Last weekend, the Bulldogs traveled to face off against Winona State and Upper Iowa.

The Bulldogs started the game off slow as they could not find rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. The Bulldogs hit just two shots the entire quarter as they struggled from the field. Their defense stepped up however as they held the Warriors to just 10 points in the quarter as UMD trailed 10-4 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter saw the Bulldogs offense catch fire. The Bulldogs managed to work their way to a 15-14 lead with 5:24 left in the first half. From there, both teams traded baskets down the stretch as the Bulldogs led 26-22 at halftime.

The third quarter was a highly contested quarter as the Bulldogs failed to pull ahead in the third quarter. After getting their lead to 8, the Warriors worker their way back into the game as they tied the game up at 36-36 with :45 seconds remaining. Brooke Olson ended the quarter with a layup to give the Bulldogs the lead going into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs offense once again came alive in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs quickly built up their lead and took a 51- 38 lead thanks to a Maesyn Thiesen layup with 5:09 remaining. From there, the Bulldogs defense was stout as they held the Warriors to just 11 fourth quarter points. Thanks to a strong defensive performance, the Bulldogs won 61-47.

In the game against the Peacocks, the game started with a back and forth beginning as teams traded baskets to start the quarter. After a Madelyn Granica layup with 4:29 left in the quarter gave the Bulldogs a 8-7 lead, they began to pull away. From there, the Bulldogs went on a 8-2 run the remainder of the quarter to give them a 16-9 first quarter lead. The Bulldogs started the second period hot as they increased their lead. They got their lead to 13 points as they led 22-9 with 7:24 remaining in the quarter. From there, the Peacocks began to chip away at the Bulldogs lead as they managed to tie the game up at 24-24 with 2:21 remaining in the quarter. The Bulldogs responded by going on a 5-1 run to end the quarter and take a 29-25 lead into halftime.

The third quarter began tightly contested as neither team could pull ahead. A three pointer from Maesyn Thiesen gave the Bulldogs a 38- 29 lead with 1:49 remaining in the quarter. From there, the Bulldogs held the Peacocks at the end of the to give UMD a 41-30 lead going into the fourth quarter. Teams began the fourth quarter by trading baskets as Upper Iowa was unable to cut into the Bulldog lead. Upper Iowa made a comeback attempt but the Bulldog defense stepped up and shut down the comeback attempt as they went on to win 55-42.

For the Record

Coming into the matchup, the Bulldogs are currently 12-4 (10-2)... Augustana comes into this weekend with a 9-5 (5-5) record... Wayne State currently currently holds an 7-8 (4-7) record.

Previous Meetings

The Bulldogs have had an edge over the Vikings in recent history as they have won three straight games dating back to the 2018-19 season. Their most recent matchup came on 2/7/2020 when the Bulldogs won 64-56.

Coming into the matchup with the Wildcats, the Bulldogs have won to straight matchups. Their most recent matchup came on 2/8/2020 when the Bulldogs won 77-54.

Scouting the Vikings

Coming into this weekend, Augustana currently is the 2nd highest scoring offense in the NSIC as they are averaging 74.9 points per game. They are also 13th in the conference in scoring defense as they are allowing 67.5 points per game this season. Lauren Sees currently leads the Vikings in scoring with 16.7 points per game, which is good for 5th in the NSIC.

Scouting the Wildcats

The Wildcats are currently 8th in the conference in scoring as they are averaging 66.7 points per game. They are also 11th in the conference as they are allowing 66.5 points per game. The Wildcats currently have the NSIC scoring leader in Kylie Hammer as she is averaging 19.6 points per game.

Experienced

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 Pre-season Player of the Year. So far this season, Olson has averaged 17.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. She has also been award- ed the North Division Player of the Week once this season.

Two of the NSIC's Best

The matchup between Minnesota Duluth, Augustana, and Wayne State will feature three of the top five scorers in the conference. Kyle Ham- mer of Wayne State is first in the conference, Brooke Olson of Minnesota Duluth is second in the conference, while Lauren Sees is fifth in the conference.

Efficiency

The Bulldogs are currently one of the most efficient teams in the NSIC this season. The Bulldogs are second in the NSIC in field goal percent- age this season as they are shooting 43.9%. They also lead the conference as they are allowing just 36% shooting on the defensive end of the floor.

Defensive Battle

The Bulldogs come into the weekend with the best scoring defense
in the NSIC. The Bulldogs are currently allowing just 55.2 points per game this season. During the Bulldogs four game winning streak, they have allowed just 45.6 points per game on 28.7% shooting.

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. Minnesota State was previously in the top-25 rankings before losing to Concordia St. Paul.

NSIC Rankings
                             Minnesota Duluth    Augustana    Wayne State

PPG                          64.9 (11th)            74.9 (2nd)         66.7 (8th)

FG %                        43.9% (2nd)          42.9% (4th)       39% (13th)    

3PT %                      27.6% (13th)          29.1% (10th)     30.5% (8th)

PPG Allowed            55.2 (1st)               67.5 (13th)         66.5 (11th)

FG% Allowed            36% (1st)              36.2% (2nd)       39.9% (10th)    

3PT% Allowed          25.9% (1st)           30.2% (7th)        26.8% (2nd)

RPG                          34.4 (12th)           42.4 (1st)            33.4 (16th)

AST/TO                     1.19 (5th)             0.64 (8th)            0.87 (6th)