ON TAP
North Dakota heads right back to the road for three straight beginning with Drake (Nov. 22) and following with San Francisco (Nov. 25) and Oregon (Nov. 28).
WHAT'S NEXT
UND will enjoy four straight home games from Dec. 5 through Dec. 19. The stretch starts with Northern Iowa then continues with three straight Summit League schools: Western Illinois (Dec. 8), North Dakota State (Dec. 12) and South Dakota (Dec. 19).
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Drake is 2-0 on the young season and is fresh off an impressive 89-70 win at Wisconsin Wednesday. The Bulldogs have wins over the Badgers and Iowa State to their credit already thiss season and were picked to finish second in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, led by league player of the year Lizzy Wendell.
SERIES HISTORY WITH DRAKE
UND trails 2-4
Home: 1-1, Away: 1-3, Neutral 0-0
1/25/76 W 59-54 (A)
2/4/77 L 53-79 (A)
12/13/09 L 58-70 (A)
12/4/10 L 51-76 (H)
12/1/11 L 60-74 (A)
12/8/12 W (ot) 67-63 (H)
SUPER SUB STEPHANIE SMITH
Junior transfer Stephanie Smith contributed nine rebounds, four points, two blocks, two steals and an assist in just 18 minutes of work in the Nov. 17 win over Omaha. For the season, she has logged six steals to lead the team to go along with averages of 5.7 points and 6.0 rebounds over the first three games.
CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?
Senior Kelsey Knox has a team-best 14 assists through three games this season. That total includes a pair of six-assist games at the Hawkeye Challenge. For her career, Knox has 218 assists.
GET THAT OUTTA HERE
UND has rejected 16 shots as a team through three games compared to just six for its opponents. Samantha Roscoe leads the club with five blocks while junior Stephanie Smith has four.
FREIJE ON FIRE EARLY
Freshman Fallyn Freije had quite the start to her collegiate career, scoring the first eight UND points in the opener at Iowa with a pair of threes and a long baseline jumper. She would finish the night with a team-high 14 points, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 31 minutes.
AWESOME AUSSIE
Junior Samantha Roscoe has scored in double figures in each of the three contests this season, the first three of her career. She poured in a career-best 14 points in the win over Omaha Nov. 17, adding seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
#1 RETURNS
Junior Leah Szabla made her return to the UND lineup Nov. 17 vs. Omaha, coming off the bench to contribute six points, three rebounds and an assist in 19 minutes of work. She missed both games at Iowa, the first two games she did not play in her career.
MIA MISSING
Senior Mia Loyd missed just the third game of her career in the win over Omaha Nov. 17. Loyd has started 62 games in her UND career and appeared in 93 contests as a collegian.
GOING UP...ON A TUESDAY
Head coach Travis Brewster, with his team's 67-52 win on Tues., Nov. 17, improved to 6-1 all-time on Tuesdays in his tenure. UND's next Tuesday game comes Dec. 8 at home against Western Illinois.
PROLIFIC ON THE BOARDS
Prior to missing the Nov. 17 game, senior Mia Loyd pulled down 19 rebounds in the Nov. 14 loss to UT Martin. It marked the fourth-best single-game output by a UND player all-time. She also has a 22-rebound effort from a season ago, giving her two of the top four single-game performances in school history.
LOYD NAMED TO HAWKEYE CHALLENGE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Senior Mia Loyd, on the strength of 19 rebounds Nov. 14 vs. UT Martin, was named to the Hawkeye Challenge All-Tournament Team announced at the conclusion of the tourney at the University of Iowa. Loyd notched her first double-double of the season by adding 11 points as well.
UND PICKED SECOND IN PRESEASON POLLS
North Dakota trailed only defending champion Montana in both the coaches and media Big Sky Preseason polls. UND garnered first-place votes in each, grabbing one from the coaches and three from the media contingent.
FANTASTIC FOUR
Mia Loyd made it a monthly habit to pick up a Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honor at least once each calendar month last season. She piled up four different league honors (most in the league), each coming in a different month.
GETTING GOOD LOOKS
North Dakota was the top shooting team in the Big Sky Conference last year with a .437 field goal percentage. UND boasted the top two shooters in the league, by percentage, in Emily Evers (.566) and Mia Loyd (.540).
