SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The non-conference slate is coming to an end and the journey for The Summit League Women’s Basketball regular-season title begins Monday.
 
The final few days of non-conference action tips off tonight at 6 p.m. CT with Oral Roberts at Abilene Christian.
 
Around The Summit League (TV/Streaming) | All Game Times Central
Wednesday, December 15
Oral Roberts at Abilene Christian (E+) | 6 p.m.
North Dakota vs. Mayville State | 7 p.m.
St. Thomas vs. Northland | 7 p.m.
South Dakota State vs. Dakota Wesleyan | 7 p.m.
 
Thursday, December 16
South Dakota at Creighton (FS) | 6 p.m.
 
Saturday, December 18
North Dakota at Detroit Mercy | 1 p.m.
 
Sunday, December 19
North Dakota State vs. Jamestown (WDAY/E+) | 1 p.m.
 
Things to Watch

• Defending regular-season champion South Dakota State finished the 2020-21 season with a 21-4 overall record, a top-25 national ranking and an unblemished 14-0 mark in league play. The Jackrabbits look to continue that success this season with the return of two all-league honorees from last season as well as the 2020-21 Player of the Year redshirt junior Myah Selland.
• Preseason Player of the Year Selland was named to the watch list for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Selland is also one of 50 watch list candidates on the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy preseason watch lists.
• She led the league last season with 19.2 ppg and ranked third in assists per game (3.8), field goal percentage (.515) and assists/turnover ratio (1/5) on her way to WBCA Honorable Mention All-America accolades.
• Selland along with the Coyote duo of Hannah Sjerven and Chloe Lamb were named to the 2021-22 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch list following impressive 2020-21 seasons.
• Sjerven led the Coyotes with 17.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game last year. She led the league in rebounds, blocks and double-doubles. Sjerven was also named to the Naismith Trophy preseason watch list.
• Lamb was the league's third-leading scorer last season with 15.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. She returns for her senior season as the league's top 3-point shooter, sinking 61 3-pointers at a 43.3 percentage from behind the arc.
• Last season Selland and Sjerven were two of five women to be named a finalist for the award.

30-Plus Point Club

• On Nov. 20, Kacie Borowicz had a record-breaking showing to help North Dakota to an 89-85 win over Montana State. Borowicz went a perfect 20-for-20 from the free throw line which beats the prior UND single-game record for most free throws made in a game set back in 1990. She finished the game with a game-high 33 points.
• Denver's Anna Jackson sunk 10 threes and scored a Denver women's basketball Division I school-record 36 points to lead the Pioneers to an 87-65 win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Nov. 26.
• On Nov. 27, South Dakota defeated the ACC's Pitt with the help of Chloe Lamb's career-high 30 points. She went 12-for-23 from the field with 10 of her career-high points coming in overtime.
• Omaha picked up its first victory of the season defeating UIC 70-58. Elena Pilakouta led the scoring effort finishing with a career-high 32 points on 14-for-18 shooting from the floor and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe.
• Kansas City defeated UT Arlington on Nov. 28 with the help of Naomie Alnatas' 38-point, seven assists performance. She went 12-for-19 from the field, including 6-for-7 from three-point range, for her second career 35-plus point game.
• On Dec. 4, Hannah Sjerven scored a career-high 35 points to lead the Coyotes to a 71-59 victory over Wichita State. She had equaled her season-high by halftime, then added on 10 second-half points to tally a career-best 35. She knocked down 11-for-17 (64.7 percent) from the floor and went 12-for-15 from the charity stripe.

Top 25 National Rankings

• The Coyotes continue to be ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll coming in at No. 21.
• South Dakota State dropped out of the rankings but is still receiving votes.
• The Kansas City Roos and the Western Illinois Leathernecks continue to be a topic of conversation in the CollegeInsider.com's poll. They didn't break into the top 25 but are receiving votes in the poll. It is the Roos' fourth consecutive week receiving votes and the Leathernecks' second.

