THE OPENING TIP 
The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team (29-3 overall, 21-1 NSIC) will play in its second ever NCAA Tournament Regional Championship on Monday, March 13 when it takes on Missouri Southern State in Romano at 7:00 p.m.

 

LAST TIME OUT
Odds seemed to be that UMD's rematch against Minnesota State in the NSIC Championship back on Feb. 28 would be the biggest game the two clubs would play against each other this year. That is until the universe worked its magic, ultimately leading a Bulldogs team at the top of the Central Region on a collision course with the No. 5 Mavericks with a Sweet Sixteen berth on the line. 

They say it's hard to beat the same team three times in the same season. Maybe it is, but the Bulldogs did it anyways.

It ended up being a tight one, just like the two meetings before it. This time around, though, the general narrative was slightly different. In previous meetings, UMD had worked up sizable advantages by halftime, ones MSU would gradually work itself back from. Here, that timetable was slightly delayed. The Bulldog lead was just 40-37 at the half, and the Mavericks had actually outscored UMD 16-15 in the second frame. Then… the third quarter happened. Here, tradition finally prevailed- a massive effort on both sides of the ball allowed the Bulldogs to pot 20 points while holding the Mavericks to just eight, pushing UMD's advantage all the way to 15 at 60-45. 

But a key part of the typical storyline between these two clubs ultimately never appeared- a sharp MSU comeback bid. The Mavericks would outscore the Bulldogs 26-25 through the final 10 minutes, but they'd never pull within any closer than 10 points of tying things back up. Instead, UMD took care of business, ultimately sealing the deal on an 86-70 win and dancing into the third round.
 

GAME STATS DEBRIEF

UMD

• Brooke Olson: 43 points (16-20 FG shooting), 14 rebounds

• Taya Hakamaki: 13 points (4-6 FG shooting), five rebounds, three assists

• Maesyn Thiesen: 12 points, five rebounds, three assists

• Taytum Rhoades: 12 points

MSU

• Destinee Bursch: 19 points, five rebounds, three assists

• Natalie Bremar: 12 points 

• Taylor Theusch: 11 points, six assists

 

YOU READ THAT RIGHT 
Yes- 43 points. In an NCAA Tournament game. Just when you thought 40 points on Senior Night to close out the regular season was enough… That's Brooke Olson for you. 

It was a new career high for the graduate forward that stretched tantalizing close to a few major marks. Olson was just a single tally shy of tying Dina Kangas' record for most points in a single game at 44, a mark she hit in a regular season contest on Jan. 16, 1990. But this kind of performance transcends Duluth- the record for most points scored in a DII NCAA Tournament contest is 46. 

 

STATS STATUS REPORT 
Olson's pushed her points per game total on the season all the way to 23, which is good for third in the entire country. How'd she do this? By way of an NCAA Tournament PPG mark of 37.5 through two games. That's the highest figure across any player on any team in the entire field of 64. The graduate forward's overall field goal percentage this season is 57.2%- in the tournament, it's been 73.8%. And she's done all of this while leading the team in average rebounds this year with 7.2.

Speaking of efficiency, that's something Hakamaki had been no stranger to this season. The junior guard's operating at a clip of 41.2% from deep through 32 games. While it's nice to be so precise from way downtown, Hakamaki's been sure to get things done from the charity stripe, too. She leads UMD with an overall free throw percentage of 91.3%.

An engine for this entire offensive operation has been Thiesen, who leads the club in average assists this year with 3.72.

And what an operation it's been, huh? The Bulldogs hold a top-50 offense nationally in terms of points per game (71), and they've done it at a team field goal percentage of 47.9 that's fourth in all the land. UMD's shot 52.3% from the field in the tournament so far- that's second across the postseason field. That efficiency has translated over to the charity stripe, where the Bulldogs are 78.2% across the season (fourth in the country). Through two tournament games, that number's 93.8%, also second among postseason teams.

 

RANKINGS ROUNDUP
Rest assured that all of this nationally strong work is being recognized by the rest of the country. In the last WBCA Coaches Poll, UMD slotted all the way up at No. 6. In the most recent D2SIDA Poll, the Bulldogs were No. 4. But of course, the ranking that ended up mattering most for this squad was that No. 1 spot in the Central. 

 

CATCHING UP WITH MISSOURI SOUTHERN

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The Lions may not reside in the NSIC, but this won't be the first time they've encountered the Bulldogs this year.

It feels like it was eons ago now, but all the way back on Nov. 6, UMD met MSSU in Kansas City as part of the D2CCA Tip Off Classic. It was just the second game of the year for both teams. The Lions came into it having been ranked No. 19 in the preseason edition of the WBCA Poll and all the way up at No. 6 in the D2SIDA Poll. To give you a feel for how different things were in November, UMD was unranked. 

