SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – It is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Summit League Women’s Basketball is back! The 2023-24 women’s basketball collegiate season tips off Monday with all nine of our teams stepping onto the court. The season-opening week will feature two matchups between our Summit League teams and a top-25 nationally-ranked opponent.
 
North Dakota State and South Dakota will both face #22/23 Creighton during the opening week. North Dakota State will face the Bluejays on opening day in Sioux Falls, S.D. at 6 p.m. CT.
 
On Friday, Nov. 10, South Dakota will make the trip to Omaha, Neb., to meet Creighton at 11:30 a.m. CT.
 
FanMaker
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TEAM TRACKER
DENVER PIONEERS (0-0, 0-0 SL) | @DU_WHoops
Next Up: at Air Force (11/7; 5 p.m. MT); at North Alabama (11/10; 5 p.m. MT); vs. Wyoming (11/14; 6 p.m. MT)
Previous Games: vs. No. 10 Kansas City (L, 66-65; Summit League first round)
Denver returns one of three starters from last season including 2022-23 Summit League Defensive Player of the Year Makayla Minett ... Minett helped the Pioneers become the best blocking team in the League last season with an average of 4.6 bpg ... She sat atop the League in blocks per game (2.9) and total blocks (52) while ranking ninth nationally in blocks per game and 13th in total blocks ... The Pioneers will also see nine newcomers to the roster including transfers Laila McLeod (Grand Canyon) and Lauren With (UIndy) as well as freshman Emari Doby, Reagan Pahl and Alaisha Brown ... Doby and Pahl are a pair of All-State honorable mention selections while Brown is a 1,000 point scorer and All-Region pick.
 
KANSAS CITY ROOS (0-0, 0-0 SL) | @KCRoosWBB
Next Up: vs. Bradley (11/6; 11 a.m. CT); at UTEP (11/11; 5 p.m. CT); vs. Utah State (11/14; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. No. 6 Omaha (L, 69-60; Summit League semifinals)
The Roos are coming off a season that saw an impressive post-season run last March that saw the tenth-seeded Roos qualify for the Summit League semifinals after defeating No. 7 Denver and second-seeded North Dakota State under the direction of first-year head coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett ... Kansas City looks to capitalize on that momentum this season with a roster that will see three returners and 12 new players: eight transfers and four freshmen... Returning from last season’s roster are Tamia Ugass, Jocelyn Ewell and Zaire Harrell ... Ugass started 13 games last season for the Roos and averaged 7.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg and shot 43.6 percent from the field ... In League play, she ranked ninth in the League in rebounds per game and 18th in blocks per game ... Ewell started in all 29 games she played in last season and averaged 6.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 1.3 bpg while shooting 59.0 percent from the field to lead the team … During her freshman campaign, Harrell appeared in 29 games and averaged 14.6 minutes per game, 1.0 ppg and 1.9 rpg.
 
NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (0-0, 0-0 SL) | @UNDwbasketball
Next Up: at Wyoming (11/6; 7:30 p.m. CT); vs. Grand Canyon (11/11; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. FIU (L, 76-73; WBI consolation championship)
For the second-consecutive season, North Dakota was tabbed to finish fourth in the 2023-24 Summit League Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which is the highest the Fighting Hawks has been ranked since joining the League ... North Dakota is coming off a season that saw them finish the League regular season with an 11-7 record and the No. 3 seed at the Summit League Tournament, the highest seed since joining the League ... The Fighting Hawks will be led by fifth-year guard and 2023-24 Summit League Preseason Player of the Year Kacie Borowicz ... Borowicz is a back-to-back All-Summit League first team honoree and averaged a team-best 19.4 ppg, 4.8 apg and 1.7 spg while pulling down 4.0 rpg for UND last season ... Her points per game and assists per game ranked second in the League.
 
NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON (0-0, 0-0 SL) | @NDSUwbb
Next Up: vs. #23/22 Creighton (11/6; 6 p.m. CT); vs. Jamestown (11/9; 5 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Oregon (L, 96-57; WNIT)
The Bison are headed into the 2023-24 season predicted to finish second in the League according to the Summit League Preseason Coaches’ Poll ... It is the highest preseason poll ranking in program history since joining the League in 2007-08 ... North Dakota State was the only team in the League to have multiple first team preseason All-Summit League selections in Heaven Hamling and Elle Evans ... Hamling led the Bison during League play last season averaging 17.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 3.9 apg ... She ranked fourth in the League in points per game and in three-point field goal percentage (35.3 percent) ... Evans, last season’s Freshman of the Year, started in 17 of 18 League games for the Bison, reaching double digits in the scoring column in 15 of her 17 starts ... During League play, she averaged 13.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 1.3 apg ... As a squad, the Bison finished the 2022-23 season with the most wins since 2004-05 with an 18-12 overall record ... They also made their first ever appearance in the WNIT.
 
OMAHA MAVERICKS (0-0, 0-0 SL) | @OmahaWBB
Next Up: vs. Illinois State (11/6; 5 p.m. CT); vs. College of Saint Mary (11/8; 7 p.m. CT); at Northwestern (11/12; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. No. 1 South Dakota State (L, 93-51; Summit League championship)
Omaha is coming off a season that saw the Mavericks make the Summit League championship game as the No. 6 seed ... It was the second time in three seasons that the Mavericks made an appearance in the championship game ... They finished last season with a 15-17 overall record and an 8-10 League record ... Key returners for Omaha include Grace Cave, Aaliyah Stanley and Kennedi Grant ... Cave made 30 starts last season and finished the season with a career-best 40.6 percent from the field, 80.2 percent at the charity stripe and 30.3 from behind the arc ... She finished in the top 25 in the League with 11.0 ppg and 4.9 rpg ... Stanley was second on the team and 14th in the League with 11.3 ppg, shot 38.6 percent overall from the floor and 34.1 percent from the three-point line ... Grant finished the season with 10.3 ppg and 3.4 rpg ... The Mavericks will also have four newcomers this season consisting of three freshman and senior transfer Liz Martino (Riverdale Baptist) ... As a team, Omaha ranked 14th nationally and led the League in free throw percentage as the Mavericks finished the season with 78.5 percent.
 
ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES (0-0, 0-0 SL) | @ORUWBB
Next Up: at TCU (11/6; 4 p.m. CT); vs. Friends (11/9; 11 a.m. CT); at Oklahoma (11/12; 12 p.m. CT); vs. MACU (11/14; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. No. 1 South Dakota State (L, 87-60; Summit League semifinals)
Oral Roberts will be under the director of second-year head coach Kelsie Musick who guided the Golden Eagles to the semifinals of the Summit League tournament in her first season with Oral Roberts ... Headlining the returners for the Golden Eagles is All-Summit League first team and All-Defensive team selection Hannah Cooper ... Cooper led the League in points per game (20.4) and free throws made (105) ... Overall she ranked in the top 20 nationally in free throw attempts (14th – 211), free throws (13th – 169) and points per game (20th – 20.3) ... She scored double digits in all but one game she played in last season … She turned in fifteen 20-plus point games, four of which were 30-plus point games ... Also returning for ORU is preseason All-Summit League second team honoree Ruthie Udoumoh ... During her first season with the Golden Eagles, Udoumoh averaged 11.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 2.5 apg during League play ... She started 17 of 18 League games and reached double digits in the scoring column in 11 of the 18 games.
 
ST. THOMAS TOMMIES (0-0, 0-0 SL) | @TommieWBBall
Next Up: at Drake (11/6; 6 p.m. CT); vs. UW-River Falls (11/11; 3 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. No. 1 South Dakota State (L, 87-59; Summit League quarterfinals)
In just their second season in Division I, the Tommies finished last season with a 13-17 overall record and a 7-11 League record ... As the No. 8 seed, the Tommies were victorious in their Summit League Women’s Basketball tournament debut after having defeated ninth-seeded Western Illinois in the first round ... They met top-seeded South Dakota State in the quarterfinals where their season came to a close ... Ahead of the 2023-24 season, St. Thomas was picked to finish eighth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches’ Poll ... The Tommies return 11 players including three starters return from last season’s squad: Jordyn Glynn, Jade Hill and Jo Langbehn ...  Glynn played in all 30 games last year and averaged 3.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 1.5 apg ... Hill, poured in an average of 11.3 ppg and 3.1 rpg last season while ranking second on the team for most points (338) and third for most field goals (119) ... Langbehn averaged 11.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg and shot 66.7 percent from the charity stripe.
 
SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES (0-0, 0-0 SL) | @SDCoyotesWBB
Next Up: vs. Northern State (11/6; 5:30 p.m. CT); at #22/23 Creighton (11/10; 11:30 a.m. CT); vs. Northern Colorado (11/14; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: vs. No. 5 Oral Roberts (L, 92-69; Summit League quarterfinals)
South Dakota was picked third in the 2023-24 Summit League Preseason Coaches’ Poll after coming off an injury-hampered season that left only eight avaliable players at times throughout the season ... From last season’s roster, the Coyotes return 11 including four of five starters ... Grace Larkins and Carley Duffney, both named to the preseason All-Summit League first and second teams highlight the 11 returners for South Dakota ... Larkins, the 2021-22 Sixth Woman of the Year, paced the Coyotes during League action last season averaging 18.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 4.9 apg and 2.1 spg ... She had eight double-doubles and flirted with a triple-double six times last season ... Larkins, and National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark, were the only two players in the nation to averaged at least 17.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 4.0 apg last season ... Duffney was the second-best scorer for the Coyotes during her first year in the red and white ... She averaged 12.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, and 1.7 apg during League play and had the second-highest free throw percentage in the League (88.5 percent).
 
RV SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS (0-0, 0-0 SL) | @GoJacksWBB
Next Up: vs. Arkansas State (11/6; 6 p.m. CT); at Wisconsin (11/14; 6:30 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at No. 1 Virginia Tech (L, 72-60; NCAA Tournament second round)
Preseason favorite South Dakota State finished the 2022-23 League season with an 18-0 record, going unbeaten for the second time in three years ... The Jacks’ undefeated League record was the fourth in the history of the Summit League and they were the first team to go 18-0 since 1993-94. SDSU finished the 2022-23 campaign 29-6 overall ... During the 2022-23 season, South Dakota State made its 11th trip to the NCAA Division I Tournament in 15 seasons of postseason eligibility and first trip since 2021 ... The Jacks earned the automatic bid to the Big Dance by winning their 10th League tournament trophy ... In the statistical rankings, the Jackrabbits ranked among the nation’s top 20 in 11 categories: assist/turnover ratio (17th), assists per game (19th), bench points per game (18th), field goal percentage (8th), free throw attempts per game (15th), free throws made per game (10th), rebound margin (8th), defensive rebounds per game (14th), scoring margin (6th), scoring offense (13th) and winning percentage (14th) ... Paige Meyer and Tori Nelson represented the Jackrabbits on the preseason All-Summit League first and second teams ... Meyer played in 23 games last season after missing the entire non-conference slate coming back from a season-ending injury in 2021-22 ... In League play, she ranked first on the team in assists per game (3.2), second in steals (1.4) and fourth in points per game (9.6) ... Nelson, started all 35 games for the Jackrabbits last season. Against League competition, she averaged 7.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 2.2 apg while ranking second on the team in blocks with 16.