The University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team is set to face Winona State University in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Quarterfinals Sunday. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. inside the Sanford Pentagon.

NSIC NORTH DIVISION CHAMPIONS: With a 17-5 record, the Bulldogs clinched the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division title. It marks the program's fifth title and first since the 2022-23 season.
 
BULLDOGS AND THE NSIC TOURNAMENT: The last time the Bulldogs were in the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals was the 2023-24 season, where they overcame Concordia University St. Paul 66-57. Coach Pearson and the Bulldogs have not lost a quarterfinal match since the 2016-17 season, and they own a 6-0 quarterfinal record since then (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24).
 
ALL-CONFERENCE CLUB: Myra Moorjani, Claire Bjorge, and Lexi Karge of the University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team have been selected to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) All-Conference teams.
 
Senior guard from Eden Prairie, Minn., Moorjani earned her first NSIC All-Conference First Team selection. Currently, she is on track to average 13.6 points, 1.4 steals, 3.1 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game. She holds or ties multiple of the team's season individual game-highs in field goal attempts (18), three-point field goals made (5), three-point field goal attempts (11), free throws made (8), and assists (10). Overall, she has 339 points, 34 steals, eight blocks, 76 assists, and 87 rebounds ahead of competition in the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals.
 
Bjorge, a sophomore shooting guard and product of De Pere, Wis., earns her first NSIC All-Conference Second Team selection. Ahead of the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals, she is averaging 13 points, 1.8 steals, 3.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. She currently holds the team's season individual game-highs in points (25), field goals made (10), and steals (7). At the end of the regular season, she has 337 points, 47 steals, nine blocks, 80 assists, and 85 rebounds.
 
Senior forward from Mankato, Minn., Karge earned her first NSIC All-Conference Second Team selection. Currently, she is on pace to average 11.2 points, 1.1 blocks, and 5 .3 rebounds per game. She is the team's individual single-game leader in free throw attempts (11) and blocked shots (4) this season. Ahead of the Quarterfinal round this weekend, she has 290 points, 11 steals, 28 blocks, 23 assists, and 139 rebounds. She also hit the 1,000-career points milestone this season.
 
KARGE EARNS 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Senior forward Lexi Karge joined the 1,000 career points club off a five-point effort against the University of Minnesota Crookston. She is the first Bulldog to hit that mark since Brooke Olson in the 2020-21 season.
  
HEAD COACH MANDY PEARSON HITS 300 CAREER WINS AND 200 BULLDOG VICTORIES: With the victory over St. Cloud State, it marked head coach Mandy Pearson's 300^th career coaching victory, who has been at the helm of the program since 2015. Two weeks later she marked her 200th UMD coaching victory with the win over Wayne State.
 
Since taking over the program in 2015, she has led the team to five NCAA II Tournament berths, 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.
 
NSIC LEADERS (As of 2/28): The team holds fourth in the conference for scoring offense (72.4), third for scoring margin (10.0), first in scoring defense (62.4 avg/g), second in field goal percentage (44.4%), third in opponent field goal percentage (39.9%), fifth in three-point field goals (7.6), third in opponent three-point field goals (29.2%), second in turnover margin (2.92), second in assist/turnover ratio (1.18), fifth in blocked shots (3.81 avg/g), and fifth in assists (15.00).
  
Individually, Myra Moorjani ranks third in three-point field goal percentage (38%) and second in three pointers per game (2.3). Lexi Karge also ranks fifth in blocked shots (1.1 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 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.
 
LAST MATCH: UMD downed Minnesota State University Moorhead 84-53 in its final regular season matchup to clinch the program's fifth Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division title.
 
With a 17-5 record, the Bulldogs have clinched the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division title. This marks the program's fifth title and first since the 2022-23 season.
 
Leading the scoring for the Bulldogs was Vanessa Bickford with 16 points while hitting 83.3% (5-6) from the field, 75% (3-4) beyond the arc, and 100% (3-3) from the free throw line. Following close behind was the graduating senior class, Lexi Karge (15), Myra Moorjani (13), and Maria Counts (10).
 
MSUM had the advantage over UMD in the first two minutes, jumping out to a 6-2 lead. Over the next five minutes, the Bulldogs climbed back ahead on a 17-7 scoring run with Bickford (7), Moorjani (5), Karly Jusczak (3), and Karge (2) combining for a 19-13 lead. Bickford and Moorjani force two more three-pointers in for a 25-13 lead into the second quarter.
 
The scoring dominance continued in the second quarter with a 15-4 opening run in the first six minutes. Bickford put up a final three-pointer in the last minute to take a 43-22 lead into the halftime break.
 
After the break, UMD picked right up where they left off as Karge (7), Claire Bjorge (2), and Grace Counts (2) combined for 11 points to force a 54-28 lead with 5:51 to go. The Bulldogs closed out the quarter with a 12-8 scoring run to hold a 66-36 lead into the final quarter.
 
Karge (4), Maria Counts (3), Lexi Karlen (2), and Moorjani (2) combined to hold a 34-point lead over the Dragons in the first six minutes. With a 77-43 lead, the Dragons would outscore the Bulldogs 10-7, falling 84-53.
 
Overall, the Bulldogs scored 60% (33-55) from the field, 55% (11-20) beyond the arc, and 87.5% (7-8) from the free throw line. UMD out-rebounded MSUM 30-27, with Maria Counts leading the team with six rebounds.
 
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS: Leading the Winona offense is two-time NSIC Player of the Week Hailey Markworth, who is averaging 16 points, 1.2 steals, 2.8 assists, and 6.2 rebounds. She is currently shooting 48.7% from the field, 37% beyond the arc, and 79.5% from the free-throw line.
 
EARLIER AGAINST WINONA: UMD earned its 12th Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) victory after mounting a 23-point fourth quarter to overcome Winona State University.
 
Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Myra Moorjani with 18 points. She tallied two steals, three assists, and went 53.8% (7-13) from the field.
 
Entering the match, the Bulldogs fell behind 6-2 with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter. Claire Bjorge and Moorjani combined to tie the game up over the next minute before another score from the Warriors put them behind again. The Bulldogs then went on a 5-3 scoring run to chip back to a tie before the end of the quarter.
 
The second quarter saw the Bulldogs flip the script and get out ahead first on a 7-4 scoring run off the efforts of Ashley Fritz (3), Maria Counts (2), and Lexi Karge (2) for an 18-15 lead with 7:05 to go. UMD maintained a narrow lead at 21-20 into the halftime break after a 5-3 scoring run by WSU.
 
In the third quarter, Winona put UMD on the backfoot in the first five minutes on an 11-7 run that put the score at 31-28. The trend continued as the Bulldogs put up only eight more points as the Warriors took a 45-36 advantage into the final quarter.
 
The Bulldogs started the final period going 3-4 beyond the arc with three-pointers from Moorjani, Counts, and Karge to inch back in at 52-47 with 5:36 to go. UMD continued with a 9-2 scoring run over the next four minutes, climbing ahead 56-54 with 49 seconds left. A set of free throws with 18 seconds left by Winona looked to tie the game up, but only one met the bottom of the net. Moorjani and Karly Jusczak combined for the final points of the game to seal the score at 59-55.
 
Overall, the team mounted a 23-point fourth quarter to get out ahead of Winona after trailing by nine points to end the third quarter. The fourth quarter was lifted by shooting 50% (7-14) from the field, 57.14% (4-7) beyond the arc, and 62.50% (5-8) from the free-throw line. UMD lost the overall rebounding battle 39-28 while Counts led the team individually with nine rebounds.