THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth will play its first home games of the year in taking on Northern Michigan and Wisconsin-Parkside.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHERN MICHIGAN: The Wildcats opened up their play last weekend, participating in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference/Great Lakes Valley Conference Crossover tournament. NMU went 1-1 in the tournament, first squaring off against William Jewell and beating the decisively, 60-33. They went on to take on Lewis University, only to fall in a battle, 65-41. Troy Mattson heads the program for his 15th year, all of them being with Northern Michigan. He has an all-time record of 206-191 (.519) with the Wildcats. NMU was picked to finish 2nd in the Northern Division Preseason Poll for the GLIAC.
Lexi Smith leads the way for the Wildcats this year, averaging 9.5 points per game while shooting at a 50.0% from the floor. She is second on the team in minutes averaged, sporting 22.5 per game while managing an average of 1.5 rebounds per game. Jessica Schultz leads the team in rebounds, scooping up 5.0 per game. She's second on the team in points per game, dropping an average of 8.5 per game while shooting at a 58.3% from the floor. Both Smith and Schultz were picked to the GLIAC Preseason All-Conference team.

SCOUTING REPORT ON WISCONSIN-PARKSIDE: The Rangers opened up their regular season in the Midwest Regional Crossover, splitting the weekend. UW-P first took on Truman state and would fall, 71-82. They would take on Quincy the next day and bounce back to win, 83-76. Parkside is currently 1-1 on the year, adding an exhibition with Milwaukee (a DI school) only to fall 84-77. The Rangers will be taking on Concordia-St. Paul before coming up to Duluth. Jen Conely heads the program for her second year. This will be her second year as a head coach in her career, boasting a 13-16 all time record, leading UW-P to a 12-15 record last year. UW-P was chosen to finish in the fourth spot in the Northern Division in the GLIAC Preseason Poll.
Taylor Stephen leads the offense this year, dropping an average of 19.5 per game while shooting at a 48.4%. She is also averaging 30.5 minutes per night. Alyssa Nelson is behind Stephen for the Rangers scoring, putting in 13.5 per night for UW-P.  She averages 27.5 minutes per night for the Rangers.

THE SERIES: UMD and NMU have met a total of 38 times, with the Wildcats taking 21, while the Bulldogs have won 17. The last time these two teams met, UMD got the better of NMU, winning 51-45 last season. The Bulldogs and the Rangers have met a total of five times in the past, with the last meeting taking place in 2017, where UMD beat UW-P 73-49. The Bulldogs are 5-0 against the Rangers and look to pick up their sixth win all time.

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. UMD then went on to square off against the No. 1 ranked Drury State Lady Panthers, despite putting up a hard fought fight, the Bulldogs fell to Drury, 68-80.

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	PRESEASON CONF.	WABC
UMD	0-3	2ND	NR
NMU	1-1	2ND	NR
UW-P	1-1	4TH	NR

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.

THE COACH: Fifth-year head coach Mandy Pearson has the program trending in the right direction. The Bulldogs have displayed definite signs of a program steadily rising the ranks. UMD doubled their win total from Pearson's first season at the helm and last season was another rewarding step as the Bulldogs finished 23-7 overall and 18-4 in league action, both program best season.

Already in four seasons, Pearson has evolved a trio of players to all-conference heights in forward Taylor Meyer, junior forward Sarah Grow and guard Sammy Kozlowski. Pearson's ingenuity has UMD boast one of the better defensive and ball control units in the nation. The Bulldogs were tops in all of Division II in turnovers per game and in the top-60 for points allowed per game in 2017-18. In 2018-19, UMD was No. 11 in points allowed per game, and No. 2 in fewest turnovers in all of Division II.

UMD officially announced in August 2015 the selection of former Saint Mary's University head coach Mandy Pearson to lead the next generation of UMD Bulldog women's basketball.

Pearson proved her ability to turn a program around while leading the NCAA Division III Cardinals since the 2007 season, providing stability to a program that posted a 7-18 record during the 2006-07 season and needed its third coach in as many seasons before she stepped into the role. 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 2013-14 and in the top-25 from d3hoops.com in 2014-15. 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 Artsin 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 six 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.

2018-19 ACCOLADES: Two players, alumnae Sammy Kozlowski and junior forward Sarah Grow were named to the All-NSIC team. Kozlowski was named to the first team while Grow was honored with second team honors. Sophomore forward Brooke Olson was named to the All-NSIC Freshman team and Kozlowski was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year. The Bulldogs won NSIC Player of the Week a total of three times last year, with Grow winning it once in December and Kozlowski winning it twice in January. Eight Bulldogs were named to the NSIC All-Academic team. Alumnae Emma Boehm, Josie Buckley, Maizi Deihl, Sammy Kozlowski, senior Katie Stark, junior Ann Simonet, junior Payton Kahl and sophomore Sarah Grow were all honored to the team. Emma Boehm was named as the recipient to the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic award.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs will take to the road for a one game stint against Michigan Tech (Nov. 24) before coming back to Duluth, Minn. to open up conference play.