SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- For some, it's a chance to reset their season. For others, it's a chance to keep the momentum from a strong pre-Christmas slate going.
The one certainty is Summit League play is upon us and eight women's basketball teams will be ready to begin their quest for a regular season title Friday with all four games appearing on the Summit League Network.
North Dakota and St. Thomas get things started with a Friday matinee at Schoenecker Arena with tip set for a 1 p.m. CT. These two teams split their regular season matchups a season ago.
North Dakota State, who was picked second in the preseason poll, and South Dakota, who selected third, highlight a trio of night games as the Bison arrive in Vermillion looking to snap the Coyotes' seven-game winning streak. South Dakota has made back-to-back appearances in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, movign up to No. 21 in the latest poll, after going 10-3 before the Christmas break.
Omaha travels to the Mile High City to take on Denver and open League play. The Mavericks have made runs to the Summit League Tournament title game in two of the past three seasons. Both teams are coming off 8-10 seasons in 2022-23.
Kansas City is already two wins shy of the nine the Roos put up a season ago. They will face an Oral Roberts squad, who at 7-4, is off to its best start since the 2017-18 season.
The reigning regular season and tournament champions will have to sit back and watch on opening day as South Dakota State will have wait a few extra days to get their Summit League play started. The Jackrabbits travel to Grand Forks to take on North Dakota in a New Year's Eve clash at Noon CT on CBS Sports Network.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Friday, Dec. 29
North Dakota at St. Thomas* (SLN) | 1 p.m. CT
Omaha at Denver* (SLN) | 6 p.m. MT
NDSU at South Dakota* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Kansas City at Oral Roberts* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Sunday, Dec. 31
SDSU at North Dakota* (CBSSN) | 12 p.m. CT
Denver at Oral Roberts* (SLN) | 2 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at Kansas City* (SLN) | 2 p.m. CT
South Dakota at Omaha* (SLN) | 2 p.m. CT
Wednesday, Jan. 3
Omaha at Eastern Washington# (ESPN+) | 4 p.m. PT
Idaho at Denver# (SLN) | 5 p.m. MT
NDSU at Montana State# (ESPN+) | 5:30 p.m. MT
SDSU at Northern Arizona# (ESPN+) | 6 p.m. MT
Northern Colorado at Oral Roberts# (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Portland State at Kansas City# (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Sacramento State at St. Thomas# (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
South Dakota at Montana# (ESPN+) | 7 p.m. MT
North Dakota at Idaho State# (ESPN+) | 7 p.m. MT
Saturday, Jan. 6
Kansas City at Weber State# (ESPN+) | 12 p.m. MT
Oral Roberts at Sacramento State# (ESPN+) | 12 p.m. PT
Northern Arizona at NDSU# (SLN) | 1 p.m. CT
Idaho State at South Dakota# (SLN) | 1 p.m. CT
Eastern Washington at North Dakota# (MS/SLN) | 1 p.m. CT
Denver at Northern Colorado# (ESPN+) | 2 p.m. MT
Montana State at SDSU# (SLN) | 2 p.m. CT
Montana at Omaha# (SLN) | 2 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at Portland State# (ESPN+) | 2 p.m. PT
Rankings: (AP/Coaches)
All times local to site
*Summit League game
# Big Sky-Summit Challenge
Key: FLO (FloSports), ESPN+ (ESPN Plus), SECN+ (Southeastern Conference Network Plus), SLN (Summit League Network), WDAYX (WDAY Xtra), WIU (GoLeathernecks.com/watch)
DENVER PIONEERS (3-8, 0-0 SL) | @DU_WHoops
Next Up: Omaha* (12/29; 6 p.m. MT); at Oral Roberts* (12/31; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Colorado Christian (W, 81-59); Saint Mary’s (L, 61-56)
The Pioneers open conference play with a home tilt against Omaha - a team they were swept by a season ago when DU finished 8-10 and was the No. 7 seed at the Summit League Championship ... Denver fell to Saint Mary’s 61-56 in its final tune-up before the Christmas break ... Sophomore Emma Smith broke out of a scoring slump to lead the Pioneers with a season-high 24 points against the Gaels ... It was her third 20-plus point scoring game but first double-digit outing of December after reaching that plateau in all six of DU’s games in November to open the season ... Smith continues to pace the team in scoring at 13.2 ppg and has three or more assists in 10 of 11 contests ... She also matched her season-high with five steals against Saint Mary’s ... Denver continues to hoist 3-pointers at the highest rate among Summit League teams and ranks second nationally, putting up right at 30.0 per game ... DU travels to Oral Roberts on New Year’s Eve to wrap up the opening weekend of League play.