DOUBLE DOUBLE DATA
Mia Loyd had a league-best 16 double-doubles last season. She led the team in both scoring (15.0 ppg), seventh in the Big Sky Conference, and rebounding (8.9 rpg), third in the league. Loyd had four more double-doubles than Erikka Banks (NAU). Emily Evers was sixth among Big Sky players with eight double-doubles this season.
No. Name - School
16 LOYD, Mia - North Dakota
12 BANKS, Erikka - NAU
12 WILLIAMS, Melissa- EWU
11 STRANGE, D'Shara - UNC
9 CARPENTER, Jalen - WSU
8 EVERS,Emily - North Dakota
BOARD OF EDUCATION
North Dakota owned the glass over its opponents last season, only being out-rebounded three times all season (+7.7 margin). That margin was easily the best in the league and ranked 20th in all of NCAA Division I.
TOP OF THE SUMMIT
North Dakota will play four Summit League teams this season and boasts an 8-1 all-time mark against that conference in Division I play.
11/25/11 vs. Southern Utah* W, 62-61
11/30/12 at North Dakota St. W, 73-63
11/17/13 South Dakota W, 65-61
12/14/13 North Dakota St. W, 88-83
11/26/14 at Omaha W, 72-52
11/29/14 at Western Ill. W, 85-77
12/6/14 at North Dakota St. W, 90-87 (ot)
12/21/14 at South Dakota L, 81-86
11/17/15 Omaha W, 67-52
*now in the Big Sky Conference
RECORD REWIND
The University of North Dakota women's basketball program holds an 855-353 (.709) record all-time since the first game was played in 1974.
All-time, North Dakota is 471-97 (.831) when it comes to defending its own court. The team played at the UND Fieldhouse/Hyslop Sports Center before moving into its current home at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in 2004-05.
VIDEO BOARDS COMING
Installation of two new video display boards at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Centers will begin in May 2016 and will be completed in advance of the 2016-17 volleyball and basketball seasons. UND Athletics is financing the project in collaboration with Ralph Engelstad Arena (REA) at an estimated cost of $600,000.
“This will be an exciting addition to the game day experience in 'The Betty',” said UND Athletic Director Brian Faison. “The ability to provide replays and other elements will only further enhance the atmosphere for our student-athletes and fans.”
Each board, measuring 20 feet wide and 10 feet tall, will replace the existing scoreboards at the north and south ends of the arena. The new video display boards will provide scoreboard information, in-game replays, and fan engagement elements, all of which will enhance the game day experience for UND fans.
The addition of the video display boards highlights an overall enhancement project to the Betty that also included an upgraded PA system prior to the 2015-16 season.
LOYD TABBED PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
North Dakota senior forward Mia Loyd was named the Big Sky Conference Preseason Player of the Year as the league unveiled its preseason honors at the conference's media day events at Reno Events Center. Loyd, who was an All-Big Sky First Teamer last season, is part of a six-member preseason team voted on by league coaches and sports information directors.
Loyd led the league last season with 16 double-doubles, averaging 15.0 points (7th in Big Sky) and 8.9 rebounds (3rd) per contest. She'll go into her senior season with 1,022 career points, already 32nd on the UND all-time scoring list.
The Minneapolis, Minn., product posted at least 20 points on nine different occasions and scored in double figures in all but six games. The 5-11 forward shot 60.0 percent from the floor at home and averaged 17.8 points per game at the Betty. Overall, she finished second in the league in field goal percentage (.540).
The preseason all-conference team consists of Eastern Washington senior guard Hayley Hodgins, Idaho State senior guard Apiphany Woods, Montana State senior forward Jasmine Hommes, Montana junior forward Kayleigh Valley and Montana senior guard McCalle Feller.
YOU BETTY-CHA!
North Dakota is 136-28 (.841) 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
2012-13 -------------------- 8-6
2013-14 -------------------- 15-1
2014-15 -------------------- 10-3
2015-16 -------------------- 1-0
HOW TO FOLLOW?
