THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth takes on the No. 1 ranked Drury University Lady Panthers on Monday evening at 5 PM.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NO. 1 DRURY UNIVERSITY: The Lady Panthers come out of the Conference Commisioners Association Division II Tip Off Classic, winning out in three games and carry a 3-0 overall record on the year. DU first beat Simon Fraser University (British Columbia) 78-60. The Lady Panthers would take on West Texas A&M for their second game, handing them a loss, 71-44. Drury would finish the tournament taking on Montana State-Billings and take the final game in a 78-55 victory. Molly Miller is in her sixth season at the helm of the DU squad, carrying a 151-17 (.899%) overall record. Miller sits in the second spot for active coaches across all division in win percentage, trailing only Trevor Woodruff, head coach of DI Bucknell.
Paige Robinson lead the way for Drury over the weekend, putting up an average of 13.0 (39) points per game, grabbing 3.3 rebounds (10 total, 4 off, 6 def) per game. She's shooting at a 33.3% (12-36) from the floor while averaging 30.7 minutes a game while grabbing four steals. Hailey Diestelkamp has been right along side Robinson, matching her in 13.0 points per game. She is besting Robinson in rebounds, grabbing 7.0 (21 total, 9 off, 12 def) per game. She carries seven steals on the weekend as well.

THE SERIES: This will be the third meeting between the Lady Panthers and the Bulldogs, with both of the first two meetings going to Drury University, with last years meeting finishing at 58-70.

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs took part in the MIAA/NSIC Crossover tournament, hosted by Missouri Western State University. The Bulldogs took on No. 7 ranked Fort Hays State Tigers first, and fell in a 59-51 battle to the wire. UMD went on to face another strong opponent in host team Missouri Western, but would fall to the Griffons in a 77-61 battle. The Bulldogs start off the year 0-2, but are hungry to face-off against another tough opponent.

HOW THEY RANK: Below is a look at the Bulldogs overall record, preseason conference rank, and rank in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association DII Poll, as well as their opponents.
 

School	Overall	Conf. Rank	WBCA DII
UMD	0-2	2ND	NR
DU	3-0	1ST	1ST

TOP OF THE BOARD: UMD ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the NSIC in every single stat category as a team. Along with ranking top or number two in every category, the Bulldgos ranked in the top six nationally (DII) in seven of those categories.

WHAT'S A TURNOVER: The Bulldogs ranked number No. 1 in all DII last season in assist turnover ration, finishing the season with a 2.20 average. UMD also held the top spot in DII in turnovers per game, finishing with an astonishing average of 5.0 per game. The next closest team was Walsh University, with 7.0.

BRICK CITY: The 34.5 field goal percentage was ranked first in the NSIC and sixth in all DII. The Bulldogs also were tops in the NSIC in blocked shots per game, and 24th in DII, with an average of 5.0 per game.

VALUE POSSESSIONS: UMD held the lowest turnovers in a single game last season, on that omitted just five turnovers. It was the season lowest recorded in DII.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: returnees senior guard Taylor Schneider and senior forward Katie Stark will be the captains of the 2019-20 UMD Bulldogs.

FAMILIAR FACES: The Bulldogs return nine players from last years NSIC regular season/tournament winning team, including All-NSIC second team recipient junior forward Sarah Grow and All-NSIC Freshman team recipient forward Brooke Olson. Grow received NSIC Player of the Week honors once last season, on December 17th.

OLSON PLAYER TO WATCH: Sophomore forward Brooke Olson was named the Bulldogs preseason player to watch for the season. Olson finished 2018-19 averaging 5.4 (166 total) rebounds per game, ranking 20th in the NSIC. She shot .425 from the floor, finishing third on the team while attempting 233 shots (made 99). She's expected to have a breakout year on both sides of the ball. She averaged 20.1 minutes a game last season.
 
NSIC PRESEASON COACHES POLL: The Bulldogs have steadily climbed to the forefront of the NSIC the past four 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 place second in the northern division and third overall in the NSIC.

The Bulldogs were picked this year to finish just behind MSU Moorhead in the northern division this year, finishing just three points back and receiving one first place vote. The Bulldogs did receive one first place vote for overall standing, finishing in third behind Sioux Falls (receiving six first place votes) and MSU Moorhead (finishing with nine first place votes).

Megan Hintz from MSU Moorhead was named  the NSIC North Division Preseason Player of the Year while Sioux Fall's Kaely Hummel was bestowed the NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year honors.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs will come home for the first time this season and play host to Northern Michigan (Nov. 16) as well as Wisconsin-Parkside (Nov. 17).