GAME 32

North Dakota (21-10)
at
Seattle U (18-11)

DATE | TIME: Thursday, March 15, 2012 | 9 p.m. CT
SITE: Connolly Center | Seattle, Wash.
RADIO: KSNR 100.3 FM (CatCountry)
TV: None
WEB AUDIO: www.FightingSioux.com
WEB VIDEO: www.FightingSioux.com | www.GoSeattleU.com
LIVE STATS: www.FightingSioux.com | www.GoSeattleU.com
LIVE CHAT: www.FightingSioux.com
TWITTER: UNDWBasketball

CATCH THE LIVE ACTION: Select North Dakota women's basketball games - home and away - can be heard live on CatCountry 100.3 FM, The Fan 1440 AM and on stations across the UND Radio Network with Paul Ralston handling the play-by-play ... The radio broadcast can also be accessed via a live audiocast on FightingSioux.com (Check the website for schedule changes and updates) ... Links for live stats, a live radio audiocast, live chat, and streaming video can be found on the Official Site of North Dakota athletics, FightingSioux.com.

FOLLOW NORTH DAKOTA ON IHEART RADIO: Take North Dakota women's basketball with you wherever you go with KSNR 100.3 FM (CatCountry) on the iheartradio app. Download it to your computer or your smart phone.

OPENING TIP: The University of North Dakota women's basketball program will make its first Division I postseason appearance as the eighth-seeded Fighting Sioux take on top-seeded Seattle U, Thursday at 9 p.m. CT at the Connolly Center (1,050) in the West Region first round of the 2012 Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) presented by Sports Tours International.

SERIES HISTORY ... SEATTLE U

• Overall: UND leads 5-1
• Grand Forks: UND leads 3-0
• Seattle: UND leads 2-1
• North Dakota opened the series with Seattle U on Dec. 29, 2006 with a 74-65 win over the Redhawks in Seattle.
• After a two-year hiatus, Seattle U tied the series at 1-1 with a close 75-74 win on its home court.
• The Fighting Sioux are currently on a four-game winning streak against Seattle U.
• On March 8, 2009, North Dakota defeated Seattle U 93-71 in the championship game of the UND Spring Thaw Tournament.
• Players remaining from the last meeting: Nicole Smart (UND), Carly Rothfusz (UND), Elle Kerfoot (SU), and Maggie McCarthy (SU).

NOTING SEATTLE U (18-11): This is the first Division I postseason appearance for the Redhawks in school history. This is also the first postseason appearance for any Seattle U team since the beginning of the Division I reclassification process in 2008 ... The Redhawks are 12-5 at home this season, winning 10 of their last 12 home contests ... They finished the regular season with a 18-11 record, including victories over 2012 NCAA Tournament participants UC Santa Barbara and Eastern Michigan ... Talisa Rhea and Kacie Sowell were named Independent Women's Basketball First Team All-Conference, and Ashley Ward was named to the Second Team ... Sowell was also named Player of the Year and Fourth-Team All-Mid Major ... Sowell leads the team, averaging 14.2 ppg and 9.8 rpg. She is shooting 60.3 percent from the field and 74.5 percent from the line ... Rhea is averaging 13.8 ppg and has dished out a team-high 5.3 apg ... Ward is averaging 10.7 ppg and is shooting 36.1 percent from three-point range ... Seattle U is coached by 2011-12 College Sports Madness Independent Coach of the Year Joan Bonvicini, who is in her third season at the helm of the Redhawks. 

LAST MEETING | FEB. 16, 2010 | YOUNGBLUT LEADS FIGHTING SIOUX TO 66-42 WIN OVER SEATTLE: Junior Mallory Youngblut set a new career-record with 25 points to lead the University of North Dakota to a 66-42 victory over Seattle at KeyArena ... Youngblut, a Davenport, Iowa native, led UND with her fourth 20-point game of the season. She scored nine of those points in the opening six minutes of the game and added six rebounds. Freshman Nicole Smart (G, Ada, Minn.) banked her second-career double-figure game on a career-high four three-pointers for 12 points and senior Kayla Bagaason (G, Clearbrook, Minn.) added another 10 points ... Senior Whitney Leder (F, Bismarck, N.D.) nearly registered a double-double as she came away with nine points and 11 rebounds ... Seattle was led by Tatiana Heck who registered a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double. No other SU player scored more than seven points ... The Fighting Sioux out-shot the Redhawks in all areas, including a .478-.150 advantage beyond the three-point arc. UND also took advantage of Seattle's 19 turnovers, using the SU mishandlings to score 25 points.

