THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth will continue its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition this Friday and Saturday when the Bulldogs host Winona State University and Upper Iowa University. The Warriors and the Peacocks will make their only appearances against UMD this season at Romano Gymnasium. Friday's contest against Winona State will begin at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday's contest versus Upper Iowa University will tip at 3:30 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON WINONA STATE: The Warriors are 10-8 overall and 8-6 in the NSIC. They have won three of the last four games including sweeping last weekend at home.
Winona State averages 63.6 points per game and allowed 58.9 points per game. It is fourth in the NSIC in scoring defense and it is third in the NSIC in defensive field goal percentage with 37.3. The Warriors give the ball away 12.8 times per game which is fifth in the NSIC and 13th in the country.
Gabie Doud was the NSIC South Division Player of the Week after matching a career high 27 points last week. Doud is leading the team with 11.1 points per game. Kayla Schaefer is second with 11.0 points per game and Rachel Novotny is next with 10.4 points per game. Novotny is pacing the Warriors with 7.2 rebounds per game. Allie Pickrain has a team-leading 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals this season. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON UPPER IOWA: The Peacocks are 3-19 overall and 0-14 in the NSIC. Upper Iowa has lost 38 straight NSIC games, which dates back to Feb. 11, 2017 when it beat Concordia-St. Paul at home. The Peacocks have loss the last 24 NSIC road matches and the last 29 road appearances overall.
Upper Iowa is last the NSIC in points per game (54.3), points allowed per game (72.4), field-goal-percentage (36.0), three-point field-goal percentage (29.0), free throw percentage (65.1), and turnover per game (20.7). It is fifth in blocks per game at 3.8.
Savannah Domeyer leads the Peacocks with 9.3 points per game shooting a team-high 48.7 percent. Natalie Dinius averages 9.1 points per contest. Bekka Pierson knocked down a career high 19 points against Southwest Minnesota State last weekend. Haley Martin leads the team in rebounding with 5.8 boards per game.

THE SERIES: UMD and Winona State will play in the 77th meeting all-time with the Bulldogs leading the series 64-12. UMD ended a three-game drought last season at Winona with a career night by sophomore Sarah Grow who collected 20 points.
UMD and Upper Iowa will play for the 15th time on Saturday. The Bulldogs are undefeated in all 14 contests. The rivalry started when the Peacocks made their way into the NSIC for the first time in 2008-09. UMD has been dominant as of late, winning the last eight contests by double digits.
 
HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its opponents stack up with their records, in the NSIC standings and in the WBCA Coaches Poll.
 

TEAM	RECORD	NSIC	WBCA
UMD	12-5	11-3 (2nd)	NR
WSU	10-8	8-6 (T-6th)	NR
NSU	3-19	0-14 (16th)	NR

THE BROADCAST: Bulldog Productions will be carrying the game live through a web stream with Matt Johnson and Josh Wallace on the call of the action this weekend. The game on Friday and Saturday can be viewed, with live stat capabilities at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd. 

LAST TIME OUT: UMD stayed perfect at home in NSIC play with wins over Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University. The Bulldogs ended the No. 24 Dragons' 14-game win streak with a 69-53 win on Friday. The Bulldogs also snapped their 13-game losing skid to the Wolves after knocking out Northern State 57-41.

NORTH DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADES: On three instances this season the Bulldogs have had a player named the NSIC Player of the Week for the North Division. Sophomore forward Sarah Grow was bestowed with the honor on Dec. 17, 2018. Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski was rewarded with the citation twice in the past three weeks.

GOOD START: The Bulldogs are off to a 9-3 NSIC start, the best start in conference play in 16 years. The 2002-03 Bulldogs started 10-2 in the conference. That team finished 25-5 with the NSIC postseason title and a berth to the NCAA North Central Region Tournament.

HOME COOKIN': At Romano Gymnasium this season, the Bulldogs are 7-1 overall and 7-0 against NSIC competition. 

AGAINST THE TOP 25: Friday's victory over No. 24 MSU Moorhead was the first time in five attempts the Bulldogs came out with a victory against a ranked opponent. The Dragon were also the last team UMD beat before that handing the then-No. 15 team a 71-59 loss on Jan. 20, 2017.

1K FOR KOZLOWSKI: Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski reached 1,000 points for her collegiate career in the Dec. 19 game against Michigan Tech. She became the 21st Bulldog to accomplish the feat when she sunk a free-throw-line jumper in the third quarter. Taylor Meyer is last UMD player to amass 1,000 points as she reached the mark in the 2016-17 season.

CLIMBING THE SCORING RANKS: Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski has 1,105 career point which ranks her 18th on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list. Terri Nord (1975-79) is five points ahead of Kozlowski for 17th.

ENTERING TOP 5 TERRITORY: Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski is approaching the top-5 in three collegiate statistical Bulldog categories -- three-point field goals, assists and steals. 
 

Three-Pointers
Kozlowski: 118	Jaime Bell: 133
Assists
Kozlowski: 370	Sue Fiero: 428
Steals
Kozlowski: 224	Kristi Duncan: 229

CRASH THE GLASS: Sophomore forward Sarah Grow led the team in rebounds last year as a true freshman as is leading the way again through 17 games this season. Grow is collecting 6.2 rebounds per game.