Among the NCAA's Top 25
Team
Assist-Turnover Ratio
(13) Western Illinois | 1.29
Assists
(12) Western Illinois | 190
(21) Kansas City | 174
Assists Per Game
(25) Kansas City | 17.4
Blocked Shots
(4) Denver | 67
(23) Western Illinois | 52
Blocked Shots Per Game
(12) Denver | 6.1
Defensive Rebounds Per Game
(17) Western Illinois | 30.6
Free Throw Attempts
(8) Western Illinois | 231
(22) Oral Roberts | 205
Free Throws Made
(9) Western Illinois | 163
(20) Oral Roberts | 148
Free-Throw Percentage
(15) North Dakota | 78.1
Rebound Margin
(10) Kansas City | 13.2
Scoring Margin
(23) Kansas City | 20.1
Scoring Offense
(13) Western Illinois | 82.1
Three-Point Field-Goals Attempted
(4) Denver | 306
(10) Western Illinois | 298
Three-Point Field Goals Made
(5) Western Illinois | 106
(9) Denver | 98
(24) Kansas City | 24
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
(12) Western Illinois | 9.6
(21) Denver | 8.9
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage
(11) Kansas City | 39.6
Won-Lost Percentage
(14) Kansas City | 90.0
 
Individual
Assists
(18) Indeya Sanders, Denver | 54
Double-Doubles
(15) Brooklyn McDavid, Kansas City | 5
Field Goals Made
(11) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 78
Field-Goal Percentage
(21) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 59.1
Final Points
(16) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 201
Free Throw Attempts
(8) Uju Ezeudu, Denver | 69
(8) Jada Thorpe, Western Illinois | 69
(12) Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota | 67
Free Throws Made
(7) Uju Ezeudu, Denver | 54
(18) Jada Thorpe, Western Illinois | 45
(20) Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota | 44
Free-Throw Percentage
(25) Ravon Nero, Kansas City | 90.9
Minutes Played
(8) Anna Jackson, Denver | 398:08
Offensive Rebounds Per Game
(14) Brooklyn McDavid, Kansas City | 4.3
Three-Point Field Goals Attempted
(9) Anna Jackson, Denver | 84
(22) Meghan Boyd, Denver | 76
(24) Mandy Willems, Kansas City | 74
Three-Point Field Goals Made
(6) Anna Jackson, Denver | 34
(17) Mandy Willems, Kansas City | 30
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
(25) Anna Jackson, Denver | 3.09
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage
(1) Naomie Alnatas Kansas City | 72.4
 
*As of 12/13/21
 
TEAM TRACKER
NOTING THE PIONEERS

• Denver split the week's competition defeating Butler after four overtimes, 100-94 but falling to Purdue (101-68).
• Uju Ezeudu paced the Pioneers against Butler as she finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and four blocks for the ninth double-double of her career.
• Cheyenne Forney finished in double figures for the first time in her career tallying 19 points, 10 rebounds, a block and a steal. She ended regulation with just five points.
• Anna Jackson played in a game and career-high 58 minutes and finished with 17 points and four rebounds in the victory.
• Indeya Sanders hit a three at the buzzer in triple overtime to propel Denver and Butler to a fourth. She ended the game with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and 10 assists for the fourth double-double of her career.
• Makayla Minett notched 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks to round out the double-figure scorers.

NOTING THE ROOS

• The Roos extended their win streak to a program-record-tying 10 consecutive games after defeating Baker (93-44), Tennessee State (74-70) and Santa Clara (69-62).
• Brooklyn McDavid led the Roos over the week averaging 22.3 ppg and 9.3 rpg. She dropped a pair of double-doubles in the wins over Baker and Tennesse State to bring her total to five on the year.
• Against Baker, all 14 Roos entered the game and 12 of the 14 scored in the win.
• In the win over Santa Clara, Kansas City forced a season-high-tying 22 turnovers, converting those into 25 points.
• All 69 of the Roos' points against Santa Clara came from the starting five.
• Kansas City's win over Santa Clara marks the first game of the season in which the Roos won while being out-rebounded.

NOTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS

• In North Dakota's 89-65 loss to Marquette, four Fighting Hawks finished the game in double-figure scoring.
• Kacie Borowicz led the team finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists.
• Maggie Manson and Olivia Lane each contributed 11 points apiece in the efforts. Lane also finished with six rebounds and a pair of assists.
• Claire Orth rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal.
• Defensively, alongside Lane's six and Borowicz's five rebounds, Joli Daninger finished with five boards to go along with seven points, three assists and two steals.

