SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Three weeks into league play and South Dakota stands alone atop the league standings. The Coyotes defeated in-state rival South Dakota State to remain undefeated thus far in league play and look to capitalize on that momentum this week.
 
The fourth week of league action gets underway Thursday with the first game tipping off at 5 p.m. CT in Omaha as the Jackrabbits face the Mavericks. This week also features two games rescheduled for earlier this season due to COVID-19 protocols. Oral Roberts’ game against St. Thomas from Jan. 6 has been rescheduled for Monday, Jan. 17. Kansas City’s road trip to Denver was rescheduled from Jan. 1 to Tuesday, Jan. 18.
 
Around The Summit League (TV/Streaming) | All Game Times Central
Thursday, January 13
South Dakota State at Omaha | 5 p.m.
North Dakota at Western Illinois | 6 p.m.
North Dakota State at St. Thomas | 7 p.m.
South Dakota at Denver | 8 p.m.
 
Saturday, January 15
North Dakota at St. Thomas | 1 p.m.
South Dakota at Omaha | 1 p.m.
North Dakota State at Western Illinois | 2 p.m.
Kansas City at Oral Roberts | 2 p.m.
South Dakota State at Denver | 2 p.m.
 
Monday, January 17
St. Thomas at Oral Roberts | 12 p.m.
 
Tuesday, January 18
Kansas City at Denver | 8 p.m.
 
Last Week In The League
Thursday, January 6
St. Thomas at Oral Roberts | Postponed
North Dakota 71, Omaha 57
North Dakota State 74, Denver 68
 
Saturday, January 8
North Dakota 80, Denver 75
Omaha 68, North Dakota State 54
South Dakota 65, South Dakota State 42
Western Illinois at Oral Roberts | Postponed
 
Monday, January 10
Oral Roberts 62, Denver 53
Kansas City 73, Omaha 64
 
Rescheduled League Games | All Game Times Central
Monday, January 10
Oral Roberts 62, Denver 53
Kansas City 73, Omaha 64
 
Monday, January 17
St. Thomas at Oral Roberts | 12 p.m.
 
Tuesday, January 18
Kansas City at Denver | 8 p.m.
 
Monday, January 31
Western Illinois at Kansas City | 6 p.m.
 
Monday, February 14
St. Thomas at Kansas City | 6 p.m.
 
Tuesday, February 15
Western Illinois at Oral Roberts | TBA
 
League Adjusts Basketball Rescheduling COVID-19 Policy

• After experiencing numerous disruptions to the Summit League men’s and women’s basketball schedules, the Joint Council voted unanimously Tuesday to alter its rescheduling policy based on COVID-19 protocols for the remainder of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons.
• The League office, in conjunction with its member institutions, will attempt to reschedule all games that have been previously cancelled and any future postponements due to COVID-19 protocols.
• Rescheduling will be done based upon an agreed set of guidelines, including prioritizing the rescheduled games in the order they were lost. The rescheduled games will likely occur on Mondays or Tuesdays and the League will also take into consideration travel complexities along with trying to avoid having teams play more than six games during a 12-day stretch among other principles during this process.

#BeatType1

• The New Year brought Summit League Basketball play into the primary focus of the league’s ten men’s and women’s programs, but 2022 also brings another important matter back into their focus: type 1 diabetes. All 20 programs will designate a game throughout January to team up with Sanford Health and bring awareness to the disease that more than 1.25 million Americans are currently battling.

#BeatType1 Games

Date	Host	Opponents
1/8	North Dakota State	Omaha
1/13	St. Thomas	North Dakota State
1/15	Denver	South Dakota State
1/15	Oral Roberts	Kansas City
1/20	South Dakota State	St. Thomas
1/20	Omaha	Denver
1/22	South Dakota	St. Thomas
1/27	North Dakota	South Dakota State
1/31	Kansas City	Western Illinois

 
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.
• Against North Dakota State on Jan. 6, Denver's Uju Ezeudu finished a point shy of her career-high with 31 points on 13-for-20 shooting. She also notched eight rebounds, a block and a steal in a season-high 34 minutes.

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. 9 for the second consecutive week.
• South Dakota State dropped out of the rankings but continues to receive votes.
• Kansas City continues 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' eighth consecutive week receiving votes.

