TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

The University of North Dakota will be offering a 2009 UND Spring Thaw Tournament Central page at www.fightingsioux.com.

Fans will be able to find game notes for all the participating teams, as well as, links for live stats, live audio, and live video.

Box scores and game recaps will be available following each game of the tournament.

TICKET INFORMATION

Ticket prices for the 2009 UND Spring Thaw scheduled for March 7-8 are as follows ...

Adult (reserved) - $12

Adult (general admission) - $10

Youth (reserved) - $9

Youth (general admission) - $8

Visit www.ticketmaster.com for more information.

Last SIOUX ACTION

Senior Kierah Kimbrough tallied her fifteenth 20-point game of the season to lead the North Dakota women's basketball team to a 69-52 victory over SIU Edwardsville on Sunday afternoon at the Vadalabene Center in front of a crowd of 518 fans. 

With the win, the Sioux closed out their regular season with a 16-11 record and four-straight wins. SIUE dropped to 5-23.

Kimbrough, a Greenbush, Minn. native, finished with 29 points and nine rebounds to notch her 23rd consecutive double-figure finish. She has now collected 20-plus points 35 times in her career.

Also on the UND high-scoring blocks were junior Kayla Bagaason (G, Clearbrook, Minn.) and sophomore Mallory Youngblut (G, Davenport, Iowa).

Bagaason dropped in 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including a pair of baskets to beat the shot clock. She added seven rebounds and two steals.

Youngblut shot 5-for-13 from the field and 2-for-4 from the three-point line to give UND 13 points. She scored the first basket for the Sioux in both the first and second half and was credited with four steals and three assists.

Five-foot-three junior Jossy Bergan (G, Valley City, N.D.) brought down a career-high eight rebounds and tallied a personal-best seven steals.

The Fighting Sioux out-shot the Cougars in all areas including a 45.8 (28-for-61) percent to 30.2 (19-for-63) advantage from the field. They also held a slight 15-22 advantage in the turnover category where they capitalized with 20 points on SIUE lost possessions.

NOTING THE SIOUX

The North Dakota women's basketball team is on a four-game winning streak after nabbing victories over Houston Baptist (95-67), SIU Edwardsville (82-66), and Seattle (71-52) during the latter part of February. All three wins came at home and helped the Fighting Sioux to finish a perfect regular season 11-0 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

The team then opened up the March schedule with a 69-52 road win over SIU Edwardsville.

Through 27 games, the Sioux are out-scoring their opponents 2,034-1,747 - a difference of 287 points. The bulk of the scoring is coming in the final 20 minutes of the game where the Sioux are averaging 39.38 points (1.97 per minute) and are out-scoring their foes 1,063-913.

STAT LEADERS: At the top of the game for the Sioux are senior captains F Kierah Kimbrough (Greenbush, Minn.) and G Danye Guinn (St. Francis, Minn.) who have totalled 802 of UND's total 2,034 points this season. Kimbrough leads all players with an average of 19.8 ppg and is shooting 57.6 (223-for-387). Guinn is pitching in another 9.9 per contest with a 41.2 (89-for-216) shooting percentage.

SHOOT FOR THREE: Sophomore G Mallory Youngblut (Davenport, Iowa) is the top shooter from behind the arc. She is 40-for-97 (.412) and has made at least one in the last eight games.

CHARITY STRIPE: Guinn leads the team at the bonus line with a 85.2 (46-for-52) shooting percentage. She has shot 18-for-22 over the past 11 games.

TICKET TO BOARD: Under the basket, Kimbrough leads with 202 rebounds and is averaging 7.5 per game. She far exceeds her teammates with 146 defensive rebounds and leads with 56 offensive boards.

BLOCK PARTY: The Sioux have totalled 116 blocks this season with a bulk of them - 62 in fact - coming from Kimbrough. She has blocked at least one shot in every game but three this season.

DISHIN' THE GOODS: Guinn has been the top “helper-hander-outter” for UND this season. She has totalled 123 assists thus far with an average of 4.6 per game. She has tallied at least one in every game this season.

FINDER'S KEEPERS: In the steal category, junior G Jossy Bergan (Valley City, N.D.) leads with a team-high 45. She is averaging 1.7 per game and snatched a career-high seven against SIU Edwardsville last Sunday.

