UP NEXT FOR NORTH DAKOTA

The University of North Dakota women's basketball team will play its final home game of the 2009 portion of the season on Dec. 18 when it entertains Northern Arizona in Grand Forks, N.D., for the first time. The Fighting Sioux and the Lumberjacks are slated for a Friday night, 7 p.m. tip-off at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

SERIES HISTORY

North Dakota leads the series 1-0 after taking a first-meeting victory over Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Ariz., last season. In the final game of the Northern Arizona Fairfield/Holiday Express Thanksgiving Classic, the Fighting Sioux defeated the Lumberjacks 94-71.

Following the win, then-seniors Kierah Kimbrough and Danye Guinn were named to the all-tournament team.

Kimbrough, a Greenbush, Minn., native led the Fighting Sioux scoring in both the NAU victory and the 70-63 loss to UC Riverside where she tallied 21 and 24 points, respectively. Over the weekend, she shot 19-for-34 from the field and 7-for-8 from the bonus line. She added nine boards and five blocks during her 43 minutes of play.

A native of St. Francis, Minn., Guinn scored 24 points and made four of UND's nine total three-pointers. In 65 minutes of play, she brought down 11 boards, recorded 11 assists, and tallied two steals.

ON THIS DAY IN FIGHTING SIOUX WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY

The University of North Dakota women's basketball program is 7-1 all-time when playing on Dec. 18 and is 4-1 at home, 1-0 on the road and 2-0 on neutral court.

UND registered its first Dec. 18 game in 1976 with an 80-47 win over Montana State at the North Dakota State Holiday Tournament in Fargo, N.D.

The first and last time the program was defeated on the 352nd day of the year was in 1982 when Mary visited Grand Forks, N.D., and took with them a 77-56 win.

All-time, the Fighting Sioux have out-scored their foes 584-428 on the 18th of December; that's an average score of 73-54.

RECORD REWIND

The University of North Dakota women's basketball program holds a 753-276 (.732) record all-time since the first game was played in 1974. Under head coach Gene Roebuck, UND is 577-112 (.837).

PROTECT AND SERVE

All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 411-77 (.842) when it comes to defending their own court and are 315-33 (.905) under the tutelage of Gene Roebuck.

Since the program's beginning in 1974, the Green and White have gone undefeated in Grand Forks six times, including back-to-back seasons from 1997-1999. In those years, the Sioux were national champions.

LET'S GET BETTY TO RUMBLE

UND is 82-8 (.910) all-time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, which opened prior to the 2004-05 season.

When the Fighting Sioux play their first home game of the 2010-11 season they will celebrate their 100th game played in the friendly confines of 'The Betty'.

NOTING THE FIGHTING SIOUX

North Dakota will look to get back into the win column and snap a two game skid when it takes on Northern Arizona. The Fighting Sioux fell to 2-8 last week after suffering a 58-70 loss on the road to the Drake Bulldogs (Dec. 13).

Senior Kayla Bagaason (G, Clearbrook, Minn.) led the charge in Des Moines with her 34th career double-figure game. She led both sides with 17 points shooting 6-of-13 from the field, 4-for-7 from beyond the three-point line, and 1-2 at the free throw line. Bagaason is averaging a team-high 14.1 points per game and is UND's top three-point shooter this season.

Two players reached milestones while on the road. Seniors Whitney Ledger (F, Bismarck, N.D.) and Alys Seay (G, Grand Forks, N.D.) both surpassed the 500-point mark.

Heading into the 11th game of the season, here is how the race to 1,000 looks:

Kayla Bagaason - 809 points (-191)

Mallory Youngblut - 552 points (-448)

Jossy Bergan - 524 points (-476)

Whitney Ledger - 504 points (-496)

Alys Seay - 501 points (-499)

Two players have been hitting the boards hard for UND this season. Ledger leads the squad with an average of 6.3 rebounds per game and junior Mallory Youngblut (G, Davenport, Iowa) will right behind her with 6.1 boards per game.

North Dakota will close the year in New Orleans, La., at the Tulane Double-Tree Classic. 2010 will open on Jan. 2 as the Sioux host Toledo.

TAKIN' IT TO THE TOP

This week's Top 25 Women's Basketball Coaches Poll lists two teams that North Dakota has already played (No. 13 Arizona State, No. 24 Green Bay) and one other is receiving votes (Gonzaga).

The Fighting Sioux are 0-3 against these teams, but the scoring margin (-27.0) is no indicator as to how well the team competed when faced against established Division I programs.

Against these noted teams UND shot over 30 percent from the field and behind the three-point line and 64 percent at the free throw line.

NOTING THE LUMBERJACKS

Northern Arizona's trip to Grand Forks, N.D., is the second on a list of seven destinations the Lumberjacks are scheduled to hit from Dec. 16 to Jan. 9.

Dec. 16 at Denver (Denver, Colo.)

Dec. 18 at North Dakota (Grand Forks, N.D.)

Dec. 21 at North Dakota State (Fargo, N.D.)

Dec. 29 at UNLV (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Jan. 2 at Northern Colorado (Greeley, Colo.)

Jan. 8 at Idaho State (Pocatello, Idaho)

Jan. 9 at Weber State (Odgen, Utah)

NAU dropped to 2-8 after being handed a close 46-41 loss to Denver on Wednesday. For the fifth time this season, Amy Patton led the team in scoring. She finished with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. She is averaging 16.1 points per game and is the only player to have made double-digit three-pointers. Patton is also the Lumberjack leader when it comes to rebounds (7.9 rpg).

Aiding in scoring are Caty Huntington (9.5 ppg) and Lauren Hoisington (7.7 ppg).

As a team, Norther Arizona is shooting .369 (203-for-550) from the field, .279 (48-for-172) from beyond the three-point line and .709 (112-for-158) at the free throw line.

NORTHERN ARIZONA HEAD COACH LAURIE KELLY

Now in her seventh year at the helm of the Northern Arizona University women's basketball program, Laurie Kelly has established a new standard of Lumberjack success.  Four seasons ago, Kelly led the team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament after the Lumberjacks captured their first-ever Big Sky Conference Tournament title. Kelly is the ninth head coach in the history of the program, but the first to lead NAU to two 20+ win seasons as the Lumberjacks matched the all-time record for wins in 2005-06 with 22 and then recorded 20 wins in 2006-07.

Last year the team reached its 14th consecutive Big Sky Conference Tournament where the Lumberjacks lost to Montana State, a fate they also suffered in the quarterfinals the year before. Senior Sade Cunningham, the program's all-time leader in assists, earned All-Big Sky Conference second teams honors for the second straight year. In 2007-08, Cunningham earned the honor along with then-senior Laura Dinkins. Cunningham graduated after setting numerous program records and becoming the 12th player at NAU to score 1,000 points.

MEDIA INFORMATION

Friday's game against Northern Arizona will be broadcast on 100.3 FM CatCountry with Paul Ralston handling the play-by-play.

All Fighting Sioux women's basketball games - home and away - can be heard on CatCountry 100.3 FM and on stations across the Fighting Sioux radio network.

Stay tuned for any schedule changes.

Links for live stats, live web audio/video, and live chat can be found on the Official Site of Fighting Sioux athletics, www.FightingSioux.com.

The game will also be broadcast on the Fighting Sioux Sports Network (Midcontinent 23) and FOX College Sports Central.

JAN. 2 IS NATIONAL GIRLS & WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY

On Jan. 2 the University of North Dakota will celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day  as the Fighting Sioux women's basketball team takes on Toledo at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

- Go Sioux -