The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team heads out on the road to close out their 2024-25 regular season schedule, tipping off against the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles on Friday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 PM and the Bemidji State University Beavers on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 5:30 PM.

Last Time Out

The Bulldogs closed out the last of the regular season home games with a split weekend, taking down the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons 63-61 to end a six game skid on Friday and falling to the Northern State University Wolves 59-77 on Saturday's Senior Day.

A game of scoring runs characterized the opening half against the Dragons with the Bulldogs taking a 12-10 lead by the end of the first quarter but falling behind 25-24 by the halftime break. A similar situation would play out in the second half as UMD built a 49-41 lead by the end of the third, but the Dragons would find a way to tie things up at 61-61 with less than a minute to go. With 11 seconds left, Maria Counts hit the game winning layup as the Bulldogs would stop MSUM on the final possession of the game and hold on for the 63-61 victory.

UMD's senior day matchup would not go as planned as the Bulldogs fell into an early double digit deficit in the opening quarter. The early disadvantage proved to be too much for UMD to crawl out of, falling 77-59 by the end of the night.

Last Week's Spotlight Players

#42 Lexi Karge - 2 GP, 36 PTS, 15 REB, 2 STL, 1 A, 60.0 3FG%

#45 Johanna Miller - 2 GP, 16 PTS, 7 REB, 4 BLK, 1 A, 1 STL

#4 Maria Counts - 2 GP, 14 PTS, 10 REB, 5 A, 2 STL, 100.0 FT%

Scouting Report - Minnesota Crookston

The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles are 9-17 overall and 7-13 against NSIC opponents throughout 2024-25, most recently coming off a 74-88 loss to the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs. 

The Bulldogs are 20-2 against the Golden Eagles since 2013 after defeating them 66-64 earlier this season at Romano Gym. UMD holds a 11-0 home record and 9-2 away record over UMC, with their largest margin of victory standing at 47 points (99-52, Feb. 2023).

The Golden Eagles are currently led in scoring by junior guard #1 Emma Miller who is averaging 22.7 points per game with 589 total points over 26 games this season.

Scouting Report - Bemidji State

The Bemidji State University Beavers are 6-18 overall and 4-16 against NSIC opponents throughout 2024-25, most recently coming off a 55-58 loss to the Wayne State College Wildcats.

The Bulldogs are 22-1 against the Beavers since 2013 after defeating them 74-60 earlier this season at Romano Gym. UMD holds a 13-0 home record, 8-1 away record, and a 1-0 neutral site record against the Beavers, with their largest margin of victory standing at 29 points (78-49, Dec. 2022).

The Beavers are currently led in scoring by sophomore guard #10 Tieryn Plasch who is averaging 10.3 points per game with 247 total points over 24 total games this season.

NSIC Conference Standings

The Bulldogs currently sit outside of the 12 team NSIC playoffs, slotting in at thirteenth in the conference standings. UMD as of right stands tied in conference record with the Winona State Warriors, and would be able to sneak into the playoffs if they were to win both of their final regular season games and the Warriors were to lose at least one game. 

Bulldogs Against the Rest

The Bulldogs, as a team, rank within the top three throughout the NSIC in two different statistical categories. These categories include: 

Fouls Per Game - 14.7 (3rd in NSIC, 41st in NCAA)

Turnovers Per Game - 13.9 (2nd in NSIC, 37th in NCAA)

UMD Slated Eight in NSIC Preseason

The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team was slated to finish eighth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) preseason coaches poll. The Bulldogs received 119 points in the conference poll after finishing the 2023-24 season in the semifinal round of the NSIC tournament.

Moorjani Named NSIC Player to Watch

Junior guard Myra Moorjani has been named UMD's NSIC Player to Watch for the 2024-25 season. While she made an appearance in all 29 games, Moorjani became a mainstay member in the Bulldogs' starting five for the final 10 games of the 2023-24 season. Moorjani tallied 181 total points last season while averaging 6.2 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, and was third on the team with 40 total assists.

Offseason Losses

The Bulldogs graduated a large majority of their veterans, including losing a large majority of their starting five from the previous season.

Taytum Rhoades leaves UMD after a career season with the Bulldogs. Rhoades led the team in total points, assists, steals, and blocks last season, and closed things out with a NSIC All Conference first team nod.

Ella Gilbertson leaves the program after leading the team in total rebounds throughout 2023-24. Gilbertson was the only other Bulldog member to receive an all conference nod, being named to the NSIC All Conference second team last season.

Taya Hakamaki was able to lead the team last season in average points per game despite missing the final 10 games with a knee injury. Hakamaki ended her time at UMD as a career 90.1% free throw shooter.

Madelyn Granica set new career highs in nine different statistical categories throughout the 2023-24 season. Granica closed out her UMD career with 689 total points.

Abby Johnson spent the last two years of her college career with the Bulldogs after transfering from the University of Nebraska Omaha. Throughout her 38 appearances with the Bulldogs, Johnson collected 172 points, 56 rebounds, and 15 blocks.

Gus Boyer made 51 total appearances for the Bulldogs throughout her college career. A member of the Bulldogs three consecutive conference championship wins, Boyer collected 46 points, 51 rebounds, and 16 steals while at UMD.

Last Season

The Bulldogs closed out their season with a 19-10 overall record, falling in the semifinal round of the NSIC tournament to the University of Mary Marauders.

UMD carried the momentum from their one point win in their regular season finale against St. Cloud State into a dominant 73-69 home victory in the opening round of the tournament over the University of Sioux Falls.

The Bulldogs stayed alive in their first matchup at the Sanford Pentagon, turning a three point deficit after the third quarter into a nine point comeback victory over Concordia St Paul. UMD would go on to fall 75-83 in their semifinal matchup against the University of Marauders.