Last Weekend

The Bulldogs hosted St. Cloud State in what was a rematch of the 2021 NSIC Tournament Championship on Tuesday November 23.
In what was a highly competitive game, the Bulldogs started hot from the field as they took a 34-26 lead into halftime. After building an 11 point lead, the Huskies managed to claw their way back and took a 54-51 lead with just under 2 minutes left in the game. After Brooke Olson tied the game up at 54-54, the Huskies managed to take the lead and hold off the Bulldogs late as the Huskies won the rematch of the NSIC championship game. UMD shot just 3-11 from the field in the fourth quarter while they did not get to the foul line once in the second half. Meanwhile, St. Cloud State shot 15-19 from the foul line in the second half in what was one of the key factors that allowed the Huskies to pull off the road victory.

The Bulldogs followed up their performance against St. Cloud with a home matchup against the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Saturday November 27. Both teams battled throughout the first half, as the Wildcats took an 31-27 halftime lead. The Bulldogs struggled to find any rhythm on the offensive end of the floor as they shot just 39.1% from the field in the first half, including 1-9 from three-point range. Their struggles continued in the second half as they shot just 22.2% from the field, including 0-13 from three-point range. Despite this, the Bulldogs were within 3 points going into the fourth quarter. De- spite this, they could not overcome their shooting struggles as North- ern Michigan pulled away in the fourth quarter to hand the Bulldogs their second straight loss.

For the Record

Coming into the matchup, the Bulldogs are currently 2-3 (0-1)... Bemidji State comes into the matchup with a 2-2 (0-0) record ... Minnesota Crookston currently has a 1-5 (0-0) record. They will play St. Cloud State on Dec 2 before traveling to St. Cloud State.

Previous Meetings

The Bulldogs head into the matchup against Bemidji State having dominated their matchup in recent history. The Bulldogs have won 16 of the last 17 matchups, including a 76-67 victory in their last matchup on February 27.

The Bulldogs have also dominated their matchup against Minnesota Crookston. Over the last 16 matchups, the Bulldogs have won 14 of them, including a 72-64 victory on February 6. The Bulldogs have won 5 straight in this matchup.

Scouting the Beavers

Bemidji comes into the matchup with the 6th ranked scoring offense in the NSIC as they are averaging 72 points per game. Defensively, they are 4th in the conference as they are only allowing 58.8 points per game. The Beavers have been led by Rachael Heittola who is 6th in the conference in scoring as she is averaging 17 points per game. She also is currently 2nd in the conference in rebounding as she is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game.

Scouting the Golden Eagles

Minnesota Crookston comes into the weekend with the worst scoring offense in the NSIC as they are only averaging 51.5 points per game. They have the 3rd best scoring defense in the conference as they are only allowing 56.0 points per game. The Golden Eagles are led by Bren Fox who is averaging 10.8 points per game.

Experience

The Bulldogs feature a very experienced lineup. Their lineup features 3 fifth years, 3 seniors and 5 juniors. This is a team 6 players with over 50 games played, including a trio of players with over 100 games played. The Bulldogs come into the season with a lot of experience of what it takes to make it through a long season and make it to the conference championship game.

NSIC North Player of the Week

Bulldogs senior forward Brooke Olson, who was also named the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year, was named as the NSIC North Division's player of the week for her performance following the first week of games. Olson averaged 21 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block per game while averaging 58.1% from the field.

Two of the NSIC's Best

The matchup between Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth will feature two of the best scorers in the conference. The Bulldogs Brooke Olson is currently 1st in the conference averaging 21.6 points per game while the Beavers Rachael Heittola is 6th in the conference averaging 17 points per game.

Defensive Battle

Coming into the weekend, all three teams feature top 5 scoring defenses in the NSIC. Minnesota Crookston is 3rd, Bemidji State is 4th, and Minnesota Duluth is 5th. With these defensive teams, both games have the makings to be a low scoring defensive battle.

Preseason Coaches' Poll

Coming into the season, the Bulldogs were picked to repeat as NSIC champions and received 12 first place votes and 222 points overall. Bemidji State was picked to finish 3rd in the North Division and 6th overall while Minnesota Crookston was picked to finish at the bottom of the North Division and tied for last overall.

Nationally Ranked

Coming into the season, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 18 in the country according to the WBCA preseason coaches poll. The Bulldogs finished last season ranked No. 12 in the country in the WBCA poll. The Bulldogs also earned the No. 15 rank in the D2SIDA preseason poll. Following their first week of games, the Bulldogs jumped up to the No. 15 spot in the country but following two straight losses, the Bulldogs fell out of the top 25.

Follow Along

UMD vs BSU
You can watch the game online here: https://bit.ly/3kpDTUl You can follow the live stats here: https://bit.ly/3xN2nLY

UMD vs UMC
You can follow along by watching online at: https://bit.ly/3kpDTUl You can also follow the stats here: https://bit.ly/3kYDckw