THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth will face Northern State University in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament on Sunday, Mar. 1 at 12:00pm at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY: The Wolves make it to the NSIC Tournament after defeating Concordia-St. Paul in a nail biter that was taken to overtime where NSU would prevail 72-68. The two squads battled the entire way, with neither team gaining a lead more than seven over the span of the game. Heading into post season play, the Wolves had been one and four, losing to Southwest Minnesota State University (74-49), Minnesota Duluth (65-54), St. Cloud State University (69-64) and the University of Mary (67-54). They would top the Minot State University Beavers in the final game of the season by an inch 73-71. NSU currently carries a 14-15 overall record and finished out the NSIC regular season with a reord of 9-13. That 9-13 record pinned them as the No. 5 seed in the Northern Division of the NSIC. This is the second time in the past three years that the Wolves have managed to make it to the NSIC Quarterfinals. Last season, NSU fell to Augustana University in the opening round of the NSIC Tournament and did not receive a bit into the NCAA Regional tournament stage. The year before, the Wolves made it to the Quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament, but fell to Winona State University. NSU did receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Regional Stage. It would win one game before falling to Augustana and having their season come to an end. The Wolves are lead by Paula Krueger who, in her second season with Northern State University (11th overall as a head coach) carries a 24-34 (.414) record (157-159 (.497) overall) as a head coach.
Brianna Kusler (All-NSIC First Team) and Lexi Wadsworth (All-NSIC Second Team) are leading NSU this season. Kusler has managed to drop 13.2 points per game on the season and been able to scoop up 8.4 rebounds per game. Shes played on average 34.6 minutes a night and has dished out 88 assists on the year, and lead the team with 43 steals. Wadsworth has been right behind her all year. She's been putting up an average of 12.3 points a night and grabbing 5.2 rebounds per contest. Shes played in an average of 28.0 minutes a night and has managed to swat seven blocks on the season. Wadsworth has dropped 44.8% of her shots from the floor and hit 40.0% of her shots taken from beyond the arc. Jessi Marti has been a steady No. 3 in terms of scoring, putting up 9.2 a night. Marti has played 28.4 minutes a night and been able to shoot 36.8% from the floor while hitting 26 3's on the year.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs have fared well against the Wolves as of late, winning the past four games when squaring off against NSU over the past two seasons. Before that four game span, UMD was riding a 10-game losing streak against NSU. Last season, the Bulldogs topped the Wolves 57-41 and 74-56. This season, the Bulldogs were able to walk away with 56-39 and 65-54 wins.

LAST TIME OUT: UMD advanced to the NSIC quarterfinals after dispatching Upper Iowa University at Romano Gymnasium in the first round of the NSIC Tournament. The Bulldogs got off to a quick 24-12 start in the first quarter, 15 of those points coming from Brooke Olson, who went 3-for-3 on 3-pointers. Upper Iowa would come back firing in the second to put the score at 35-32 at halftime. In the second half, the Peacocks were still on the Bulldogs' heels, causing a timeout to be called by UMD midway through the third quarter. From there, UMD couldn't be stopped as they never let Upper Iowa come within 20 points to close out the game. Brooke Olson ended the game with a career-high 33 points to propel the Bulldogs to a 81-54 victory over the Peacocks.

NO. 2 IN THE CENTRAL REGION: The Bulldogs were tabbed as the No. 2 team in the Central Region of the second NCAA DII Regional Rankings. Two other teams from the NSIC, the University of Sioux Falls (No. 3) and St. Cloud State University (No. 6), also made the top-10 in the Central Region.

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

SCHOOL	OVERALL	NSIC DIV.	WBCA
UMD	24-5	1ST	NR
NSU	14-15	5TH (N)	NR

    UMD    24-5    1ST    NR
    NSU    14-15    5TH    NR

THE BROADCAST: The game between the Bulldogs and the Wolves will be available through live streaming capabilities at the following link:

UMDBulldogs.com/watch

Live stats are available through the same link, following the live stats button: UMDBulldogs.com/watch

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: For the first time since the 99-00' season, the Bulldogs finished out their home games going undefeated in the regular season. Heading back to last season, UMD is riding a 22-game at home win streak.

THIS IS OUR CONFERENCE: UMD Head Coach Mandy Pearson, in her fifth season with the Bulldogs, was named NSIC Coach of the Year for the 2019-2020 season. Sophomore forward Brooke Olson was bestowed NSIC Player of the Year honors and was named to the All-NSIC First team. Junior forward Sarah Grow was named to the All-NSIC Second team as well as the All-NSIC Defensive team. Senior forward Katie Stark was also named to the All-NSIC Second team and the All-NSIC Defensive team.

THAT'S OUR BALL: The Bulldogs currently average 6.5 rebounds per game, a big part of that coming from Brooke Olson who sits at 15th in the NSIC with 6.5 rebounds per game. Katie Stark is another top rebounder for the team with an average of 5.3 rebounds per game, good for 25th in the NSIC.

YOU CAN'T SCORE ON US: UMD is ranked No. 1 in the NSIC for scoring defense, giving up an average of just 59.8 points per game. That is also good for 57th in the DII landscape.

PASS ME THE ROCK: The Bulldogs currently sit second in the NSIC in assists per game, averaging 16.31, and second in total assists with 473. Sophomore guard Maesyn Thiesen leads the Bulldogs, sitting second in the NSIC with 4.3 assists per game (60th in DII) and third with 124 total. Junior guard Ann Simonet sits ninth in the NSIC with 99 total assists this season and is averaging 3.4 per game (ninth in the NSIC).

TOP OF THE BOARD: UMD ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the NSIC in every single stat category as a team in 2018-19.  Along with ranking top or number two in every category, the Bulldogs ranked in the top six nationally (DII) in seven of those categories.

POINTS ON POINTS: The Bulldogs currently rank tenth in the NSIC in overall points. Brooke Olson has played a big role in the attack for UMD, averaging 16.6 points per game (fifth in the NSIC).

BRICK CITY:  UMD ranks second in the NSIC (19th in DII*) in the blocked shots per game category (second in total blocked shots with 126 (19th in DII*)), averaging 4.34 per game. Sarah Grow leads the team with an average of 2.0 blocked shots per game (second in NSIC, 30th in DII) and 57 total blocks (second in the NSIC, 18th in DII). Katie Stark sits 10th in the NSIC with an average of 1.0 blocks per game (26 total). Payton Kahl is in the mix as well with 0.5 blocks per game (14 total), good for 22nd in the NSIC.

VALUE POSSESSIONS: The Bulldogs are sitting at first in the NSIC in the assist/turnover ratio category with 1.33 assists to every turnover. This is good for eighth place in the DII category in said category.

ON TAP:  Should the Bulldogs come out with the victory over Northern State, they will advance to the semi-finals of the NSIC tournament on Monday, Mar. 2 and take on the winner of the University of Mary and Minnesota State University. The tournament is a do or die format, meaning a loss would spell the end of the NSIC tournament. UMD does rank in the top-10 for the Central Region, and will also have a change at an at-large bid into the NCAA Region Tournament. If the Bulldogs win the NSIC tournament, they get an automatic bid into the Regional Tournament.