Among the NCAA's Top 25
Team
Assist-Turnover Ratio
(17) Western Illinois | 1.22
Assists
(22) South Dakota State | 248
Blocked Shots
(5) Denver | 98
Block Shots Per Game
(12) Denver | 6.1
Defensive Rebounds Per Game
(14) Western Illinois | 30.4
Free Throw Attempts
(11) Oral Roberts | 316
(25) Western Illinois | 289
Free Throws Made
(4) Oral Roberts | 234
(24) North Dakota | 203
Free-Throw Percentage
(10) North Dakota | 78.7
Rebound Margin
(22) Kansas City | 9.3
Scoring Defense
(17) South Dakota | 53.8
Scoring Offense
(16) Western Illinois | 79.7
Three-Point Field Goals Attempted
(8) Denver | 428
(17) Western Illinois | 369
Three-Point Field Goals Made
(15) Denver | 130
(15) Western Illinois | 130
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
(12) Western Illinois | 9.3
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage
(21) South Dakota State | 36.4
 
Individual
Blocked Shots
(18) Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota | 32
Field Goal Attempts
(24) Chloe Lamb, South Dakota | 220
Field Goals Made
(20) Chloe Lamb, South Dakota | 102
(23) Brooklyn McDavid, Kansas City | 100
(24) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 99
Final Points
(17) Uju Ezeudu, Denver | 277
(22) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 265
(22) Naomie Alnatas, Kansas City | 265
Free Throw Attempts
(5) Uju Ezeudu, Denver | 105
(10) Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota | 93
(25) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 82
Free Throws Made
(4) Uju Ezeudu, Denver | 83
(22) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 60
Free-Throw Percentage
(5) Kacie Borowicz, North Dakota | 94.9
(22) Keni Jo Lippe, Oral Roberts | 90.0
Offensive Rebounds Per Game
(18) Brooklyn McDavid, Kansas City | 4.1
Three-Point Field Goals Attempted
(7) Anna Jackson, Denver | 120
(14) Meghan Boyd, Denver | 112
Three-Point Field Goals Made
(7) Anna Jackson, Denver | 46
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
(14) Anna Jackson, Denver | 3.07
 
*As of 1/10/22
 
TEAM TRACKER
NOTING THE PIONEERS

• Denver fell to 0-5 in league play after suffering three losses over the week. The Pioneers dropped games to North Dakota State (74-68), North Dakota (80-75) and Oral Roberts (62-53).
• Uju Ezeudu paced the Pioneers in the three losses. She averaged a double-double of 22.0 ppg and 10.3 rpg on the week.
• Against NDSU, she finished one point shy of her career-high with 31 points to go along with eight rebounds, a block and a steal.
• At UND, she recorded her fifth double-double of the season and 12th of her career. She tallied 28 points and 11 rebounds.
• Ezeudu led the defensive pack against Oral Roberts pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with seven points.
• In the loss to Oral Roberts, Tess Santos led the Pioneers with 14 points, four rebounds and three steals. Indeya Sanders followed close behind Santos finishing in double figures with 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks.

NOTING THE ROOS

• The Roos picked up their first league win of the season defeating Omaha 73-64 on the road.
• The offense was led by Brooklyn McDavid and Naomie Alnatas both of which finished with 22 points apiece. It marked the fifth 20-plus-point game for both of them this season.
• Alongside her 22 points, McDavid pulled down seven rebounds, dished out a pair of assists and tallied a block and a steal.
• Kiara Bradley and Paige Bradford each tallied eight points of their own and combined for 10 rebounds.
• Sanaa' St. Andre saw 13 minutes coming off the bench in which she recorded 13 points, three assists and a steal.
• Due to COVID-19 protocols, the Roos' game at Denver was rescheduled from Jan. 1 to Jan. 18.
• The Roos also had last week's games rescheduled due to COVID-19 protocol. The game against Western Illinois on Jan. 6 was rescheduled for Jan. 31. The game against St. Thomas was rescheduled from Jan. 8 to Feb. 14.

NOTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS

• North Dakota picked up its first two wins in league play at home defeating Omaha (71-57) and Denver (80-75).
• Against the Mavericks, four Fighting Hawks reached double figures. Kacie Borowicz led 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
• Claire Orth followed Borowicz finishing with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds, three steals and a block.
• Olivia Lane and Maggie Manson rounded out the double-figure scorers against the Mavericks tallying 12 and 10 points, respectively.
• In the victory over the Pioneers, Lane led UND finishing with a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds. Melissa Leet also finished with a double-double notching 17 points and 10 rebounds.
• Orth contributed 13 points of her own to go along with four rebounds and a steal.

NOTING THE BISON

• The Bison moved to 2-3 in league play after splitting the competition this weekend. The Bison defeated Denver (74-68) but lost to Omaha (68-54).
• Three Bison reached double figures in the win over the Pioneers. Reneya Hopkins recorded 14 points and notched a career-high seven rebounds to go along with a career-best six assists in the win.
• Heaven Hamling also finished with 14 points, hitting double figures for the 11th time this season, shooting 5-for-7 from the field.
• Emily Dietz rounded out the double-figure scorers registering 13 points to eclipse the 1,000 point mark in her career.
• Against the Mavericks, Hamling and Ryan Cobbins were the only Bison to finish in double-figure scoring. Hamling led the team with 19 points to go along with two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
• Cobbins chipped in 12 points of her own in the loss. She also pulled down a pair of boards, dished out two assists and recorded two steals.
• Dietz paced the defense pulling down a game-high-tying seven rebounds.

