SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Almost a week into the new year and two weeks through league play and South Dakota and South Dakota State remain unbeaten in league action. The two will match up for the first in-state rivalry meeting Saturday in Vermillion for a 1 p.m. CT tipoff.
 
The third week of league play gets underway Thursday at 6 p.m. CT. Unfortunately, again, week three will not feature a full schedule of competition as COVID-19 protocols have forced postponements of four games. The St. Thomas at Oral Roberts game and the Western Illinois at Kansas City game scheduled for Thursday as well as Western Illinois at Oral Roberts and St. Thomas at Kansas City games scheduled for Saturday will all be played at a later date.
 
Around The Summit League (TV/Streaming) | All Game Times Central
Thursday, January 6
Western Illinois at Kansas City | 6 p.m.
St. Thomas at Oral Roberts | Postponed
Denver at North Dakota State (WDAY/E+) | 7 p.m.
Omaha at North Dakota (MS) | 7 p.m.
 
Saturday, January 8
Denver at North Dakota (MS2) | 1 p.m.
Omaha at North Dakota State (WDAY/E+) | 1 p.m.
South Dakota State at South Dakota (MS/E+) | 1 p.m.
Western Illinois at Oral Roberts | Postponed
St. Thomas at Kansas City | 2 p.m.
 
Last Week In The League
Wednesday, December 29
St. Thomas vs. Upper Iowa | Postponed
 
Thursday, December 30
South Dakota 85, North Dakota 46
South Dakota State 77, North Dakota State 60
Oral Roberts at Denver |Postponed
Kansas City at Omaha |Postponed
 
Saturday, January 1
Oral Roberts 50, Omaha 45
South Dakota 65, North Dakota State 38
St. Thomas 66,  Western Illinois 64 (2OT)
South Dakota State 72, North Dakota 54
Kansas City at Denver | Postponed
 
Rescheduled League Games | All Game Times Central
Monday, January 10
Oral Roberts at Denver | 5 p.m.
Kansas City at Omaha | 7 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.
 
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

 
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.
• South Dakota State re-enters the top 25 after spending three weeks receiving votes. The Jackrabbits re-entered the poll at No. 25.
• 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' seventh consecutive week receiving votes.

 
Among the NCAA's Top 25
Team
Assist-Turnover Ratio
(19) Western Illinois | 1.22
Assists
(11) South Dakota State | 237
(24) Western Illinois | 218
Blocked Shots
(6) Denver | 81
Block Shots Per Game
(9) Denver | 6.2
Defensive Rebounds Per Game
(17) Western Illinois | 30.4
Free Throw Attempts
(11) Western Illinois | 289
(13) Oral Roberts | 278
Free Throws Made
(9) Oral Roberts | 207
(12) Western Illinois | 202
Free-Throw Percentage
(17) North Dakota | 77.8
Rebound Margin
(23) Kansas City | 9.6
Scoring Offense
(18) Western Illinois | 79.7
Three-Point Field Goals Attempted
(8) Denver | 370
(9) Western Illinois | 369
Three-Point Field Goals Made
(8) Western Illinois | 130
(17) South Dakota State | 115
(25) Denver | 111
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
(13) Western Illinois | 9.3
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage
(21) South Dakota State | 36.6
(26) Kansas City | 36.4
 
Individual
Blocked Shots
(18) Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota | 28
Double-Doubles
(19) Brooklyn McDavid, Kansas City | 6
Field Goal Attempts
(19) Chloe Lamb, South Dakota | 209
Field Goals Made
(9) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 99
(11) Chloe Lamb, South Dakota | 98
(25) Brooklyn McDavid, Kansas City | 90
Final Points
(9) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 265
(22) Chloe Lamb, South Dakota | 244
(23) Naomie Alnatas, Kansas City | 243
Free Throw Attempts
(5) Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota | 89
(10) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 82
(14) Uju Ezeudu, Denver | 80
(18) Jada Thorpe, Western Illinois | 78
Free Throws Made
(9) Uju Ezeudu, Denver | 64
(14) Danni Nichols, Western Illinois | 60
(20) Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota | 56
Free-Throw Percentage
(1) Kacie Borowicz, North Dakota | 97.7
(24) Keni Jo Lippe, Oral Roberts | 90.0
Offensive Rebounds Per Game
(17) Brooklyn McDavid, Kansas City | 4.2
Rebounds
(23) Evan Zars, Western Illinois | 125
Three-Point Field Goals Attempted
(9) Anna Jackson, Denver | 103
(13) Meghan Boyd, Denver | 100
Three-Point Field Goals Made
(9) Anna Jackson, Denver | 41
(21) Chloe Lamb, South Dakota | 34
(21) Mandy Willems, Kansas City | 34
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game
(13) Anna Jackson, Denver | 3.15
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage
(1) Naomie Alnatas, Kansas City | 57.8
 
*As of 1/3/22
 
TEAM TRACKER
NOTING THE PIONEERS

• Denver started the first week of league play 0-2 after falling to both Western Illinois (72-66) and St. Thomas (56-48) on the road.
• Against the Leathernecks, four Pioneers recorded double-figure scoring efforts. Meghan Boyd paced the Pios finishing with 19 points that included three from beyond the arc and eight free throws.
• Uju Ezeudu notched her third straight double-double and the 11th of her career finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds. She also added three steals and three blocks in the loss.
• Anna Jackson poured in 13 of her own points to go with three rebounds.
• Tess Santos rounded out the double-figure scorers finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
• Ezeudu led the Pioneers against the Tommies finishing with a game-high-tying 17 points. She also recorded five rebounds, three steals and two blocks in the loss.
• Jackson was the only other Pioneer to finish in double figures as she tallied 12 points to go along with three steals.
• Due to COVID-19 protocols, the Pioneers' game against Oral Roberts was rescheduled from Dec. 30 to Jan. 10. Their game against Kansas City was rescheduled from Jan. 1 to Jan. 18.

