Week two is in the books on the women's side of the Summit League with the Dakota schools continuing to separate at the top of the pack. Here are three teams trending up and two under-the-radar stories to look back on ahead of the third week of League play. 
 
Trending up: Leathernecks join the winning party
J.D. Gravina, with a typical dash of fun, lamented that his first opponent following the Christmas break, the League-leading Jackrabbits, hadn't gotten caught up in Southwest Airlines' meltdown over the holiday season ahead of their Thursday visit to Macomb. SDSU arrived on time and continued their winning ways, but by the end of the week, the Leathernecks had turned the tables and notched their first League victory thanks to a triumph over the other defending co-regular season champion -- South Dakota. 
 
WIU's 76-67 win over the Coyotes was much-needed, helping wash away an opening stanza of League play that featured three double digit-losses and an especially tough shooting night at North Dakota a week ago. Neither team shot the lights out last Saturday in Macomb, but the Leathernecks hit some well-timed three-pointers to jump out to an early lead, and then saw Carla Flores (13 points) hit a pair of clutch shots to keep the Yotes at bay early in the fourth. 
 
Anna Deets was tremendous (23 points) and freshman Addi Brownfield got the first start of her career as Leathernecks notched their first win over USD since 2017. Gravina talked about what he had seen from his team in a release.
 
"We moved the ball way better, moved without the ball way better, and I definitely think that went a long way… Our kids just came out and battled and that's really fun as a coach."
 
Trending up: North Dakota State is streaking again
Streaking in the right direction, that is. 
 
The Bison getting their first three Summit games at home was a welcome sight, considering they entered league play losers of four straight, and having played the previous six games away from Fargo. They swept that three-game homestand, putting an exclamation mark on it with the thrilling win over UND that came down to the final minute. 
 
Over those three games, Heaven Hamling remained transcendent, Emily Behnke nearly averaged a double-double (9.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and NDSU dominated the offensive glass. The Bison are also currently second in the league in both effective field goal percentage offense (49.1%) and defense (37.3%). That's a potent combination but one that will get put to the immediate test when NDSU heads back out on the road to, of all places, Brookings. 
 
If ever there was an opportunity to put those road demons to bed, it certainly presents itself against the Jackrabbits on Thursday night.
 
Trending up: Oral Roberts gets home, gets healthy
For roughly 74 percent of this conference season things have gone swimmingly for ORU, and that's scientific. 
 
The Golden Eagles got their first two wins of the season with a rather dominant home sweep of Omaha and Denver, putting an ugly loss at South Dakota – where they could not get anything going offensively – in the rearview mirror. Tirzah Moore returned and was back to her usual self (15.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg in the two games), while transfer forward Ruthie Uduomoh had arguably the best – or most complete – game of her young Golden Eagle career against the Mavericks (16 points, 12 rebounds). 
 
The Moore/Uduomoh-led dominance on the glass, and a season-high 55.2 percent shooting night against Denver, must have been important confidence builders for a team that struggled in both areas against the Yotes. A string of road games at Kansas City, Western Illinois and St. Thomas should be telling about whether Hannah Cooper and the Golden Eagles can separate from the pack and contend with the Dakota schools. 
 
Under the radar: St. Thomas muddies the water against the Jackrabbits
Over the summer, Ruth Sinn talked to me about how the Tommies needed to take that next competitive step in their second year in Division I. And while they are off to an 0-4 conference start, they can take some solace in being able to threaten SDSU throughout an ugly game last weekend in St. Paul. 
 
With the Jackrabbits shooting just 36.8 percent from the field, their lowest mark of the year other than games against No. 1 South Carolina and Washington State, which is currently No. 49 in the NET, the Tommies had a real chance to get their marquee win as they pulled within three points early in the fourth quarter. It did not result in overall win, but still is a small victory they can take from this game. 
 
Under the radar: Mary Wilson breaks out during block party
Getting a light shined on you when your teammate gets a points/blocks double-double (as Makayla Minett did with 10 blocks against the Roos) speaks for itself. Minett and Ally Haar were crucial to the Pios fighting back in their win against Kansas City, but it was Mary Wilson that shot the cover off the ball with a career-high 25 points on 7-10 three-point shooting.
 
"I trust in my teammates to get me the ball and they did that tonight. And, if they weren't able to get me the ball, I wouldn't have been able to hit those shots," she said after the game. 
 
Doshia Woods does not want her players to be shy about shooting from distance, and Wilson's microwave performance, which she followed by sinking four three's against ORU, should draw attention from opponents' the rest of the season.