NOTING THE MAVERICKS

• Omaha moved to 2-4 in league play after defeating North Dakota State (68-54) but falling to North Dakota (71-57) and Kansas City (73-64).
• In the Mavericks win over the Bison, three finished in double-figures. Paving the way was Grace Cave as she dropped a career-high 25 points to lead Omaha to its second league victory of the season.
• Cave went 10-for-15 from the field en route to her career high and pulled down seven rebounds.
• Sam Mitchell followed Cave in double figures. She drained three from behind the arc on her way to 16 points.
• Josie Filer rounded out the double-figure scoring effort finishing with 10 points and five rebounds.
• In the tight 73-64 loss to Kansas City, Mariah Murdie led the Mavericks with a career-high 25 points. She was 11-for-16 from the field and pulled down six boards in the loss.
• Cave joined her in double figures finishing with 14 points, including three three-pointers.
• Defensively, Filer led the Mavericks hauling down a team-high 10 rebounds for her third double-digit rebounding effort.

NOTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES

• The Golden Eagles moved to 2-2 in league play after picking up a 62-53 road win over Denver. The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as nine points in the game before securing their second consecutive come-from-behind victory.
• Tirzah Moore notched her second career double-double to lead ORU. She finished with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
• Hannah Cooper finished with a game-high-tying 14 points in the victory. She also pulled down five rebounds and recorded four steals.
• Keni Jo Lippe went 9-for-10 from the free throw line and became the fifth active player in NCAA Division I basketball to have 500 or more made free throws in her career.
• Oral Roberts' games against St. Thomas on Jan. 6 and Western Illinois on Jan. 8 have been rescheduled due to COVID-19 protocols.
• The St. Thomas at Oral Roberts game has been rescheduled for Monday, Jan. 17. The Western Illinois game against the Golden Eagles has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 15.

NOTING THE TOMMIES

• St. Thomas moved to 2-1 in league play after capturing its second league victory over Western Illinois (66-64) in double overtime.
• Jade Hill sank a three late in regulation to force the first overtime and scored a go-ahead layup late in the second overtime to lead St. Thomas to a victory.
• Hill finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists in 45 minutes of action.
• Erin Norling led the Tommies with a double-double of 13 points and a career-best 16 rebounds.
• Jordyn Glynn and Maggie Negaard rounded out the double-figure scorers in the win finishing with 11 points apiece.
• The Tommies game at Kansas City on Jan. 8 has been rescheduled to Feb. 14 due to COVID-19 protocols.
• St. Thomas' game at Oral Roberts on Jan. 6 has been rescheduled to Jan. 17 at 12 p.m. due to COVID-19 protocols.

NOTING THE COYOTES

• South Dakota extend its win streak to 10 games and moved to 5-0 in league play after defeating in-state rival South Dakota State (65-42) at home.
• The Coyotes had four finish in double-figures in the win, led by Liv Korngable's 15 points. She scored her game-high 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting with three assists and three boards.
• Kyah Watson followed right behind Korngable contributing a career-best 14 points.
• Hannah Sjerven tallied a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds while Chloe Lamb chipped in 10 points of her own.
• Sjerven also added four assists, four blocks and three steals to her stat line.
• The Coyote squad held SDSU to its lowest scoring total so far this season. It was the first time that not one single Jack reached double-figures in a game since Jan. 2, 2014, against No. 2 Notre Dame.

NOTING THE JACKRABBITS

• South Dakota State suffered its first loss of league play to in-state rival South Dakota (65-42).
• The Jackrabbits had early momentum going 8-for-12 from the field in the opening 10 minutes of the game and 4-for-5 from the three-point line.
• South Dakota State scored 20 points in the first quarter and was held to 22 points over the remainder of the game.
• Tori Nelson led Jackrabbits finishing with nine points and a pair of assists. Nelson has scored 9-plus points in nine of the last 10 contests.
• Paige Meyer, Myah Selland and Paiton Burckhard followed Nelson's lead each finishing with seven points, apiece. Meyer led the defensive effort pulling down a team-high four rebounds.

NOTING THE LEATHERNECKS

• Western Illinois suffered its first loss of league play falling 66-64 to St. Thomas in double overtime.
• Three Leathernecks notched double figures in the loss to the Tommies. Danni Nichols paced the offense finishing with 18 points. She also added seven rebounds and four assists in the loss.
• Elizabeth Lutz recorded a season-high 17 points to go along with four steals and four rebounds.
• Jada Thorpe chipped in 12 points of her own alongside five rebounds and a pair of steals.
• Defensively, Evan Zars tied a season-best 14 rebounds to go with seven points.
• The Leathernecks' game at Kansas City scheduled for Jan. 6 has been rescheduled to Jan. 31 due to COVID-19 protocols.
• Western Illinois' game against Oral Roberts on Jan. 8 was rescheduled to Tuesday, Feb. 15 due to COVID-19 protocols.