The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team heads out to Wayne, Nevada, first to face Wayne State College tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. inside Rice Auditorium. The Bulldogs then head down to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to face Augustana University at 3:30 p.m. inside the Elmen Center.

HEAD COACH MANDY PEARSON HITS 300 CAREER WINS: With the victory over St. Cloud State, it marked head coach Mandy Pearson's 300th career coaching victory, who has been at the helm of the program since 2015. She now has 199 wins as a Bulldog head coach in her 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.

RECEIVING VOTES: For four weeks in a row, the Bulldogs are receiving votes in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top 25 Poll. 

10-0 NSIC START: Through the first ten matches, UMD dominated with ten straight wins 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), UMary (80-65), Bemidji State (78-50), Sioux Falls (57-42), and SMSU (69-65). This came before falling narrowly to the only undefeated team in the NSIC, #2 Minnesota State Mankato, who is the favorite to win the NSIC South Division.

NSIC LEADERS: The team holds second in the conference for scoring margin (9.7), first in scoring defense (62.9 avg/g), third in opponent field goal percentage (39.5%), third in turnover margin (3.06), second in assist/turnover ratio (1.20), fourth in blocked shots (3.78 avg/g), and fifth in assists (14.83). Individually, Myra Moorjani ranks third in three-point field goals per game (2.3) and fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.7).

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 earned 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.

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: UMD suffered its second loss in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) competition by Concordia University St. Paul in 71-63 fashion Saturday inside Romano Gymnasium.

Leading the scoring effort for the Bulldogs was Myra Moorjani with 12 points. She also tallied one block, one steal, seven assists, and two rebounds.

Entering the match, the Bulldogs found themselves down 5-0 in the first 90 seconds. Grace Counts (4), Maria Counts (3), and Moorjani (2) combined for a nine-point run to chip back within two at 11-9 with 4:36 to go. The Bears went on an 8-6 scoring run to hold off the Bulldogs at 19-15 into the second quarter.

The first five minutes saw CSP continue to hold off UMD on a 10-8 scoring run, increasing the lead to 29-23. The Bulldogs continued to stay with the Bears on a 5-5 scoring run, helped by a final three-pointer by Counts to remain at 34-28 into the halftime break.

CSP opened the third quarter with a 5-2 run in the first five minutes to put UMD down 39-30. The Bulldogs again remained even with the Bears, closing the period on an 8-8 scoring run to be held behind 47-38 into the final 10 minutes.

Lexi Karge scored four points in the first two minutes of the final quarter to chip down the lead to 49-42. The Bears turn the scoring back around on a 7-2 run that set the Bulldogs behind at 56-44 with 4:57 remaining. The Bulldogs remained outside of striking distance of the lead for the remainder, falling 71-63.

Overall, UMD shot 34% (24-70) from the field, 16% (4-25) beyond the arc, and 100% (11-11) from the free throw line. The Bulldogs narrowly won the total rebounding battle with 41 to the Bears' 40. Counts and Karly Jusczak led the team individually with seven rebounds each.

MORE ON THE WILDCATS: Overall, the Bulldogs own an 8-5 record over the Wildcats since 2014. UMD has won the last seven meetings going all the way back to the 2019 season. Wayne is led by Kylah vanDonkersgoed who has 279 points to start the season while averaging 42.9% from the field, 25.9% beyond the arc, and 70.7% from the free throw line. She averages 14 points, 1.3 steals, and 6.3 rebounds per game.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST WSC: After playing to an 8-8 tie to start off the afternoon, the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run with 5:37 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from Brynn Olson, to take a 14-8 lead. The Bulldogs then added two points to that lead by the end of the period and entered the quarter break with a 22-14 advantage. UMD relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down three shots to account for nine of its 22 points.
 
The Bulldogs maintained their lead in the game's second frame, collecting another three point shot from Claire Bjorge and entering halftime with a 32-27 edge. UMD forced two Wayne State turnovers in the period and turned them into three second chance points.
 
UMD preserved its halftime lead going into the third quarter before collecting 11 unanswered points, punctuated by a three from Bjorge, to expand its lead further to 51-36 with 41 seconds to go in the period. Before the conclusion of the third period, the Wildcats had cut into the lead by three, but the Bulldogs still entered the fourth quarter with a 51-39 edge. UMD played well near the basket, scoring 12 of its 19 points in the paint.
 
While they were outscored throughout the fourth quarter 17-11, the Bulldogs were able to hold on to their lead throughout the fourth quarter and secure their second victory of the weekend. UMD took advantage of its opportunities in the post in the quarter, scoring eight of its 11 points in the paint.

The Bulldogs hit 5-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc throughout the afternoon, shooting 41.7% from deep and 43.6% from the field.
 
UMD had three players score in double figures, led by Johanna Miller, who had 19 points and eight rebounds. Claire Bjorge added 16 points and two steals and Myra Moorjani chipped in as well with 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
Led by Lexi Karlen's four offensive rebounds, UMD did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 11 boards that resulted in 12 second chance points.

The Bulldog defense held WSC shooters to only 34.4% from the field, including 21.7% from three-point range. The Bulldogs also kept Maya Fitzpatrick to 2-of-12 shooting and four points in the game.

MORE ON THE VIKINGS: Overall, the Bulldogs hold the advantage since 2014 with a 10-5 record over the Vikings. Last season the teams split the meetings with UMD winning the first outing 61-48 while dropping the last meeting 53-58.

The Vikings are led by Isabella Sanneh who has 268 points to start the season while shooting 48% from the field, 44.4% beyond the arc, and 62.2% from the free throw line. She is also averaging 1.7 steals, 10 rebounds, and 14.1 points per game.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST AU: After falling behind 3-0 to open the game, UMD went on an 8-0 run with 8:23 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Moorjani, to take an 8-3 lead. The Vikings responded to shut out UMD throughout the rest of the period and the Bulldogs entered the second quarter down 13-8.
 
UMD then cut the Augustana lead to 20-18 before collecting six unanswered points, highlighted by a bucket from Miller, to take a 24-20 lead. The Vikings battled back to even it up at 26-26 heading into the halftime break. UMD dominated in the paint, scoring 12 of its 18 points close to the basket.
 
The Bulldogs broke the tie in the third quarter, outscoring Augustana 16-14 in the period to seize a 42-40 lead entering the fourth. UMD played well near the basket, scoring eight of its 16 points in the paint.
 
The Vikings proceeded to take a 51-46 lead before UMD went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Bjorge's layup, to seize a 53-51 lead with 1:26 to go in the contest. Augustana re-asserted control, outscoring the Bulldogs 7-0 the rest of the way to hand UMD the 58-53 loss. The Bulldogs took advantage of four Vikings turnovers in the quarter, scoring six points off of those takeaways.

The Bulldogs had four players score in double figures, led by Claire Bjorge, who had 12 points and two blocks. Johanna Miller added a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds and Vanessa Bickford helped out with 10 points off the bench.
 
UMD shared the ball well in Saturday's game, racking up 16 assists on 22 made field goals. Myra Moorjani's four assists paced the Bulldogs and Maria Counts also added three assists of her own.

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).