NOTING NORTH DAKOTA (21-10): The University of North Dakota women's basketball team picked up the Great West Conference regular-season title, winning nine straight games to finish 9-1 ... The Fighting Sioux then won its first GWC Tournament title in three attempts, defeating Texas-Pan American 88-48 in the semifinals and Utah Valley 69-56 in the championship game ... Averaging 12.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 8.0 bpg, and shooting 83.3 percent from the line and 45.5 percent from the field, sophomore center Allyssa Wall (North Sioux City, S.D.) was named to the GWC All-Tournament team and was voted the tournament's most valuable player ... Also named to the all-tournament team was redshirt freshman center Emily Evers (Grand Forks, N.D.), who averaged a team-high 13.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and shot 74.4 percent from the field ... Wall leads the champion Fighting Sioux, averaging 10.2 ppg and 1.5 bpg ... Sophomore forward Madi Buck (Bismarck, N.D.) is averaging a team-high 7.3 rpg, 10.0 ppg and is shooting a team-best 41.5 percent from three-point range ... Evers, the only UND player to have scored in all 31 games this season, is shooting a team-high 52.7 percent from the field ... Junior guard Nicole Smart (Ada, Minn.) is shooting a team-best 88.4 percent from the charity stripe ... Senior guard Charnay Mothershed (Phoenix, Ariz.) is dishing out an average of 3.0 apg, true freshman guard Brianna Williams (Minneapolis, Minn.) is swiping 1.8 spg, and Smart is playing 27.5 mpg ... Picked to win the regular season in this year's Great West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, North Dakota finished the 2010-11 season 15-16 overall and 8-4 in the Great West Conference to place third ... UND went 2-1 in the GWC Tournament to place second ... North Dakota is coached by two-time Great West Conference Coach of the Year Gene Roebuck, who is in his 25th and final season at the helm of the Fighting Sioux.

 2011-12 OPPONENTS IN THE POSTSEASON

• Overall: 6-8
• This year: 1-3 
• NCAA: 0-1
  • Creighton | No. 14 Fresno Regional vs. St. John's (NY)
    • Overall: UND trails 2-4
    • Last meeting: UND L, 72-54 (11/11/11; Grand Forks, N.D.) 
• WNIT: 1-1
  • Drake | Round 1 vs. South Dakota
    • Overall: UND trails 2-3
    • Last meeting: UND L, 74-60 (12/1/11; Des Moines, Iowa)
  • Harvard | Round 1 at Hofstra
    • Overall: UND leads 1-0
    • Last meeting: UND W, 60-57 (1/17/12; Boston, Mass.) 
• WBI: 0-1
  • Northern Iowa | No. 7 West Region vs. Stephen F. Austin
    • Overall: Tied 1-1
    • Last meeting: UND W, 74-70 (12/17/11; Grand Forks, N.D.) 

WINNINGEST TEAM IN DIVISION I HISTORY: With an 88-48 win over Texas-Pan American in the semifinal game of the 2012 Great West Conference Women's Basketball Tournament (March 9), the 2011-12 North Dakota women's basketball team became the first team in program history to record 20 wins since UND began the transition to NCAA Division I status. 

FLAWLESS FEBRUARY: Following a 5-2 start to the year, the Fighting Sioux went a perfect 8-0 through the month of February, leading them to a second Great West Conference regular-season title in three years ... When the Sioux won the inaugural regular-season title in 2008-09, they also went undefeated in February, posting a record of 6-0. 

ACCORDING TO THE NCAA: According to the March 11 NCAA Division I women's basketball RPI, the University of North Dakota women's basketball team has jumped up from No. 211 to No. 189 on the list of 342 schools.

• North Dakota remains as the top-ranked school in the Great West and is the only GWC member listed on the top 200.
• WBI East Region: No. 1 Seattle (152), No. 2 Stephen F. Austin (149), No. 3 Sam Houston State (158), No. 3 SIU Edwardsville (165), Wright State (160), No. 6 Rice (177), and No. 7 Northern Iowa (151).
• WBI West Region: No. 1 Robert Morris (140), No. 2 Minnesota (121), No. 3 Bradley (145), No. 4 Holy Cross (159), No. 5 New Hampshire (188), No. 6 Tennessee Tech (214), No. 7 Charleston Southern (207), and No. 8 Manhattan (194).
• At No. 53, South Dakota State leads the Dakota schools.
• South Dakota is ranked No. 87 and North Dakota State sits at No. 189.  

