14 and Sarah Grow followed up with 12. The first-year players combined for 41 percent of the 73 points in the first game of the season.Thus far, the freshmen have accounted for 33 percent of the team's total points.
Simonet, Grow and Payton Kahl are in the top six in average minutes. Kahl has been the No. 1 player off the bench for the Bulldogs, averaging 4.0 points, 1.2 rebounds and almost a block and a steal per game in roughly 19 minutes a game.

TAKE CARE OF THE BALL: The NSIC excels at limiting its turnovers and UMD is no exception. The Bulldogs are one of four conference teams to have less than 13 turnovers per game. Those four NSIC teams (Winona State, Sioux Falls, MSU-Moorhead) are all within the top 17 in the nation. 

BOXING OUT: UMD is nationally one of the better teams in terms of rebounding. The Bulldogs are averaging 48 rebounds a game, putting them eighth in the nation and first in the NSIC.
UMD is averaging 16 offensive rebounds and 32 defensive rebounds per game ranked tenth and 36th in the nation, respectively.
Its rebounding margin is 10.2, which is tenth in all of Division II and second in the NSIC behind Northern State (13.1)

AMONG THE BEST: Other than their phenomenal rebounding statistics, the Bulldogs are 15th in the nation in blocks shots per game (5.4), 30th in three-point field goal percentage (25.3) and 31st in assist-turnover ratio (1.19).

DYNAMIC DUO: Sammy Kozlowski and Sarah Grow could haunt the NSIC this season. Kozlowski is fourth in the NSIC in scoring average with 15.0 and is first in the league in assists per game with 5.2. Meanwhile, Grow is fifth in the NSIC in rebounds per game with 9.6 and third in the conference with 2.6 blocks per game.

FOUR NEW FACES IN THE STARTING FIVE: UMD replaced four of its starters as Taylor Meyer, Kenzie Kane, Jenna Orr and Allyson Harris each played their final collegiate games in 2016-17. Sammy Kozlowski is the only starter returning. The Bulldogs have started Katie Stark, Ann Simonet, Emma Boehm and Sarah Grow in each game this season.

CONFERENCE COACHES CORNER: On Oct. 25, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference 2017-18 Preseason Coaches' Poll picked UMD to finish in eighth in the conference and fourth in the North Division. The Bulldogs, which finished third in the division and ninth overall a season ago, received 132 points in the poll.
Minnesota State Moorhead, who claimed the preseason favorite in the North Division, topped out in the overall poll with 213 points slightly topping division rival Northern State with 209. Augustana, who was picked to finish first in the south, was picked to finish third overall in the NSIC. MSUM received 10 first-place votes while NSU got four and Augustana gathered collected the last two. 
The Dragons' senior forward Drew Sannes was named the North Division Preseason Player of the Year. The Wildcats' senior forward Paige Ballinger was named the South Division Preseason Player of the Year.

NEW DOGS ON THE BLOCK: The Bulldogs bring in five newcomers this season after losing seven letterwinners from last season. UMD hopes to have found its next low post dominator in Sarah Grow (Circle Pines, Minn.). The Bulldogs bring in a pair of guards who had a bunch of success scoring in bunches. Maizie Deihl (New Prague, Minn.) and Ann Simonet (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) each reached the 1,000-point threshold in their careers for their respective high schools. Payton Kahl (Stoughton, Wis.) and Jordyn Thomas (Hermantown, Minn.) are athletic wing players that can play the tweener between guard and forward.

2016-17 ACCOLADES: Sophomore guard Sammy Kozlowski is the only returnee who gained recognition from the NSIC. Kozlowski was named to the All-NSIC Second Team and All-Defensive team. Taylor Meyer, who graduated as the 16th leading scorer in program history, also was tabbed with second team honors.

THE COACH: Third-year head coach Mandy Pearson, following a 14-14 (11-11 NSIC) second season, will look to continue to stamp her mark on the University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball program.
The Bulldogs doubled their win total from Pearson's first season at the helm, displaying definite signs of a program headed in the right direction. Pearson will look to continue to take steps forward in the 2017-18 season and vault UMD further up the NSIC standings.
Pearson proved her ability to turn a program around while leading the NCAA Division III Cardinals since the 2007 season. Saint Mary's quickly moved up the ranks in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference under her guidance, securing its first playoff bid since 2005 during the 2011-12 campaign. A year later, the Cardinals posted a 22-5 record, second-best in program history, advanced to the MIAC Tournament semifinals, and earned a victory over UMD's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rival Winona State University. Pearson was named the MIAC Coach of the Year for the first time in 2012-13, repeating that feat a year later, and also earned the SMU Staff Recognition Award following that season.
Her last two years with the Cardinals, Pearson's squads posted a 42-13 combined record including a 24-4 mark--best in program history--in 2013-14. The team found itself ranked in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today Sports NCAA III Top 25 Coaches' Poll and d3hoops.com polls for the first time ever, as high as no. 12. In her nine seasons as the SMU bench boss, Pearson produced one d3hoops.com All-American selection in Courtney Euerle (an honorable mention in 2013-14), who also earned MIAC Player of the Year honors and was the only player from the entire conference to earn All-America recognition that season. Pearson also produced two All-NCAA III West Region Team members, nine All-MIAC award selections, seven all-conference honorable mentions, four All-MIAC Defensive Team selections, and four MIAC All-First Year Team picks.
Before joining Saint Mary's, Pearson served as an assistant with NCAA III Hamline University during the 2005-07 seasons after wrapping up a four-year playing career at another MIAC school, Concordia College of Moorhead. Pearson earned three All-MIAC selections during her playing career and was named a First Team All-American during her senior season in 2004-05. She was the first Cobber to achieve 1,000 points and 500 assists in her career. She also played softball for Concordia-Moorhead, earning All-MIAC citation on the diamond as well in her senior campaign. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Concordia with minors in sociology, health and coaching. While coaching at Saint Mary's, she earned her Master of Arts degree in human development in 2013.
Over the last five years, Pearson has spoken at several camps and clinics, including the Minnesota State High School League Association Clinic in 2011. She also polished her own coaching acumen at the Nike Championship Basketball Clinic, the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, Northern State University, and Final Four Coaching Clinics.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs have two games left before they hit their holiday break. UMD will play St. Cloud State at Halenback Hall on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.