NOTING THE BISON

• The Bison look to break a two-game losing streak after falling to #6/10 Arizona (59-47) and Wyoming (71-45).
• Heaven Hamling was the only Bison to record double figures against Arizona as she finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field. She also matched a season-high four three-pointers on nine attempts.
• Ryan Cobbins tallied six rebounds, a game-high five assists and four points in the loss to Arizona.
• Defensively, Emily Dietz pulled down a game-high seven rebounds to go along with six points.
• Against Wyoming, Reneya Hopkins matched a career-high 15 points to lead the Bison. She sunk a career-best four three-pointers on nine attempts in the game.
• Hopkins also matched a career-high three steals and added two rebounds and an assist to the stat sheet.
• Hamling rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points on 4-for-4 from the free throw line and 3-for-4 from the field.

NOTING THE MAVERICKS

• Omaha split the week's competition as it fell to Kansas State (87-56) but bounced back and defeated Northern Colorado (48-41).
• Mariah Murdie was the only Maverick that finished in double figures against Northern Colorado recording a game-high 21 points.
• Murdie also finished with nine rebounds to go along with her 21 points with three of the nine coming on the offensive end.
• She has led Mavericks in rebounding in six of their nine games this season.
• Natalie Bartle followed Murdie with eight points and recorded a career-high five steals in the win.

NOTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES

• The Golden Eagles split the week's competition defeating Central Christian (120-52) and then losing to Tarleton State (59-55).
• Against Central Christian, Oral Roberts shot 64.3 percent (45-for-70) from the floor and 41.4 percent (12-for-29) from behind the three-point line.
• In the win, ORU had six Golden Eagles finish in double figures. The scoring efforts were led by Trinity Moore with a career-high 18 points to go along with three rebounds, a pair of steals and an assist.
• Katie Scott followed the efforts finishing with 15 points going 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from behind the charity stripe.
• Faith Paramore went 6-for-7 from the field to finish with 13 points while Delany Nix and Nena Taylor chipped in 12 points apiece.
• Ariel Walker rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting and 2-for-3 from behind the arc.

NOTING THE TOMMIES

• St. Thomas fell to Idaho State 67-57.
• Three Tommies finished in double-digit points led by Erin Norling's team-high 17 points. Norling also finished with three rebounds and an assist.
• Maggie Negaard followed finishing with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting. She dished out five assists as well as pulled down three rebounds.
• Jade Hill rounded out the double-digit scorers finishing with 11 points. Hill grabbed a game-high-tying five rebounds and notched one steal in the loss.
• As a squad, the Tommies shot 44 percent (28-for-63) from the field and 32 percent (7-for-22) from behind the arc.

NOTING THE COYOTES

• South Dakota captured a 51-31 victory over Valparaiso to extend its win streak to four consecutive games. The Coyotes held Valparaiso to just eight field goals during the game.
• Three Coyotes reached double-figures accounting for 31 of USD's 51 points.
• Chloe Lamb led the scoring efforts finishing with a game-high 11 points. Lamb also recorded four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
• Liv Korngable and Hannah Sjerven finished with 10 points apiece in the efforts.
• Korngable added three rebounds and an assist to her stat line.
• Sjerven finished the game with three rebounds, a pair of steals and a block.

NOTING THE JACKRABBITS

• South Dakota State suffered a tough 79-73 loss to Kansas State. The Jacks overcame an early 18-3 deficit to lead by as many as eight points in the third quarter before ultimately falling to the Wildcats.
• Four Jackrabbits finished in double figures led by Paiton Burckhard and Tori Nelson's 14 points apiece.
• Burckhard and Nelson also led SDSU on the defensive end finishing with seven and six rebounds, respectively.
• Off the bench, Myah Selland chipped in 13 points of her own as well as dished out three assists.
• Rounding out the double-figure scorers was Haley Greer who finished with 11 points, including three three-pointers.

NOTING THE LEATHERNECKS

• Western Illinois extended its win streak to four consecutive games after defeating Greenville 105-56.
• It was the third time this season that WIU has crossed over the 100-point mark this season.
• The Leathernecks finished their non-conference slate with a perfect 6-0 record at home.
• Five Leathernecks notched double-digits in scoring during the win. Anna Deets led the efforts as she finished with new season-highs in points (20) and three-pointers made (6). She also tallied five rebounds in the win.
• Jada Thorpe filled up the stat sheet finishing with 16 points, a career-high seven steals, seven rebounds and five assists.
• Elizabeth Lutz finished with 15 points, eight assists, four steals, three rebounds and a pair of blocks.
• Evan Zars chipped in 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
• Mallory McDermott rounded out the scoring efforts contributing 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from behind the arc off the bench.