ALL-TIME VS. HOUSTON BAPTIST

The series with the Huskies got underway this season and so far, North Dakota holds a 2-0 advantage.

In its first game versus a fellow Great West Conference member, North Dakota senior Kierah Kimbough finished with her second-consecutive double-double on the New Year to lead North Dakota to a 76-54 victory over Houston Baptist in Sharp Gymnasium on January 6.

The forward from Greenbush, Minn., recorded a season-high 29 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Also in double-figures for the Sioux was junior Kayla Bagaason (Clearbrook, Minn.) who finished with 10 points after shooting 4-for-7 from the field. She was credited with seven of UND's first nine points of the game.

In game two of the series, Kimbrough and Mallory Youngblut finished with double-doubles as the Fighting Sioux out-played Houston Baptist to a 95-67 victory in front of a crowd of 2,675 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Valentine's Day.

Kimbrough led all players with 32 points and 10 rebounds. She was 15-for-19 from the field, 2-for-2 from the line and provided three blocked shots. It was the senior's seventh double-double of the season, the 27th of her career, and marked the second 30-point finish during her four years with the Sioux.

 A Davenport, Iowa native, Youngblut shot 3-for-4 from the three point-line enroute to 15 points and her second career double-double. Her 10 rebounds ? all defensive ? tied her career high. This was the second time in four games that the sophomore guard doubled-up.

Bagaason and junior F Whitney Ledger (Bismarck, N.D.) also helped pace UND to victory. Bagaason went 4-for-6 from behind the arc and added a field goal to finish with 14 points. Off the bench, Ledger hit 4-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from the charity stripe to come away with 11 points.

Senior G Danye Guinn (St. Francis, Minn.) put up big numbers in the compliments category. Her 12 assist finish set a new personal standard and was just three shy of the school-record 15 set by Christy Waldal in 1996.

NOTING THE REDHAWKS

Houston Baptist comes into the tournament with an 8-19 record after snapping a five-game losing streak with a 73-59 victory over SIU Edwardsville on Feb. 27 in Texas.

Jelela Simpson and Megan Morris lead the pack with an average of 10.0 points per game. Simpson is the top rebounder with an average of 6.2 boards per game.

Fallon Thomas is the top shooter with a 49.5 percent (90-for-182) shooting average and is shooting 31.8 percent (27-for-85) from the three-point line. She is also the team leader in assists with 86, blocks with 29, and steals with 116.

Raquel Jones is the shining point for HBU starters at the free throw line where she has made 9-of-10 for a 90.0 percent shooting average.

HBU HEAD COACH TODD BUCHANAN

Todd Buchanan enters his fourth season at the helm of the HBU women's basketball program and leads the Huskies back to the NCAA Division I ranks. Last season, the Huskies' first in Division I, Buchanan led HBU to a 14-11 record and has a 69-22 record in his first three seasons at HBU.

In his first HBU season, he led the Huskies to a 28-4 record, an RRAC championship, RRAC tournament title and the “Sweet Sixteen” of the NAIA national tournament, finishing the year as the No. 6 team in the nation. The following season, Buchanan's team posted a 27-7 record, the RRAC tournament, and returned to the NAIA national tournament, advancing to the “Elite Eight.”

Buchanan, who has an overall record of 88-58, came to HBU from the University of Houston where he was associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. He helped the Lady Cougars to four postseason appearances, including a WNIT national championship runner-up finish and two NCAA tournaments.

PROTECT AND SERVE

All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 409-74 (.847) when it comes to defending their own court and are 313-30 (.913) under the tutelage of Gene Roebuck.

Since the program's beginning in 1974, the Green and White have gone undefeated in Grand Forks five 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 80-6 (.930) all-time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, which opened prior to the 2004-05 season.

In 2007, UND drew 28,514 fans to its 15 home games, an average of 1,901 per game. In 2006, UND was cited by the WBCA for having the Best Fans and Best Facility in Division II.

GO FIGURE

This season alone, the Fighting Sioux have scored 960 points at the Betty.

PERFECT CIRCLE

In its first year as a Division I program, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux came away with a perfect 11-0 record on their home court in the regular season.

At the Betty, the Sioux out-scored their foes 960-614.