The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team opens 2026 on the road against Bemidji State University on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. inside BSU Gymnasium.
 
7-0 NSIC START: Through seven matches, UMD currently sits atop the North Division as the only undefeated team with victories against Bemidji State (74-63), Minnesota Crookston (76-54), MSU Moorhead (73-69), Northern State (69-63), Jamestown (82-36), Minot State (83-69), and UMary (80-65). The only other undefeated team is Minnesota State Mankato who is the favorite to win the NSIC South Division.
 
NSIC LEADERS: The team holds fifth in the conference for scoring offense (75.2 avg/g), second in scoring margin (11.9), third in scoring defense (63.5 avg/g), fourth in field goal percentage (44.8%), second in opponent field goal percentage (39.5%), second in free throw percentage (79.6%), fourth in turnover margin (2.36), second in assist/turnover ratio (1.18), third in blocked shots (3.91 avg/g), and fifth in assists (15.73 avg/g). 
 
FIRST NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Claire Bjorge earned both her career's first NSIC North Division Player of the Week award and the team's first of the 2025-26 season. Bjorge earns the selection after scoring a career high and team-leading 25 points in the victory over the University of Minnesota Crookston (76-54). In that effort, she shot an impressive 66.7% (10-15) from the field. Throughout the week, she averaged 21 points and seven rebounds in two conference wins. In the second matchup, she added another 17 points in the 73-69 win over Minnesota State University Moorhead.
 
HEAD COACH MANDY PEARSON 11TH SEASON: Since taking over the program in 2015, she has led the team to five NCAA II Tournament births, three of which happened back-to-back, with one going all the way to the Championship in the 2022-23 season. Pearson has an overall record of 185-96 with 140-67 in conference play and three NSIC regular-season champion finishes.
 
SIX AND BULLDOG: The Bulldogs shattered the No. 15 (WBCA) ranked Northern Michigan Wildcats in a stunning 85-70 victory on their home court. 
 
Entering the matchup, the Wildcats were on an unbeaten six-game win streak to start the season. That is, until the Bulldogs came to town. In another double-digit point game for four UMD athletes, Claire Bjorge led the way with 20 points, with Myra Moorjani and Lexi Karge following one point behind. Grace Counts put up an 11-point game for the top four UMD scorers to combine for 69 points of 85 total. Karge also led the Bulldogs with eight rebounds to keep the ball out of the Wildcats' hands. 
 
In all, UMD shot 56.9% in field goals, 56.3% from beyond the arc, and 85.7% from the free throw line. Overall, the team combined for season highs in points, field goals made, and free throws made.
 
LAST MATCH: The team earned season highs in field goals made (34) and steals (14). Leading the scoring effort was Lexi Karge with 17 points while shooting 66.7% (8-12) from the field and making one of three beyond the arc. She also tallied seven rebounds (two offensive), two assists, and one block. Following close behind was Claire Bjorge and Myra Moorjani with 13 points each. Moorjani earned five steals to tie a season high with Ashley Fritz.
 
Entering the first quarter, Karge, Grace Counts, and Moorjani combined for a 13-2 scoring effort in the first four minutes to force a 13-2 lead over the Marauders. The Mary offense did pick up, narrowly being outscored 16-11 over the remainder, as Moorjani and Claire Bjorge led the way with five points each for a 29-13 lead into the second quarter.
 
The Bulldogs continued to keep the Marauders in the rear-view mirror as the quarter opened up with an even 10-10 scoring run to maintain the UMD lead at 39-23 with 4:56 to go. However, a colossal effort from Karge, Counts, Fritz, and Vanessa Bickford forced a combined 13 points to earn a 52-39 lead into the halftime break. This marked their first two quarters of shooting at a season-high 66.7% (24-36) accuracy from the field.
 
After the break, it would be Mary who found their footing on offense to go on a 26-16 run over the course of the third quarter to push back within 14 points. With the score at 68-54, Moorjani, Frist, Bjorge, and Bickford found room to combine for 12 points to hold off the Maruaders' 11-point effort. The score then settled at 80-65 for the Bulldogs' seventh straight NSIC victory.
 
Overall, the team hit 47.9% (34-71) from the field, 11.8% (2-17) beyond the arc, and 66.7% (10-15) from the free throw line. The team combined for an impressive 60 points in the paint to overshadow the Marauders' 26.
 
EARLIER AGAINST BEMIDJI: Leading the scoring effort was Myra Moorjani with 18 points, going 44.4% from the field while also earning five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks. Following behind in the double-digit points category was Lexi Karge (14), Grace Counts (13), and Claire Bjorge (10).
 
Opening up the match, the Bulldogs maintained a slight advantage over the Beavers, going on a 13-9 run in the first six minutes. It would be a combined effort from Drew Johnston, Grace Counts, Karge, Moorjani, and Maria Counts to push an 11-5 scoring run over Bemidji to finish the quarter with a colossal 24-14 lead.
 
The second quarter saw the Bulldogs pour on the pressure with a 14-6 scoring that put the Beavers behind by 18 in the first six minutes. Bemidji continued to stay in it, chipping the UMD lead down to 40-30 by the halftime break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the momentum began to shift out of the Bulldogs' favor as the Beavers came out determined on a 9-2 run that put them three points behind. A jumper from Evyn Eppinga put them within one point of the Bulldogs, but a quick Grace Counts three-pointer kept the Beavers at bay. In the final three minutes, the two teams evened out scoring, finishing the third period with UMD leading 53-49.
 
After going back and forth to start the final ten minutes, another layup by Eppinga put Bemidji on top at 56-55, but Bickford did not let it stand, forcing a layup under 30 seconds later. From then on, UMD held the lead for the duration, expanding the gap all the way back to 11 points by the end for a final score of 74-63.
 
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 40% from the field and overtook Bemidji's shot attempts 75 to 58. UMD capitalized on Bemidji with 22 points off turnovers, while the Beavers had only four. Vanessa Bickford led the way in rebounds with eight (two offensive) of the team's 42.

NSIC REVIVES NORTH/SOUTH DIVISION: With the reformation of the North and South Divisions, the University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team has been selected to finish third in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division, with Lexi Karge selected as the Player to Watch for the Bulldogs.
 
In the NSIC's annual preseason poll, UMD has been selected to finish third in the North Division, receiving 37 points. They fall behind the University of Mary in second (42 points) and Minnesota State University Moorhead in first (43 points). Overall, the team ranks middle of the pack in eighth with 139 points to fall one point behind MSUM, University of Mary in sixth (152), St. Cloud State University in fifth (155), and Southwestern Minnesota State University in fourth (172). Concordia University St. Paul splits second with the University of Sioux Falls (202), with Minnesota State University Mankato out ahead (215). 
 
The North Division has seen the Bulldogs finish first in the last four seasons from 2019-2023. The season prior, they managed a second-place finish. The conference spent the last two seasons with a single division structure where the maroon and gold settled for a combined 22-22 record in NSIC competition.
 
Senior forward Lexi Karge has been tapped as the NSIC's Bulldog Player to Watch after averaging a team-second high 11 points per game last season. She was also second on the team in average of rebounds per game (6.1), blocked shots (21), field goals made (126), and free throws made (41).