The No. 6 University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team will face the No. 3-seeded Colorado Mesa University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament Elite Eight on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 11:00 a.m. inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
 
BULLDOGS AND THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT: UMD entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Central Region after holding a No. 7 ranking in the final week of the NCAA Central Regional rankings. This now marks head coach Mandy Pearson's second appearance in the Elite Eight since taking over the program in 2015. It also marks the program's second entrance into the Elite Eight field since beginning competition in the NCAA. They completed the season with a 20-8 overall record, and this entry marks the program's 16th tournament appearance and sixth under Pearson. 
 
Under Pearson's leadership, the Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Tournament six times with one Championship entry in the 2022-23 season. She now holds a 3-2 record in the first round (not including the canceled 2019-20 season). In second-round appearances, the Bulldogs have now advanced twice under Pearson; the only other time was the 2022-23 season, where the Bulldogs went all the way to the championship round. They also have a 2-0 record in the NCAA Central Region Championship.
 
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.
 
CONTINUED NSIC QUARTERFINAL EXCELLENCE: 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 now own a 7-0 quarterfinal record since then (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, and now 2025-26).
 
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.
 
NCAA CENTRAL REGION CHAMPIONS: No. 8 UMD outlasted the No. 2-seeded Concordia University St. Paul through two overtime periods to earn the program another victory in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Central Region Championship and advance to the Elite Eight field.
 
Overall, the team scored 94 points, which is the Bulldog's greatest scoring effort since the 2022-23 season that saw UMD advance to the NCAA Championship. This scoring effort was led by a colossal career game from Maria Counts, earning a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds. She hit 60% (9-15) from the field, earning a 71.4% (5-7) beyond the arc, and 100% (2-2) from the free throw line. Following close behind in double digits was Myra Moorjani with 21 points and Lexi Karge with 20 points. Karge earned the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Most Valued Player selection and Counts earned a spot on the All-Tournament team.
 
Entering the first quarter, Karge put the first basket of the game in 55 seconds, giving the Bulldogs their first lead. The Golden Bears responded, taking the lead and expanding it to an 8-2 score with just under five minutes remaining. UMD did not take it lightly, breaking out on a 14-5 scoring run between Maria Counts (5), Karge (4), Ashley Fritz (3), and Claire Bjorge for a 16-13 lead. CSP was able to score two free throws, marking a 16-15 score to end the first quarter.
 
After CSP pulled ahead by seven coming into the second quarter, Moorjani led the way with seven unanswered points, along with Karge's three points, to force a 26-23 lead with six minutes before halftime. The Bulldogs were able to expand the lead by two to hold a 34-29 advantage with 2:53 remaining. CSP attempted to claw back in a final 6-5 run, which sent the two teams into the halftime break with UMD leading 39-35.
 
After halftime, CSP pulled ahead on a 12-7 scoring run in the first five minutes. The lead only grew as the Golden Bears found room for another 15 points to mark a 62-54 lead into the final quarter.
 
The Golden Bears widened the gap to 12 points at 66-54 with 7:37 remaining in regulation. A 15-5 scoring run between Maria Counts (5), Grace Counts (4), Fritz (4), and Bjorge (2) brought the Bulldogs back within reach at 71-69 with 2:52 to go. Moorjani and Maria Counts combined for six points to tie the game up at 75-75 to force the game into overtime.
 
CSP entering the first five-minute overtime broke out to a five-point lead as Karge was the lone Bulldog to score a layup to trail 82-77. A heroic effort from Maria Counts with a jumper and Vanessa Bickford tied the game with two minutes remaining.
 
With two seconds remaining, Lydia Haack was sent to the free-throw line. Before the game, she was on track for a 79.7% from the free-throw line, but both attempts would bounce out. An offensive rebound by CSP gave them a three-point attempt, but Fritz laid out the block to force another overtime period.
 
The Golden Bears looked to regroup, forcing the first layup 29 seconds in, but from then on, CSP would only score three more free throws. Maria Counts and Karly Jusczak rattled off the next five points for the Bulldogs to put the Bears behind 87-84 with 3:06 remaining. Haack and Lauren Wilson then scored the last free throws for CSP to tie the game over the next minute. Maria Counts and Moorjani combined for an unanswered seven points to seal UMD's 94-87 double overtime NCAA Central Region Championship victory. This marks the first time since the 2011 tournament (Shaw University) that a No. 8 seed has advanced out of their region.
 
SCOUTING NO. 3 COLORADO MESA: The Mavericks are making their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance with nine of those coming during their current head coach Taylor Wagner. This is their third straight appearance and will be the first time matching up with the Bulldogs. 
 
They are led by one of their program's best all-time scorers, Olivia Reed Thyne. This season she has become the school's top rebounder and is one of the top scorers in DII basketball. She is currently on pace to average 22.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. This all comes while hitting 62.4% from the field, 24% beyond the arc, and 77.9% from the free throw line.