THE OPENING TIP

The No. 11 University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team (22-3 overall, 19-1 NSIC) will finish out a storied 2022-23 regular season with two more NSIC contests this weekend, one on the road and one at home. The Bulldogs will start the week by cruising to Crookston to face the Golden Eagles on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. before heading back to Romano to play Bemidji State on Senior Night on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 3:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT

What a sensational staycation last weekend proved to be for UMD.

It started with a Friday night contest against UMary. Speaking of starts, the Bulldogs enjoyed a pretty good one against the Marauders. By the end of the first quarter, the score was already 18-10 UMD. As if it was any surprise, this was only the beginning- the Bulldogs would follow that effort by outdueling UMary 21-12 in the second frame to walk into halftime with a 39-22 advantage. UMD had shot a combined 14-27 in the half while holding the Marauders to an 8-22 mark.

Business as usual in the third frame, as UMD prevailed in the scoring race through yet another 10 minutes of play, this time by a mark of 19-14 to leave the total score at 58-33. And while the Marauders would go on to win the battle that was the fourth quarter by a margin of 19-14, it'd be the Bulldogs that secured victory in the war of the game, winning 75-55. 

It proved to be quite the night for Maesyn Thiesen in this one- on basically all fronts. The graduate guard tallied a team-high 17 points on 6-9 shooting. Not only this, but she also had three assists and a whopping eight rebounds. It was a two-way tie for second in the points race behind Thiesen, with Brooke Olson and Taya Hakamaki each tallying 13 on the evening. Olson's points came with seven rebounds while Hakamaki's tallies came by way of 4-6 shooting from the field and a 3-4 outing from deep

The Bulldogs walked into a Saturday contest against Minot State with a chance of fully securing at least a slice of the NSIC Title- and they sure played the part well. In terms of pure scoring output, the first half proved to be a tight one. A 15-13 first quarter that favored the Bulldogs was followed by a 12-9 second frame that also went in their favor, leaving the score at just 27-22 UMD. However, hindsight gives us a clearer story. After an Olson bucket made it 19-18 Bulldogs with 6:35 to go until the break, UMD wouldn't trail for the entirety of the rest of the game.

This was further enforced by a third quarter effort that again saw the Bulldogs outscore the Beavers, this time by a 15-12 mark. That meant that UMD entered the final frame up by a respectable eight-point margin at 42-34. Not bad… but these Bulldogs ultimately showed that they could do much better. Much, much better. The worlds of offense and defense perfectly collided for UMD in the final frame, resulting in the Bulldogs outscoring the Beavers by a margin of 14 points at 21-7. UMD shot 9-17 here, far and away their best shooting effort to that point in the game, while holding Minot State to just a 2-13 mark. So with that, UMD exited the weekend with a 63-41 victory- and at least a share of the NSIC Championship fully locked up.

Who else but Olson to have led the way for UMD offensively in this one with 20 points on 9-14 shooting to pair with nine rebounds. Hakamaki had 13 points to go with six rebounds. Lexi Karge put up 10 points on 3-5 shooting to go along with four rebounds. Ella Gilbertson's 10 points also came with four boards. 

THREE-PEAT'S QUITE A TREAT 

By clinching at least a share of NSIC gold last Saturday, UMD cemented itself in the history books. This is just the fifth time that a program has three-peated, the first being St. Cloud State from 1981-1984 and the most recent being MSU Moorhead between and 2016-19. The two instances in-between? Those were accomplished by a familiar team: UMD. The Bulldogs completed NSIC trifectas in the spans of 1988-1991 and 1997-2000. 

RANKINGS ROUNDUP

A light jump for UMD in the rankings space this week, but a jump nonetheless. The Bulldogs moved from No. 12 to No. 11 in the WBCA Coaches Poll. This now stands as UMD's second-highest stature in this poll behind only its No. 10 placement two weeks ago.

