Last Week

Last week, the Bulldogs traveled to face-off against Bemidji State on Thursday December 2 and then hosted Minnesota Crookston on Saturday December 4.

In the Bulldogs matchup against the Beavers, both teams came out shooting the ball very well as the Bulldogs shot 69.2% from the field as Bemidji shot 46.7% from the field. Despite the early success from the field, both teams cooled down as both teams defenses stepped up. Both teams shot under 40% in the second quarter as the Bulldogs managed to take a 36-29 lead into halftime. The offensive struggles continued for the Bulldogs as they shot just 33% from the field in the third quarter while the Beavers shot over 50%. Despite the poor shooting, UMD managed to go on a 11-0 run late in the third quarter to give them a 51-38 lead. Despite this the Beavers were able to claw themselves back into the game as they went on a 21-8 run to tie the game at 59-59 late in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs were able to hit a late basket from Payton Kahl to take a 61-59 lead and went on to win the game.

The Bulldogs matchup against the Golden Eagles saw a balanced attack from the Bulldogs offense. Despite a close first quarter, the Bulldogs controlled the majority of the game. After a 15-13 first quarter lead, the Bulldogs outscored the Golden Eagles 25-11 in the second quarter for a commanding 40-24 halftime lead. From there, the Bulldogs continued to dominate in the second half. The Bulldogs offense once again was hot as they scored 24 points in the third quarter as 7 different players scored in the quarter. The Bulldogs continued their dominance in the fourth quarter as they went on to win 78-46. Overall, 11 players scored on the night, including 8 players with atleast 6 points. Brooke Olson had 19 points on the night on a perfect 8-8 shooting, including 3-3 from three point range.

Bulldogs Host Beavers and Marauders

The Bulldogs will host Minot State Beavers on Friday December 10 at 7:30 pm and then will host the University of Mary Marauders on Saturday December 11 at 5:30 pm.

For the Record

Coming into the matchup, the Bulldogs are currently 4-3 (2-1)... Minot State comes into the weekend with a record of 4-6 (2-1) ... The University of Mary comes into the weekend with a record of 6-5 (1-2).

Previous Meetings

The Bulldogs have had the Beavers number in recent history. The Bulldogs currently hold a 7-game win streak over Minot State coming into the matchup. This win streak dates back to the 2017-18 season. The Bulldogs faced off last season on January 8-9 as the Bulldogs hosted the Beavers. The Bulldogs won both matchups last year.

Coming into the matchup against the Marauders, the Bulldogs have won 3 of the 5 games. Overall, the Marauders have had the Bulldogs number as they have a 9-5 record over the Bulldogs since the 2013 season.  The teams last matchup came on January 10 2020 where Mary won 76-65.

Scouting the Beavers

So far this season, Minot State ranks towards the bottom of the NSIC in total points and points allowed. The Beavers are currently averaging the 11th most points per game at 66.9 points per game and are allowing the 3rd most points as they are allowing 68.7 points per game. They are led by Amber Stevahn who is 6th in the conference in scoring averaging 16.5 points per game.

Scouting the Marauders

Through 9 games, Mary finds themselves as the 8th best scoring team in the conference as they are averaging 70 points per game. They also rank 4th in the conference as they are averaging 61.9 points per game. Mary is currently led by Megan Zander who is averaging 12.1 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 Preseason Player of the Year

Bulldogs senior forward Brooke Olson was named as they NSIC Preseason Player of the Year. So far this season, Olson has averaged and NSIC best 20.9 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. She has also been awarded the North Division Player of the Week once this season.
 

Two of the NSIC's Best

The matchup between Minot 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 20.9 points per game while the Beavers Amber Stevahn is 6th in the conference averaging 16.5 points per game.

Defensive Battle

The Bulldogs matchup against the University of Mary will feature two of the top 5 defenses in the NSIC. The Bulldogs currently rank 2nd in the conference as they are allowing 58.4 points per game while Mary is 4th in the conference as they are allowing 61.9 points per game.

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. Minot State was picked to finish tied for 7th in the North Division and  tied for last overall. Mary was picked to finish 6th in the North Division and tied for 11th overall.

Currently, the Bulldogs are 3rd in the North Division and 8th overall as Minot State is currently 4th in the North Division and 9th overall. Mary is currently 5th in the North Division and 11th 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

You can follow along by watching online at: https://bit.ly/3kpDTUl

You can also follow the stats here: https://bit.ly/3kYDckw