So maybe this game shouldn't serve as a total litmus test for how Monday will go, but it's at least a decent reference point. Ultimately, it was about as even as a contest can be. Neither team outscored the other by more than three points in any of the four quarters. But even in the closest of battles, someone has to win. On Nov. 6, that honor went to MSSU. An early 6-0 run by the Lions proved indicative of how the rest of the game would go- UMD pushing ever so close to taking control only for MSSU to prove a few scores of separation. The Lions' largest lead was eight at a score of 35-27 in the third quarter, and their advantage was still six at 44-38 with 8:55 left in the fourth. The Bulldogs would pull all the way back to within three before losing 54-51. UMD fell to 1-1 that night- the rest of the season would show which side of the .500 line it belonged on. 

 

GAME STATS DEBRIEF

UMD

• Olson: 15 points

• Ella Gilbertson: 14 points, 17-20 FT shooting (85%)

• Madelyn Granica: seven rebounds

• Hakamaki: three steals

MSSU

• Lacy Stokes: 13 points, three assists, three steals

• Madi Stokes: 13 points 

• Layne Skiles: 11 points

• Kaitlin Hunnicutt: six rebounds

 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
For all the success UMD would go on to enjoy after Kansas City, MSSU had itself quite a season, too.

The Lions are currently 29-6 on the year. Their 16-6 mark in a tough Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) field saw them land at third in the conference in the regular season, but the MIAA Tournament was a bit of a different story. MSSU would ultimately win its conference's tourney title, the program's first since 1996 and third overall. 

In the rankings world, the Lions ended the season hovering pretty close to their pre-season projection in the WBCA Poll, slotting at No. 18 in the most recent rankings. MSSU received votes in the last D2SIDA Poll.

 

THE ROAD TO THE ROUND OF 32
One thing we've learned so far this tournament: never, ever could these Lions out. 

In the First Round against Augustana, MSSU was down 12 at a score of 64-52 with just 8:27 to play. The Lions would storm all the way back down the stretch to take that one 75-74.

 

GAME STATS DEBRIEF 

• Lacy Stokes: 28 points, three assists 

• Amaya Johns: 17 points, 12 rebounds

• Layne Skiles: 12 points (4-6 shooting), seven rebounds

• Hunnicutt: 10 points

 

Similar story in the second round. MSSU was down by as many as nine points to Pittsburg State in the third quarter before heading into the final frame down seven at 54-47. Once again, the Lions ended up prevailing- and this time, they left little doubt. MSSU outscored PSU 26-10 in the fourth quarter, securing a Sweet Sixteen bid with a 73-64 victory. 

 

GAME STATS DEBRIEF

• Lacy Stokes: 25 points, six assists, five rebounds 

• Hunnicutt: 12 points, four rebounds 

• Skiles: 11 points (4-8 shooting), five rebounds

• Mia Topping: 10 points (4-6 shooting)

• Johns: eight rebounds

 

PARTY LIKE IT'S THE 90s
This marks the Lions' first time in the NCAA Tournament Regional Championship since 1994, the second of what were two consecutive trips to the Regional Title game between 1993 and 1994. Those are the only other times MSSU's made it this far in March. 

 

THE PRIDE OF THE LIONS
At the forefront of this historic operation's been a name you've seen a lot to this point: Lacy Stokes. One half of the Stokes sisters duo, Lacy's been a force for the Lions all year. The sophomore guard's averaging a team-high 17 points a game and grabbing four rebounds a night all while leading the club in average assists with a whopping 5.17. The Mount Vernon, Mo. native's been a defensive menace, too, averaging a team-high 2.46 steals a contest. Thus far in the tournament, Stokes is averaging 26.5 points- that's the seventh-best mark in the postseason.

MSSU's other double-digit averager is Kryslyn Jones, who's potting 10.1 points a night. Elsewhere on the statsheet, it's Madi Stokes that leads in average rebounds with 8.5 a game. 

As a unit, MSSU is nothing if not consistent. The Lions are 44th in the country in both scoring offense (71.3) and scoring defense (58.6). That works out to an average scoring margin of 12.7 that's 23rd in the nation. But when it comes to ball control, MSSU's on another level. The Lions are third in the country in turnovers per game, giving up just 11.6 a night.

 

RUNNING WITH RONNIE
At the helm for this program touchstone of a season is Ronnie Ressel. It's the culmination of what's now been seven years of work for the Lions' head coach, who started his tenure with five below -.500 finishes before achieving what is now a second-straight 20 win campaign.

 

QUITE THE TIME FOR A FIRST ENCOUNTER
This will mark the first time MSSU and UMD have ever met on the NCAA Tournament stage. It's just the second time any NSIC school's had a run-in with the Lions in March, the other being St. Cloud State in the first round just last season.

 

THE BROADCAST
Can't make it to Romano? We've got you covered. Catch the tournament action live free-of-charge through the NSIC Network by clicking the link below.

vs Missouri Southern State (Monday, March 13 @ 7:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3FkvCuy

 

REGIONAL INFO
For all of your Central Regional needs, including full team information, post game press conferences and more, visit the dedicated website here: https://umdbulldogs.com/feature/NCAARegional23