OH, WON'T YOU START ME UP: Through 31 games, North Dakota's starters are leading opponent starters 1,277-1,232 (41.2-39.7) ... UND's starters are out-shooting opponent starters 38.9-35.6 percent from the field, 33.1-29.2 percent at three-point range, and 80.2-71.1 at the free throw line ... UND's starters are winning the rebounding battle 749-637 (24.2-20.5) ... Sophomore forward Madi Buck (Bismarck, N.D.) leads the starters averaging 10.3 ppg and 7.8 rpg.

BENCH MARKS: Through 31 games, the North Dakota bench has combined for 800 points - Creighton 18, Idaho 36, Duquesne 24, Southern Utah 23, New Mexico State 26, Drake 12, Montana State 9, Colorado State 21, Missouri 23, Northern Iowa 29, Bemidji State 41, Montana State 33, Idaho 25, Montana 18, Idaho 37, Air Force 24, Jamestown 22, Harvard 19, Utah Valley 19, NJIT 12, Chicago State 29, Houston Baptist 34, Texas-Pan American 35, Chicago State 41, NJIT 23, Mayville State 32, Texas-Pan American 21, Houston Baptist 16, Utah Valley 13, Texas-Pan American 56, Utah Valley 29 ... That's 38.5 percent of the team's 2,077 total points. 

RECORD REWIND: The University of North Dakota women's basketball program holds a 804-306 (.724) record all-time since the first game was played in 1974. Under head coach Gene Roebuck, UND is 628-144 (.813).

PROTECT AND SERVE: All-time, North Dakota is 437-87 (.834) when it comes to defending their own court and are 341-43 (.888) under the tutelage of Gene Roebuck.

LET'S GET BETTY TO RUMBLE: North Dakota is 103-18 (.851) all-time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, which opened prior to the 2004-05 season.

Season records at 'The Betty'

• 2004-05 -------------------- 13-2
• 2005-06 -------------------- 19-1
• 2006-07 -------------------- 17-2
• 2007-08 -------------------- 14-1
• 2008-09 -------------------- 13-0
• 2009-10 -------------------- 8-4
• 2010-11 -------------------- 9-5
• 2011-12 -------------------- 10-3

1,100TH GAME FOR NORTH DAKOTA: When North Dakota and Chicago State tipped off on Saturday afternoon in Chicago, it marked the 1,100th game for the University of North Dakota women's basketball program ... Since the first official game was played on Dec. 8, 1975, UND has gone 434-87 at home, 289-162 on the road and 75-44 on neutral ground.

CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENDANCE PLEASE: According to the March 5 release of the NCAA Division I women's basketball national attendance rankings, the University of North Dakota women's basketball team is ranked No. 89 out of 342 total schools, averaging 1,608 fans/game.

• North Dakota is the top-ranked team in the Great West and sits only behind Montana (No. 39; 2, 896) among current members of the Big Sky Conference.
• At No. 58, South Dakota State leads the Dakota schools, averaging 2,403 fans.
• South Dakota is ranked No. 111 (1,224) and North Dakota State is ranked No. 164 (866).

LAST TIME OUT | MARCH 10 | THIRDS TIMES'S A CHARM; UND WINS GWC TOURNEY TITLE: Win UND's first DI women's basketball conference title. Check ... In its final season as a member of the Great West Conference, the top-ranked Fighting Sioux said good-bye with a 69-56 win over second-seeded Utah Valley in the title game of the 2012 GWC Tournament. It's been a championship in the making as tonight's game marked the third straight title game appearance for the Sioux, who also nabbed this year's regular-season title with a league record of 9-1 ... Redshirt freshman center Emily Evers (Grand Forks, N.D.), who was named to the all-tournament team, led the Sioux with a career-high 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field and a 6-for-7 clip at the line. 2012 Great West Conference Tournament MVP Allyssa Wall (So., C, North Sioux City, S.D.) finished with 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds (five defensive). She shot 5-for-10 from the field and went 4-for-5 at the stripe ... Senior guard Charnay Mothershed (Phoenix, Ariz.), who opened with a strong, seven-point first half, finished with 11 points and led the team with four assists ... UND shot 40 percent (24-for-60) from the field, 33.3 percent (4-for-12) from behind the arc, and 68 percent (17-for-25) at the free throw line. The Sioux won the rebounding advantage 45-37, scored 19 points off of UVU's 17 turnovers, and scored 32 points in the paint ... Utah Valley was led by Jenna Johnson, who finished 6-for-13 from the field for 12 points. Abbie Beutler came away with nine, and the Sioux held the 2012 Great West Conference Player of the Year Sammie Jensen to just seven points. The Wolverines finished 36.7 percent (22-for-60) from the field, 27.3 percent (6-for-22) from three-point range, and 50 percent (6-for-12) from the line.

Click the PDF link above to view the complete games notes release ...

- Go Sioux -