NOTING THE ROOS

• The Roos started league play 0-2 after suffering losses at home to South Dakota State (85-78) and South Dakota (67-57).
• Against the Jackrabbits, four Roos finished with double figures. Naomie Alnatas led the efforts recording her fourth 20-point performance of the season as well as adding six assists to her stat line.
• Paige Bradford scored 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out three assists and shot 58.3 percent from the field.
• Brooklyn McDavid recorded 16 points while RaVon Nero came off the bench and finished with 14 points, four assists and a pair of steals in 17 minutes of action.
• In the loss to the Coyotes, Alnatas once again led the Roos finishing with 19 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals.
• McDavid posted her sixth double-double of the year logging 16 points and 10 rebounds in a full 40 minutes.
• Due to COVID-19 protocols, the Roos' game at Omaha was rescheduled from Dec. 30 to Jan. 10. Their game at Denver was rescheduled from Jan. 1 to Jan. 18.
• The Roos also had this week's games rescheduled due to COVID-19 protocol. The game against Western Illinois on Jan. 6 was rescheduled for Jan. 31. Their game against St. Thomas was rescheduled from Jan. 8 to Feb. 14.

NOTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS

• North Dakota fell to 0-3 after hitting the road and falling to South Dakota (85-46) and South Dakota State (72-54).
• Against the Coyotes, the Fighting Hawks had three finish in double-figure scoring. Pacing the efforts was Claire Orth who finished with 13 points to go along with three rebounds.
• Kacie Borowicz notched 11 points, four assists and a steal while Joli Daninger rounded out the double-figure scorers with ten points, seven rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists.
• Borowicz led the Fighting Hawks against the Jacks finishing with 14 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists.
• Melissa Leet was the only other Fighting Hawks in double figures finishing with 13 points. Leet also added five assists, two blocks and two rebounds to her stat sheet.

NOTING THE BISON

• The Bison fell to 1-2 after dropping two road games against South Dakota State (77-60) and South Dakota (65-38).
• Two finished in double-digit scoring against South Dakota State. Ryan Cobbins finished with a game-high 19 points on 4-for-4 shooting from behind the three-point line. She also contributed a team-high six rebounds with one assist and a steal.
• Emily Dietz was the only other Bison to reach double digits finishing with 11 points to go along with three rebounds and one assist.
• Against the Coyotes, Cobbins paced the Bison with a team-high nine points and six rebounds.
• Reneya Hopkins chipped in eight of her own points while Kadie Deaton pulled down a game-high eight rebounds in the loss.

NOTING THE MAVERICKS

• Omaha moved to 1-2 after falling to Oral Roberts 50-45 at home.
• Josie Filer led the Mavericks with her first career double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds. Five of her career-best 16 boards came from the offensive end.
• Elena Pilokouta chipped in 10 points of her own in the loss to go along with six rebounds.
• As a squad, the Mavericks shot 31.7 percent from the field and outrebounded the Golden Eagles 46-43.
• The Mavericks game last week against Kansas City was rescheduled to Jan. 10 due to COVID-19 protocols.

NOTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES

• The Golden Eagles overcame a 13 point deficit with less than 12 minutes to play to capture their first league victory of the season.
• Tirzah Moore paced ORU in the victory finishing with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Keni Jo Lippe and Delaney Nix followed Moore chipping in eight points apiece, respectively. Lippe also added six rebounds and an assist to her stat line.
• Regan Schumacher led the defensive pack pulling down a team-best nine rebounds. She also tallied four points, two assists and a steal.
• The Golden Eagles' game last week against Denver was rescheduled to Jan. 10 due to COVID-19 protocols.
• Oral Roberts' game against St. Thomas on Jan. 6 and Western Illinois on Jan. 8 have been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

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.
• St. Thomas' game at Oral Roberts on Jan. 6 has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
• The Tommies game at Kansas City on Jan. 8 has been rescheduled to Feb. 14 due to COVID-19 protocols.

NOTING THE COYOTES

• South Dakota extend its win streak to nine games and moved to 4-0 in league play after defeating North Dakota (85-46) and North Dakota State (65-38) at home.
• Against the Fighting Hawks, Hannah Sjerven tallied her 23rd career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Liv Korngable followed Sjerven's lead finishing with 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
• South Dakota tied a season-high for 3-pointers made in a game knocking down 11 from beyond the arc.
• In the victory over North Dakota State, Chloe Lamb dropped 27 points, 22 of which came in the first half. She was 10-for-16 from the field and 5-for-7 from behind the arc.
• Lamb also added four assists and four steals to her stat sheet. She held NDSU's leading scorer, Heaven Hamling, without a field goal on the defensive end.

NOTING THE JACKRABBITS

• South Dakota State extended its win streak to five consecutive games as well as moved to 4-0 after defeating North Dakota State (77-60) and North Dakota (72-54) at home.
• Against the Bison, Myah Selland and Tylee Irwin finished with 12 points apiece to pace South Dakota State in the victory. Selland was 5-for-6 from the floor while also having five rebounds and four assists.
• Irwin also dished out four assists and went 4-for-4 from behind the charity stripe.
• Paige Meyer rounded out the double-figure scorers finishing with 11 points.
• Four Jacks finished in double figures in scoring in the win over North Dakota. Paiton Burckhard paced the efforts with 15 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists.
• Haleigh Timmer knocked down 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field.
• Meyer and Irwin rounded out the double-figure scorers finishing with 12 and 10 points apiece, respectively.

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 has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.