In the world of the D2SIDA, the Bulldogs stood firm at No. 6, the position they've held for three-consecutive weeks. There was some change in the D2SIDA's Regional Rankings, however. UMD maintained its No. 1 spot in the Central, but instead of the four first place votes it had last week, it secured all six possible votes instead.

STATS STATUS REPORT
Olson continues to lead the Bulldog offense in terms of game-to-game production, currently working at a clip of 20.4 points a game (on a 53.7% field goal percentage, no less). That average is the best in the NSIC and the 11th-best in the entire country. The graduate forward also snags a team-high 7.4 rebounds a game. 

Among the rest of the statistical standouts for the Bulldogs are Gilbertson and Karge, who shine by way of their efficiency. Gilbertson's currently shooting at an impressive clip of 40.5% from deep while Karge is operating at a 50% rate from the field. 

Helping to facilitate all of this offense is Thiesen, who leads the team in average assists with 3.6 a night. 

When it comes to measuring this Bulldog squad as a unit… It's a concoction of nationally regarded statistics you may already be well familiar with, but it's one that has stood the test of time for yet another week. UMD pairs a defense that holds opponents to an average of just 55 points a night (best in the NSIC, 11th in the country) with an offense that operates with a field goal percentage of 46% (first in the NSIC, 13th in the nation). 

CATCHING UP WITH: MINNESOTA CROOKSTON

FIRST IMPRESSIONS 

The Bulldogs will hope that their fortunes against the Golden Eagles in Romano back on Dec. 1 will translate well on the road.

Once a 5-0 UMD run erased an early 5-2 UMC lead, the Bulldogs held control over the contest the rest of the way. Make that a 13-0 run, actually, one that left the score at 18-5 UMD with 2:51 left in the frame. That 13-point advantage appeared once again at the end of the quarter, the Bulldogs up 23-10. UMD shot 9-16 through 10 minutes while holding UMC to just a 4-18 mark. 

Points-wise, quarter number two ended up playing out a similar way. The Bulldogs would outscore the Golden Eagles 20-6 here, leaving UMD's advantage at a whopping 27 at a score of 43-16. This time around, the Bulldog defense locked up UMC even further, the Golden Eagles going just 2-13 from the field.

Even if UMD could simply match UMC bucket-for-bucket from this point onwards, it'd be more than enough for the Bulldogs to secure a victory- that's ultimately exactly what happened. The Golden Eagles really came alive in quarter number three, putting up 26 points on 11-16 shooting. The problem for UMC here is that UMD potted 26 points too, its production coming on an 11-18 outing from the field. And though the Golden Eagles would outscore the Bulldogs 16-14 in the final frame, the damage had long been done already. UMD walked out with a statement of an 83-58 win.

Speaking of statements, Olson delivered yet another massive performance on this night. The graduate forward potted 21 points on 9-17 shooting to go with six rebounds and two blocks. Those 22 tallies proved enough to propel Olson past the 1800 points mark on her career, making her just the fourth Bulldog to ever achieve that feat. 

But Olson wasn't alone- in fact, three other Bulldogs closed this game in double-figures in scoring. Karge had a huge night off the bench with 14 points on 7-13 shooting to go with four rebounds. Gilbertson potted 10 points on 3-4 shooting to go along with five boards. Thiesen's 10 points were coupled with eight rebounds. 

UMC was led in the scoring department by a duo of Alex Page and Taryn Frazer, who each closed with 12 points. Page also had five rebounds, tying for the team-high in boards with Nicole Hernandez. 
 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

UMC's record fell to 2-6 after their loss to UMD back in December. Since then, the Golden Eagles have posted a record of 8-10 to leave them with an overall mark of 10-16. UMC's NSIC standing is currently 9-11.

UMC would love to use Thursday as an opportunity to flip the script, as it's currently in the midst of a five-game losing streak. This includes a 0-2 homestand last weekend against MSU Moorhead (65- 75 L) and Northern State (60-75 L). 

