THE OPENING TIP
The UMD women's basketball team finishes out its non-NSIC slate this week with a road trip out to the Midwest. First, the Bulldogs match up against Northern Michigan on Friday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m (3 p.m. EST) before closing things out with a contest against Michigan Tech on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
UMD's NSIC-play primer out in St. Cloud on Tuesday turned out to be a success. The Huskies fought tooth-and-nail with the Bulldogs, especially in a second half that saw 14 total lead changes. In the end, though, UMD was able to close out a 59-56 victory.

RANKINGS ROUNDUP
When the newest D2SIDA Central Region Poll released earlier this week, the Bulldogs fell from a tie at second down to sixth. UMD didn't receive votes in the D2SIDA's Top 25 Poll that released later on Tuesday. The Bulldogs did receive votes in the latest WBCA Coaches Poll.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHERN MICHIGAN
After seven seasons at the helm of Division III's Edgewood, Thousand had been an assistant coach under Mattson from 2016-2018 and was elevated to an associate head coach for the 2018-19 campaign. After that, she headed east to take on the mantle has head coach of fellow Division II program Illinois Springfield. Over three seasons with the Prairie Stars, the team saw nothing but improvement. This culminated in a 17-11 record in 2021-22, the program's most successful outing since 1998-99. 

So far, things are looking pretty good. Thousand's Wildcats have jumped out to a 4-1 start.

 It's an effort that's been led on the court by four different players averaging double-digits in scoring.

One is a name that likely needs little introduction among Marquette circles- Makaylee Kuhn. The junior guard has already been there and done that. She entered the season as a member of the GLIAC Preseason First Team. The odds she makes the real thing at the end of the year are decent, considering she's already a two-time All-GLAIC First Team member. With all of this in mind, it makes sense that Kuhn would be leading all Wildcats in points per game with 12.8. This is all while being the team's most reliable distributor with 3.8 assists a night. She's grabbing six boards a game, too- Kuhn's doing a little bit of everything. That starts to make even more sense when you realize she's the longest-tenured Wildcat of the team's starting rotation.

Outside of Kuhn, it's a sophomore swarm for Northern Michigan. First are the true sophomores, Mackenzie Holzwart and Abi Fraaza. Holzwart's started the year by being second on the team in points per game with 11.6 and fourth on the squad in average rebounds with 4.8. Fraaza hasn't been far behind scoring-wise with 10.6 points a night (on a stout 68% shooting from the field, no less) and is second in her own right in rebounds per contest with 5.2. A transfer from Minnesota Crookston ahead of the start of this season, Fraaza's been a worthwhile addition so far. Then there's the redshirts in Kayla Tierney and Ana Rhude. Tierney's just a hair away from third place in scoring with 10.4, her points coming at a shooting clip of 51.9%. Rhude does her fair share of scoring- she's fifth on the team in points per game with 8.6. However, what makes the center so dynamic is that she can score those buckets while also being the team's most dependable rebounder. She leads all Wildcats with 7.4 boards a night.

The diagnostics for this Wildcats team show a fresh squad (coach included) championed by a savvy, dependable upperclassman. So far, it's a recipe that's worked pretty well. Assuming that everyone only gets better, which there's reason to believe will be the case… watch out for the Wildcats in the GLIAC. This bunch might see a year of recent success like the team's 23-10 campaign back in 2018-19 and look to go even further, maybe even adding some conference hardware to the trophy case along the way.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MICHIGAN TECH
About two hours west of Marquette in Houghton, there hasn't been a coaching search in what is shaping up to be half a decade. Little reason for one when you've got someone like Sam Clayton leading the way.

Clayton knew a thing or two about the history of the Michigan Tech program before she came aboard to lead it- after all, she'd helped write some of it. As a player, Clayton had been a big part of the Huskies' run all the way to the National Championship game back in 2011. This made the program's knock on her door back in 2018 while she was an assistant at Sioux Falls a pretty difficult one to ignore. Who says you can't go home?

And who says you can't do it in style? So far, that's exactly what Clayton has done. In her four complete years with the program, she's had more 20+ win seasons (two) than losing campaigns. Her most recent 20-win outing saw the Huskies go 20-2 in a COVID-shortened 2020-21 season wherein the Huskies finished at the top of the GLIAC in the regular season with a 17-1 conference record. They'd parlay this into a run through the conference tournament, winning the GLIAC postseason title. This was good enough to land Michigan Tech at No. 1 in its Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament and No. 6 in the WBCA Rankings. Unfortunately for the Huskies, their season (and 18-game winning streak) would end in the semifinals at the hands of Ashland. Last season, Michigan Tech still had a formidable year, going 18-11 overall and 11-7 in the GLIAC (good for second in the North Division). There's no doubt, though, that Clayton and company want another taste of what that year prior had been like.

So far this season, the Huskies sure are playing like it.

Michigan Tech has jumped out to a 4-1 start to their 2022-23 campaign. They've done it primarily through players that were there for that 2020-21 season and know what it takes to reach those peaks. Of the four Huskies to average double-digits, three of them are upperclassmen. Who better to lead the charge than senior Ellie Mackay, a First Team All-Conference member a season ago. Mackay's done a good job of building a foundation for a repeat appearance so far this season, leading the Huskies with 14 points a game. Tied for second on the team in scoring is senior Alex Rondorf, who landed on the All-Conference Second Team last season. The guard has been a force so far this year. It's not just that she averages 12.8 points a night on 52.5% shooting from the field or that she's tied for the team-lead in assists a game with 2.6. She does all of this while racking up a team-high 9.8 rebounds a contest, too. Chuck in an average of 1.8 steals to lead the team, while you're at it. Rounding out this experienced bunch of Huskies is junior Katelyn Meister and her dependable 10 points a night and Sloane Zenner, a senior averaging 6.8 points while being able to shift from forward to guard.

There might not be a ton of youth in the higher echelons of this team, but the underclassmen that have found themselves with opportunities have taken them and ran with them. Remember that Rondorf was tied for second on the team in points per game- tied with sophomore Isabella Lenz, last year's GLIAC Freshman of the Year. With her 12.8 PPG average so far this season, it sure doesn't look like she has any interest in peaking early. Then there's a player like Soraya Timms, a true freshman who's actually averaging more playing time than Zenner in a guard-heavy lineup. A true point guard in her own right, Timms has been looked to as a primary passer for the Huskies, and she's risen to the occasion. She's who's tied with Rondorf in assists per contest with 2.6
 
It's still a blossoming season, but thus far, young talent has fit right in to a core of veteran Huskies to make this Michigan Tech squad one that has more than earned the respect of its opponents. Between this grizzled bunch and the so-far successful youth movement of Northern Michigan, a challenging trek lays ahead for the Bulldogs. With it, an opportunity for UMD to prove itself as a team to be reckoned with in its own right.

THE BROADCASTS
Catch all of this week's action live through FloHoops by clicking the links below:
vs Northern Michigan (Friday, Nov. 25 @ 2 p.m. (3 p.m. EST)): flosports.link/3rb0ztS
vs Michigan Tech (Saturday, Nov. 26 @ 1 p.m.): flosports.link/3yP8mSn
 
UP NEXT
It'll be nothing but NSIC action the rest of the way for the Bulldogs upon their return to Duluth. UMD will stay home to play Minnesota Crookston on Thursday, Dec. 1 (5:30 p.m.) for Ugly Sweater Night. The Bulldogs will then make a quick trip out to Bemidji to face off against the Beavers on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m.