You can follow UND women's basketball on twitter @UNDWbasketball for in-game scores, notes and links live stats and how to watch.
FOLLOW UND ON MOBILE
Take North Dakota women's basketball with you wherever you go with UNDsports.com's mobile app. Download it to your computer or your smart phone for free and follow your team wherever they go.
A BIT ABOUT LAST SEASON (17-15, 9-9)
North Dakota went 17-14 in the regular season, including a 9-9 mark in the Big Sky Conference ... That league mark tied Montana State and Northern Arizona for fifth place in the conference, ... UND accepted a bid to play in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) for the third postseason appearance in the past four seasons ... North Dakota played in its first-ever Preseason WNIT, playing at Colorado in the first round, followed by the consolation round at Towson .... UND went 2-1 in the presJunior Mia Loyd led the league in double-doubles (16) and was a First Team All-Big Sky selection ... Senior Emily Evers picked up honorable mention all-Big Sky accolades.
WATCH BIG SKY
Catch every Big Sky Conference school in action live for free on the Internet at WatchBigSky.com. Home games from every league school are shown live and are available via archives on the WatchBigSky app. Download the app on Google Play or the iTunes store.
CAN I GET A WIGNESS?
All UND can be heard live on KSNR 100.3 FM, the flagship for UND basketball, or KKXL 1440-AM (check listings). Mitch Wigness returns for his fourth season behind the mic providing the play-by-play.
LEAGUE TOURNEYS CONVERGE ON RENO
Officials from the Big Sky Conference and the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority announced a three-year agreement that will bring the league's basketball championships to Reno, Nev.
Starting in 2016, the Big Sky Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships will be played downtown at the Reno Events Center. The REC was constructed in 2005 and can accommodate roughly 5,000 fans in a basketball configuration.
All 12 men's and women's teams from the conference will participate in the championship. The tournament starts Mar. 7 and runs through Mar. 12.
NICKNAME & LOGO
On Nov. 18, 2015, University of North Dakota President Robert Kelley announced that 'Fighting Hawks' will be the University's new athletics nickname effective immediately.
The results of the nickname runoff vote, held online Nov. 12-16 for eligible voters, were as follows:
Total votes: 27,378
Fighting Hawks: 15,670 votes (57.24 percent)
Roughriders: 11,708 votes (42.76 percent)
With a new nickname selected, the University will now begin the process of developing, selecting and implementing a visual identity to accompany the name.
The new athletics mark is expected to be finalized by mid-summer 2016. Until then, UND will continue to use its interlocking ND mark as its primary athletics logo.
For other FAQ information, please visit:
http://und.edu/university-public-affairs/nickname/guidelines.cfm
FIND UND ON THE TUBE... NATIONALLY
UND will enjoy the national spotlight a total of 14 times this season with 13 home games televised and an additional road contest available on a national platform.
Midco Sports Network will produce five home women's basketball games including the home tilt against rival NDSU and four Big Sky Conference contests. Dan Hammer returns as the play-by-play voice for UND home games, while Greg Stemen joins him as analyst.
FSN or FSN Plus will air an additional eight women's basketball games in an unprecedented slate of games produced by UND Athletics staff, professional freelancers and UND students. UND Athletics' Video Production Coordinator David Folske will serve as producer while Director of New Media Matt Schill will direct the games. Associate Athletic Director for External Operations Kyle Doperalski will call the play-by-play with broadcast veteran Al Bahe providing the color analysis.
UND's game at Minnesota will also be covered by Big Ten Network Plus.
2015-16 Television Coverage
Date Opponent Channel
Nov. 17 Omaha FSN
Dec. 5 Northern Iowa FSN
Dec. 8 Western Illinois FSN
Dec. 12 North Dakota State MidcoSN
Dec. 19 South Dakota FSN
Dec. 23 at Minnesota Big Ten Plus
Jan. 7 Weber State MidcoSN
Jan. 9 Idaho State FSN
Jan. 21 Northern Arizona MidcoSn
Jan. 23 Southern Utah FSN
Jan. 30 Northern Colorado MidcoSN
Feb. 11 Eastern Washington MidcoSN
Feb. 13 Idaho FSN
Mar. 2 Montana FSN