GET THAT OUTTA HERE: Sophomore forward Sarah Grow is among the conference leaders (second) in blocked shots. Grow averages 2.47 blocks per game and has at least two blocks in 12 games this season.

PAINT PROTECTOR: Sophomore forward Sarah Grow is one of the best at protecting the basket. She is 23rd in the NCAA with 2.47 blocks per game. She tallied a career high six blocks in the season opener against Northern Michigan. 

PICKPOCKET: Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski is ranked first in the conference in steals with 3.1 per contest. She is ranked 13th in the nation on a per game basis. She has 52 steals in 17 games.

YOINK: Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski swiped a collegiate best eight steals against Mary. Her eight steals are tied for 15th for most in a game this season at the Division II level. Kozlowski has recorded a steal in every game this season. In fact, she has at least a steal in the last 26 games dating back to Jan. 20, 2018.

DE-FENSE: UMD is allowing 54.2 points per game this season. That is the best figure in the NSIC and only 10 other teams in the NCAA are holding opponents to a fewer points per game. Bowie State leads the nation at 49.3 points per game.

DENY THE THREE: Opposing teams are shooting 27.1 percent from behind the arc. That percentage clip is 24th-best in the nation and first in the NSIC. Teams, this season, have shot 20 percent or lower on five occasions.

BLOCK IT OR TAKE IT AWAY: UMD is second in the conference in blocks per game and in steals per game. The Bulldogs average 4.1 blocks per game and 9.8 steals per game. Nationally,  they are 47th in blocks and 52nd in steals.

PRESSURE COOKER: The Bulldogs force 17.3 turnovers per game this season. That average is the second highest in the NSIC. They have forced at least 20 turnovers seven times already this season.

PRESSURE COOKER II: UMD has forced at least 13 turnovers in every game this year. It created a season-high 24 turnovers last Friday against Minnesota State.

NO WASTED POSSESSIONS: UMD has 11.5 turnovers per game. It ranks as one of the best teams in the country in not spoiling scoring opportunities. Two other DII schools give the ball away less. Fort Hays State is No.1 at 10.8.

POSSESSIONS APLENTY: Stellar defense and taking care of the ball have poised the Bulldogs with one of the better turnover margins in the nation. They are 15th in the nation with a plus 6.35 turnover differential.

BALL CONTROL: UMD has the ninth best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation. The 1.31 A/TO ratio is No. 1 in the NSIC  while Ashland has the top ratio at 1.51.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Sophomore guard Ann Simonet is averaging 9.0 points at home and is shooting 45.6 percent overall and 33.3 percent from three-point range. That is nearly five points better than her road figures. She is shooting 18 percent better at home and 26 percent better from three-point range.

A NEAR SHUTOUT: UMD held SMSU to two points in the entire second quarter. It would have marked to first time the Bulldogs held a team to no points in a quarter since the NCAA switched to the 10-minute quarter format in 2015-16. The Mustangs didn't attempt a shot four minutes into the quarter as they finished 1-for-8 with six turnovers.

BACK-TO-BACK NIGHTS UNDER 40: SMSU and USF didn't crack the 40-point mark against the daunted UMD defense. It was the first time the Bulldogs held consecutive opponents to under 40 points since Dec. 3 & 6, 1997. Northland College (Wis.) and the University of St. Francis (Ill.) were UMD victims on those dates.

SLOW OUT OF THE GATE: The first quarter has been the Bulldogs weakest. UMD has scored 243 total points in first quarters this season, the lowest of any quarter. It is the only quarter with a negative scoring margin (-11). Opponents have only trailed nine times so far after the opening 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER TAKEOVER: Despite the slow first quarter, UMD is has taken a lead into the half 11 times this season. It is 11-0 in those games when leading at the half.

FINISH STRONG: UMD is 24-2 when going to the fourth with a lead dating back to the 2017-18 season. The Bulldogs are undefeated this season (11-0).

NSIC PRESEASON COACHES POLL: The Bulldogs have steadily climbed to the forefront of the NSIC the past three seasons under the new regime of head coach Mandy Pearson. Around the league, the coaches highlighted UMD as one of the teams to beat this season., UMD was picked to win the NSIC North Division and fifth overall in the annual preseason poll, released Oct. 18. 
For the second time, UMD was picked to win the north edging out Minnesota State University Moorhead for the preseason divisional crown. It's the Bulldogs first since the conference originally introduced divisions in 2012-13. The University of Sioux Falls was chosen by the league coaches as the overall favorites in the NSIC for the 2018-19 season. The Cougars were also selected as the south division favorites.
Gabbie Bohl from the University of Mary was named  the NSIC North Division Preseason Player of the Year while Concordia-St. Paul's Anna Schmitt was bestowed the NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year honors.

ON TAP: UMD starts a four-game road stint next weekend with Augustana University up first for the Bulldogs on Friday, Feb. 8 in Sioux Falls, S.D.