UP NEXT FOR NORTH DAKOTA
The University of North Dakota women's basketball team will begin its inaugural Great West Conference schedule when it travels first to Utah to take on Utah Valley and then to South Dakota to face the USD Coyotes. League play will begin on Thursday, Jan. 14 at 5:30 p.m. (central) when the Fighting Sioux step on the court to face the UVU Wolverines in Orem, Utah. Two days later (Jan. 16), the Sioux will battle against long-standing opponent South Dakota. Game time in Vermillion is slated for 6 p.m. at the DakotaDome.
NOTING THE FIGHTING SIOUX
North Dakota is coming off of its fourth win of the season as it battled to a 66-50 victory over Seattle on Jan. 8 in the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The first win of the New Year snapped a four-game skid to send UND into conference play with a record of 4-12.
UND is led by a pair of seniors as Kayla Bagaason (G, Clearbrook, Minn.) and Whitney Ledger (F, Bismarck, N.D.) are playing with double-figure averages. Bagaason is at the top with 12.8 ppg and is shooting a team-best .404 (38-for-94) beyond the three-point line. After racking up a trio of 20-point games, Ledger is averaging 10.2 ppg and leads the team with a .456 (47-for-103) shooting average from the field.
Against Seattle, junior Mallory Youngblut (G, Davenport, Iowa) stepped up with her first double-double of the season and the fifth of her career. During her 21-point, 10-rebound performance she set new career highs in both free throws made (nine) and free throws attempted (11). Youngblut leads the team in rebounds (104; 6.5 rpg), blocks (13), and steals (30).
Also reaching new career marks was junior Corey Lof (G, Detroit Lakes, Minn.) who posted her first career double-double with a personal-best 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Fighting Sioux are 1-6 on the road with shooting percentages of .311 (field), .336 (three-pointers), and .648 (free throw). The Sioux are trailing their opponents in the first half 150-234 (21-33), 208-253 (30-36) in the second half and 358-487 (51-70) overall.
SERIES HISTORY (UTAH VALLEY)
Thursday's game will mark the first meeting between the North Dakota Fighting Sioux and the Utah Valley Wolverines.
NOTING THE WOLVERINES
Utah Valley is currently on a nine-game losing streak after opening Great West Conference play with a 53-77 loss to Chicago State at home.
Preseason GWC Player of the Year Julie Smith is the only UVU player averaging double-digits through 17 games. Smith is posting 16.7 ppg on .438 shooting from the field, .314 shooting from beyond the three-point line, and a .677 showing at the free throw line.
Leading on the boards is Erika Newbold (5.6 rpg) and Asumi Nakayama is helping to make the plays as she has already tallied a team-high 69 assists and 32 steals.
The Wolverines shared second place on the preseason poll with Chicago State.
UTAH VALLEY HEAD COACH CATHY NIXON
Cathy Nixon is in her 15th year as the head coach of Utah Valley women's basketball.
Last year, Nixon led the team to its best record, 17-10, at the NCAA level and to the Division I Independent Championship after three straight tournament wins to end the year. The 2008-09 season was also the third consecutive that Robyn Fairbanks earned All-America status. As a senior, Fairbanks became just the 20th player in NCAA history to surpass 2,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.
SERIES HISTORY (SOUTH DAKOTA)
North Dakota's on-court relationship with South Dakota is the second-longest in program history behind North Dakota State.
Since their first meeting on Jan. 14, 1977, the Fighting Sioux have tallied a 45-20 record against the Coyotes. The Sioux are 26-7 at home, 18-13 on the road and 1-0 on neutral ground.
From 1990-2001 North Dakota registered 23-consecutive wins against the Coyotes. UND is currently on a two-game winning streak versus USD after picking up both the road and home victories last season.
In the month of January the Fighting Sioux are 23-8 when up against South Dakota.
NOTING THE COYOTES
On Sunday, South Dakota put an end to a two-game losing-streak as it defeated Seattle 67-53 at the DakotaDome. Kara Iverson lead the team with 20 points and Abby Kinder tallied a team-high 10 rebounds.
Amber Hegge leads the Coyotes with an average of 11.7 ppg. She has led the team in scoring on five occasions and is currently shooting a team-high .510 (50-for-98) from the field. Hegge is also the team leader in rebounds 6.5 rpg, assists (35), and blocks (13).
Kinder sits behind Hegge with a scoring average of 10.5 ppg. She has scored the bulk of her points beyond the arc where she is shooting 25-for-69 (.362) and is second on the team with an average of 4.9 rpg.
Preseason GWC second team honoree Jasmine Mosley is fourth on the team averaging 7.4 ppg. She is shooting .468 (36-for-77) from the field and .593 (16-for-27) at the charity stripe. Mosley is tied with teammate Annie Roche with a team-high 13 steals.
South Dakota was picked to finish fourth in the GWC preseason poll.
The Fighting Sioux and the Coyotes will square off again on Saturday, Jan. 23 as North Dakota hosts South Dakota for 'Meltdown at the Ralph'.
SOUTH DAKOTA HEAD COACH RYUN WILLIAMS
Ryun Williams is in his second season as the head women's basketball coach at the University of South Dakota. Williams was named the program's 10th head coach on April 3, 2008.
Williams, the winningest women's basketball coach in Wayne State (Neb.) history and former USD men's basketball player, guided the Coyotes to an 18-11 mark in 2008-09, which was their first season of transition to Division I status.
That season saw USD record an impressive 12-5 mark at home, highlighted by a 76-67 win over Northern Iowa in February, which was USD's first win over a Division I foe since making the move to Division I.
The Coyotes also had an impressive showing in their season finale at No. 11-ranked North Carolina of the ACC. USD led for much of the game, including by as many as 15 points in the contest, before the Tar Heels prevailed for a 75-69 victory.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Thursday's game at Utah Valley and Saturday's contest at South Dakota 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, audio/video webcast (select games), live chat (select games) and streaming audio can be found on the Official Site of Fighting Sioux athletics, www.FightingSioux.com.
Saturday's game at South Dakota will also be available on Midcontinent Communications channel 23.
Click the link above to view the full game notes.
- Go Sioux -