One thing the Golden Eagles have going for them in their efforts to change their fate is one of the most prolific shooters in all of the NCAA- Emma Miller. She may be just a freshman, but Miller certainly has very little hesitation to put up a shot- she's third in the nation in field goal attempts with 456 and 20th in three-point attempts at 176. The guard's cashed this in for a points per game mark of 18.8. Miller also averages 4.3 rebounds and 3.15 assists. Of note: UMD was able to hold Miller to just five points on a 2-11 effort from the field back in meeting number one.

Another notable Golden Eagle is Bren Fox. The redshirt-senior currently pairs 9.4 points per game with a team-leading rebounds mark of 9.5 a night that's good for first in the NSIC and 31st in the country.

As a unit, you'd likely prefer not to send this UMC group to the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles are working at an overall free throw percentage of 78% that's 10th-best in the nation.

CATCHING UP WITH: BEMIDJI STATE

FIRST IMPRESSIONS 

Things started well for UMD against Bemidji State back on Dec. 3- and they only got better and better.

By the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs held a two-score lead at 16-11. Not bad, but UMD would immediately eclipse this effort with a 22-11 mark across the second frame to bring its lead to 17 at 39-22. A 9-14 shooting effort in quarter number two will do that for you- especially if you can hold your opponent to a 4-13 mark in the process.

Another quarter, another upgrade. Frame number three proved to be the Bulldogs' magnum opus in this one- they'd score 24 points through 10 minutes while holding BSU- for the third time in a row- to 11 points. UMD shot 10-19 in the penultimate quarter, the Beavers going just 4-12. 

The final quarter was a deviation from the established pattern. Not only did BSU break free from their 11-point spell, but they'd actually prove to outscore UMD 16-15. Alas, it was too little, too late. The Bulldogs left Bemidji with a huge 78-49 victory in-tow. 

Two days removed from making history, Olson outdid herself. The graduate forward potted 31 points (a season-high at that point) on an eye-popping 13-20 effort from the field to go with seven rebounds. But this wasn't the only storyline to emerge on this night- enter Hakamaki. The junior guard had a road trip to remember, scoring a career-high 18 points on 7-9 shooting from the field (4-5 from deep) against the Beavers to go with five steals, another personal best. Then there was Thiesen, who see dished out eight assists and grabbed eight rebounds.

Trinity Yoder led the way for the Golden Eagles with 16 points to go with five rebounds. Alyssa Hill wasn't far behind with 14 points on 6-9 shooting to pair with six boards.

 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

BSU's loss to UMD dropped it just below the .500 line at 3-4. The Beavers have gone 4-13 since then, leaving them with an overall record of 7-17. BSU's in-conference standing sits at 4-16.

The Beavers ultimately went 0-2 last weekend, but it was a hard-fought effort the entire way. BSU first dropped a 62-54 contest before losing an even more tightly contested overtime bout against MSU Moorhead 68-60. All-told, the Beavers enter this week on a three-game losing streak.

A player at the forefront of righting the ship will be Yoder, who leads the team in scoring with 15.4 points a night. The fifth-year guard also averages 4.71 assists a contest, which is another team-high. Right behind Yoder is Hill, who's averaging 11.4 points a game on a 54.3% shooting clip from the field. The freshman forward's also snagged 6.2 boards a night, which falls just below Sam Pogatchnik's benchmark average of 6.6 rebounds. Maddie Schires is the last of BSU's double-digit point-getters, averaging 11.3 points a contest.

THE BROADCASTS

Follow all of the weekend's action live through the NSIC Network by clicking the links below:

vs Minnesota Crookston (Thursday, Feb. 15 @ 7:30 p.m.): bit.ly/3YrtlFD

vs Bemidji State (Saturday, Feb. 17 @ 3:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3EdNBlU

UP NEXT

Only time will tell!

The next order of business will be the NSIC Tournament. The Bulldogs will know their fate in terms of a starting point for this postseason battle by the end of the weekend.