SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – With a handful of League play games under our teams’ belts, North Dakota State and South Dakota State remain unbeaten thus far. The two will meet to see who will remain undefeated Thursday in Brookings for a 7 p.m. CT tipoff.
 
Alongside North Dakota State and South Dakota State, six other teams will continue their journey for the regular season title Thursday. North Dakota will be at South Dakota, St. Thomas at Denver and Western Illinois at Omaha. All three games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. CT.

FanMaker
Be on the lookout in the PDF weekly notebook for a promo code offer to earn 200 reward points within the Fan Rewards section of the Summit League app! If you don't have the free app, download now at thesummitleague.org/app.
 
#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 2023 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
1/7	Kansas City	Oral Roberts
1/12	North Dakota	Omaha
1/12	Western Illinois	Oral Roberts
1/14	North Dakota State	Omaha
1/14	St. Thomas	Oral Roberts
1/19	Denver	South Dakota
1/19	Oral Roberts	North Dakota State
1/26	Omaha	Kansas City
1/26	South Dakota	Western Illinois
1/26	South Dakota State	St. Thomas

TEAM TRACKER
DENVER PIONEERS (5-8, 1-1 SL) | @DU_WHoops
Next Up: vs. St. Thomas (1/5; 6 p.m. MT); vs. Western Illinois (1/7; 1 p.m. MT)
Previous Games: at Kansas City (W, 73-60); at Oral Roberts (L, 88-70)
The Pioneers stand at 1-1 in League play after picking up a road win over Kansas City and a loss to Oral Roberts ... Makayla Minett paced the efforts for the Pioneers averaging 14.5 ppg, 16.0 rpg, 6.5 bpg, 2.5 apg and 1.5 spg through two games ... Against the Roos, Mary Wilson paced the Pios with a career-high 25 points including seven three-pointers ... Minett recorded a double-double of 16 rebounds and an NCAA Division I women’s basketball game-high 10 blocks ... Her 10 blocks ties for third-best all-time in League history for most blocks in a single League game ... The last time the feat was achieved was on Feb. 20, 2006, when IUPUI’s Brooke McAfee blocked 10 shots against Valparaiso ... Ally Haar recorded 16 points and dished out a game-best nine assists while Mikayla Brandon rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 points ... In the loss to ORU, Minett led a trio of Pioneers in double-figure scoring efforts as she finished with a double-double of a career-high 21 points and 16 rebounds ... Emma Smith followed her efforts chipping in 16 points and a pair of steals while Wilson notched 12 points of her own.
 
KANSAS CITY ROOS (4-11, 0-4 SL) | @KCRoosWBB
Next Up: vs. Oral Roberts (1/7; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. Denver (L, 73-60); vs. Omaha (L, 75-64)
Kansas City fell to 0-4 in League play after suffering home losses to Denver and Omaha ... In the loss to Denver, RaVon Nero, Sanaa’ St. Andre and E’Lease Stafford all led the scoring efforts each finishing with 12 points, respectively ... For the third-consecutive game, Machia Mullens led the defensive effort for the Roos pulling down a team-best eight rebounds ... As a squad, the Roos outscored the Pios in points from turnovers as well as second-chance points in the paint ... Against Omaha, Stafford led the scoring efforts with 19 points to go along with four assists, three steals and three rebounds ... Manna Mensah followed Stafford’s efforts chipping in 13 points of her own to go along with four rebounds and an assist in the loss ... Mullens once again led the defense for the Roos as she finished with 11 rebounds, three steals and a block. 

NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (9-4, 2-1 SL) | @UNDwbasketball
Next Up: at South Dakota (1/5; 7 p.m. CT); at South Dakota State (1/7; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at North Dakota State (L, 81-76)
North Dakota suffered its first League loss of the season to in-state rival North Dakota State ... Kacie Borowicz led the Fighting Hawks offense with 27 points including going a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe ... Sammiyah Hoskin was just shy of a double-double as she finished with 12 points and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds ... Claire Orth also finished with 12 points and a game-high four steals in the loss ... Nakiyah Hurst rounded out the double-figure scorers for UND as she finished with 11 points and five rebounds ... As a team, the Fighting Hawks shot 40.9 percent (27-for-66) from the field and 95 percent (19-for-20) from the free throw line ... The rivalry matchup featured seven lead changes and three ties.
 
NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON (9-4, 3-0 SL) | @NDSUwbb
Next Up: at South Dakota State (1/5; 7 p.m. CT); at South Dakota (1/7; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. North Dakota (W, 81-76)
The Bison are now 3-0 in League play after snapping North Dakota’s seven-game win streak ... Heaven Hamling paced the offensive efforts in the victory finishing with a game-high 28 points including going 14-for-15 from the free throw line ... She also added a game-best six assists, six rebounds and four steals to her stat line ... Taylor Brown followed Hamling’s efforts finishing with 15 points of her own as well as eight rebounds and three steals ... Emily Behnke was the final Bison to finish in double figures for NDSU as she tallied 13 points and pulled down a team-best nine rebounds ... As a team, NDSU shot 37.3 percent from the floor (22-for-59) and 89.2 percent (33-for-37) from the free throw line ... The team also scored 32 points in the paint as well as added 17 second-chance points to the scoreboard.
 
OMAHA MAVERICKS (6-7, 1-1 SL) | @OmahaWBB
Next Up: vs. Western Illinois (1/5; 7:05 p.m. CT); vs. St. Thomas (1/7; 2:05 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Oral Roberts (L, 75-63); at Kansas City (W, 75-64)
The Mavericks are now 1-1 in League play after they hit the road and lost to Oral Roberts but beat Kansas City ... In the loss to the Golden Eagles, Polina Nikulochokina led the team with 19 points including four three-pointers ... Grace Cave followed right behind Nikulochkina with 18 points as well as a team-best five assists ... Elena Pilakouta was the final Maverick to finish in double figures as she notched a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds ... In the win over the Roos, Aaliyah Stanley led all scorers as she finished with 37 points on 12-for-17 shooting from the field ... Her 34 points rank 11th in Omaha history in single-game points and field goals ... Pilakouta and Katie Keitges rounded out the double-figure scorers as they each finished with 10 points apiece ... On the defensive end, Cave was the top rebounder for the Mavericks as she pulled down eight.
 
ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES (5-10, 2-2 SL) | @ORUWBB
Next Up: at Kansas City (1/7; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. Omaha (W, 75-63); vs. Denver (W, 88-70)
Oral Roberts picked up its first two League wins of the season after defeating Omaha and Denver ... Ruthie Udoumoh put together an all-around performance for ORU averaging 17 ppg, 8 rpg, 4.5 spg and 3.0 apg in the two victories ... In the win over the Mavericks, Udoumoh paced the efforts for ORU with a double-double of 16 points and a career-best 12 rebounds ... She also added four assists and four steals to her stat line ... Hannah Cooper led the Golden Eagles as she finished with 19 points including going a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe ... Tirzah Moore notched a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds while Delaney Nix rounded out the double figure scorers with 10 points ... Against the Pioneers, four players tallied double figures in the scoring column led by Ariel Walker’s 23 points, seven steals, five rebounds and two assists ... Cooper followed with 20 points and a team-best six assists while Moore recorded a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds ... Udoumoh rounded out the double digit scorers finishing with 18 points, five steals, four rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
ST. THOMAS TOMMIES (5-9, 0-4 SL) | @TommieWBBall
Next Up: at Denver (1/5; 7 p.m. CT); at Omaha (1/7; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. South Dakota (L, 58-56); vs. South Dakota State (L, 61-51)
St. Thomas fell to 0-4 in League play after losing two home games to South Dakota and South Dakota State ... In the Tommies’ League home opener against the Coyotes, they overcame a 14-point deficit to lead with 14 seconds before a shooting foul would allow the Coyotes to capture the win ... Sammy Opichka led the Tommies’ offensive efforts with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting ...  Opichka also had a team-best five assists, five rebounds and a steal ... Maggie Negaard was the only other Tommie to finish in double figures in the scoring column as she finished with 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal ... In the 10-point loss to the Jackrabbits, Negaard was the only player for St. Thomas to finish with double-figure points ... She finished with 14 points, including going 4-for-6 from behind the arc, six rebounds and four assists... Jade Hill followed her offensive efforts with eight points, two steals, an assist and a rebound.
 
SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES (7-8, 3-1 SL) | @SDCoyotesWBB
Next Up: vs. North Dakota (1/5; 7 p.m. CT); vs. North Dakota State (1/7; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at St. Thomas (W, 58-56); at Western Illinois (L, 76-67)
The Coyotes moved to 3-1 in League play after they hit the road and beat St. Thomas but fell to Western Illinois ... Grace Larkins paced the Coyotes throughout the two road games as she averaged 15.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 3.0 spg, 2.5 apg and 1.5 bpg ... Against the Tommies, Larkins finished with a game-high 12 points and seven rebounds to pace a trio of Coyotes that finished with double figures in points ... Alexi Hempe and Walker Demers followed each finishing with 10 points apiece ... Larkins once again led the Coyotes against Western Illinois as she finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for her second consecutive collegiate double-double ... Demers was the only other Coyote to finish in double-digit points in the loss ... She tallied a season-high 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds coming off the bench for USD.
 
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS (11-5, 4-0 SL) | @GoJacksWBB
Next Up: vs. North Dakota State (1/5; 7 p.m. CT); vs. North Dakota (1/7; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Western Illinois (W, 85-63); at St. Thomas (W, 61-51)
South Dakota State remains undefeated in League play after defeating Western Illinois and St. Thomas on the road ... Tori Nelson guided the Jackrabbits in the two games as she averaged 14.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 3.0 apg in the wins ... In the victory over the Leathernecks, Paiton Burckhard led the scoring efforts with a season-high 19 points behind 7-for-13 shooting from the field ... She also tallied eight rebounds, four steals and three assists ... Myah Selland followed with 14 points and eight rebounds while Nelson recorded 13 points, six rebounds and five assists ... As a team, the Jacks shot 44.8 percent (30-for-67) from the field and knocked down eight three-pointers ... In the win against St. Thomas, Nelson surpassed the 1,000-point threshold finishing with a game-high 16 points for the Jackrabbits ... Selland and Paige Meyer followed her efforts finishing with 15 and 11 points, respectively, and five rebounds apiece ... with Selland’s 15 points against the Tommies, she now ranks fourth in SDSU history in career points (1,846) and tenth in Leauge history.
 
WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS (6-9, 1-3 SL) | @WIUWBB
Next Up: at Omaha (1/5; 7 p.m. CT); at Denver (1/7; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. South Dakota State (L, 85-63); vs. South Dakota (W, 76-67)
After dropping its League home opener to South Dakota State, Western Illinois notched its first League victory of the season over South Dakota ... Versus SDSU, Mallory McDermott led a trio of Leathernecks in double-figure scoring efforts as she recorded 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor and 4-for-6 from the three-point line ... Elizabeth Lutz and Addi Brownfield followed her efforts each finishing with 10 points ... Lutz also led the team in steals with four as well as tallied four rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks ... Against the Coyotes, the Leathernecks led wire-to-wire behind Anna Deets’ game-high 23 points and four rebounds ... Alissa Dins and Carla Flores followed Deets with double-figure points finishing with 13 points apiece, respectively ... Lutz led the defensive efforts as she finished with nine rebounds and two steals to go along with nine points and four assists ... As a team, the Leathernecks held South Dakota to just 32.7 percent (18-for-55) from the field and 26.7 percent (8-for-30) from behind the three-point line ... WIU also forced 19 USD turnovers to convert to 18 points for the Leathernecks.