KANSAS CITY ROOS (7-6, 0-0 SL) | @KCRoosWBB
Next Up: at Oral Roberts* (12/29; 7 p.m. CT); St. Thomas* (12/31; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Alabama A&M (W, 57-52); Kansas Christian (W, 121-37); at Missouri (L, 85-42)
Kansas City had a five-game winning streak snapped at Missouri in its final tune-up before opening League play ... The Roos, who are 7-6 overall, are looking to bounce back from a 3-15 Summit League campaign a season ago that saw them make a run to the Summit League Tournament semifinals as the No. 10 seed after upsetting No. 7 seed Denver and No. 2 seed North Dakota State ... Kansas City is averaging 67.9 ppg through 13 contests and getting more than half of that production from its bench ... The Roos’ reserves are scoring 35.4 ppg, which ranks fourth nationally ... Grand Canyon transfer Dominique Phillips has come off the bench in seven of the last eight for the Roos and is averaging 9.1 ppg ... She had a team-high 14 in the loss at Mizzou, marking the third time she’s reached double figures in a reserve role this season ... Kansas City begins League play with a road trip at Oral Roberts before heading home for a tilt with St. Thomas on New Year’s Eve.
NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (3-8, 0-0 SL) | @UNDwbasketball
Next Up: at St. Thomas* (12/29; 1 p.m. CT); South Dakota State* (12/31; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Mayville State (L, 75-68); Drake (L, 108-60)
The Fighting Hawks will look to snap a three-game skid with a win in their League opener at St. Thomas Friday ... UND split with St. Thomas a season ago en route to a third-place finish in the League standings with an 11-7 overall mark ... Senior Kacie Borowicz equaled her season-high with 29 points in a home loss to Drake in UND’s final tilt before the Christmas break ... Borowicz, who missed three games during December, pushed her season average to 20.1 ppg and is just seven points away from becoming UND’s all-time leading scorer at the Division I level ... She currently has 1,627 points, which is tops among all active Summit League players ... Sophomore Kiyah Hurts, who has also missed three games, is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 ppg ... Freshman Kiera Pemberton missed the Drake contest but has averaged 11.0 ppg since being inserted into the starting lineup four games ago ... UND will entertain South Dakota State on New Year’s Eve in a game slated for a Noon CT tip on CBS Sports Network.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON (5-6, 0-0 SL) | @NDSUwbb
Next Up: at South Dakota* (12/29; 7 p.m. CT); at Montana State (1/3; 5:30 p.m. MT)
Previous Games: at Drake (L, 77-67); at Iowa State (L, 89-59); Central Michigan (W, 67-57)
The Bison wrapped up the pre-Christmas slate with a 67-57 home win over Central Michigan to improve to 5-6 on the season ... NDSU opens Summit play at South Dakota on Dec. 29 after finishing second in conference play a season ago with a 12-6 record ... The Bison swept the Coyotes a season ago in a pair of games decided by a combined seven points ... Junior Abbey Draper led the Bison with 16 in the win over CMU - she had scored 15 total points in the last four contests ... Draper is averaging 8.7 ppg in her first season as a starter ... Heaven Hamling (12.9 ppg) and Elle Evans (12.1 ppg) have been the other mainstays in head coach Jory Collins’ lineup ... Hamling was held to single digits for just the second time in 11 starts against the Chippewas ... Evans had 11 in the victory while freshman Abby Krzewinski added a career-high 14 on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor ... NDSU plays only once during the opening weekend with a Big Sky-Summit Challenge matchup at Montana State next up on Jan. 3.
OMAHA MAVERICKS (4-7, 0-0 SL) | @OmahaWBB
Next Up: at Denver* (12/29; 6 p.m. MT); South Dakota* (12/31; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Texas Southern (W, 68-63); at (25/RV) TCU (L, 96-56)
The Mavericks split a pair of games in the Lone Star State to wrap up their pre-conference slate, earning a win at Texas Southern before falling to an unbeaten TCU squad ... Omaha tied for fifth in League play a season ago, improving their win total by five to finish 8-10 ... The Mavericks made a run to the title game as the No. 6 seed after doing the same as the No. 8 seed at the 2021 Summit League Tournament at the Pentagon ... The Mavericks are paced in scoring by Aliyah Stanley, who is the top scoring reserve in the Summit League (11.2 ppg) ... Stanley has come off the bench in the last six games for Omaha and scoring 13.5 ppg in those contests ... Senior Katie Keitges is the lone Maverick to start all 11 games this season and is scoring a career-high 6.7 ppg ... Juniors Kennedi Grant (10.8 ppg) and Grace Cave (10.7 ppg) are also averaging double figures for head coach Carrie Banks ... Omaha opens League play at Denver where they won a season ago and swep the Pioneers in the regular season ... The Mavericks host South Dakota on NYE.
ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES (7-4, 0-0 SL) | @ORUWBB
Next Up: Kansas City* (12/29; 7 p.m. CT); Denver* (12/31; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: USAO (W, 94-67); (12/16); Kansas State (L, 102-59); Wichita State (W, 76-74)
The Golden Eagles are off to their best start since the 2017-18 season at 7-4 ... The seventh win came in exciting fashion as ORU rallied from a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Wichita State 76-74 on a driving layup by Megan Weinrich with five seconds to play ... Weinrich’s layup capped a 31-point fourth quarter for the visitors ... Senior forward Ruthie Udoumoh registered her fourth straight double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds ... Udoumoh had 12 of her points in the final stanza and now shares the Summit League lead with five double-doubles on the season ... The Golden Eagles were the highest-scoring team in the League before the break, averaging 82.2 ppg ... ORU was part of a three-way tie for fifth in the League standings a season ago in head coach Kelsi Musick’s first season at the helm ... The Golden Eagles open League play with back-to-back home games as Kansas City and Denver both visit Tulsa ... ORU split with the Roos a season ago, while sweeping the Pioneers.
ST. THOMAS TOMMIES (6-6, 0-0 SL) | @TommieWBBall
Next Up: North Dakota* (12/29; 1 p.m. CT); at Kansas City* (12/31; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Wisconsin (L, 78-55); Wisconsin-Stevens Point (W, 82-49)
The Tommies evened up their pre-Christmas record at 6-6 with a 82-49 win over Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Dec. 16 ... UST will be coming off a nearly two-week break from action when the Tommies open League play at home against a North Dakota squad it split with a season ago on Dec. 29 ... Jo Langbehn matched her season-high with 19 in the win over UW-Stevens Point as head coach Ruth Sinn played her starters for just a short stretch after halftime ... Langbehn went 6-for-6 from the field and is shooting an impressive 73.9 percent from the field in 12 starts (65-88), which ranks second among all Division I players ... Langbehn’s 12.7 ppg average is 10th among Summit League scorers and she is joined in the top 10 by teammates Amber Scalia (16.2 ppg; 2nd) and Jade Hill (14.0 ppg; 6th) ... As a team, the Tommies are shooting 44.0 percent from the floor, good for second among League squads, and tops the team charts in free throw percentage at 79.4 percent ... UST wraps up the opening weekend at Kansas City on NYE.
SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES (10-3, 0-0 SL) | @SDCoyotesWBB
Next Up: North Dakota State* (12/29; 7 p.m. CT); at Omaha* (12/31; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Mount Marty (W, 100-35); at UT Martin (W, 80-74); Bradley (W, 68-47)
The Coyotes bring a seven-game winning streak into League play where they will face a North Dakota State that was picked to finish second in the preseason poll ... USD, who moved up to No. 21 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, earned its seventh straight win by racing past Bradley 68-47 due to a dominant fourth quarter where the Coyotes outscored the Braves 25-6 ... Grace Larkins now tops the Summit League scoring charts with a 16.7 ppg clip among qualified scorers after she put in 20 against the Braves ... For Larkins, the 20-plus point scoring game was her fourth of the season ... She also ranks among the top five Summit League players in rebounding (6.6/g; t5th) and assists (4.8/g; 1st) ... Saginaw Valley State transfer Tori DePerry added 13 against Bradley to post her seventh double-digit scoring game of the season ... DePerry has started the last six contests (6-0) for the Coyotes ... Depaul transfer Kendall Holmes has reached double figures in a season-best three consecutive games after scoring 12 against the Braves ... Holmes is averaging 15.0 ppg during that stretch to bring her season average to 10.3 ppg.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS (6-5, 0-0 SL) | @GoJacksWBB
Next Up: at North Dakota* (12/31; 1 p.m. CT); at Northern Arizona (1/3; 6 p.m. MT)
Previous Games: at (20/20) Gonzaga (L, 83-58); at (21/21) Creighton (L, 58-46)
The Jackrabbits dropped back-to-back road clashes at top-25 opponents leading into the Christmas break ... SDSU returns to action on New Year’s Eve against North Dakota in a game slated for CBS Sports Network at Noon CT ... In the 58-46 loss at (21/21) Creighton, the Jackrabbits jumped out to a 19-11 lead after a strong first quarter but the Bluejays rallied to take a 29-23 lead at the break and never trailed again ... Brooklyn Meyer, who is fourth among League scorers with a 15.4 ppg average, led the way with 12 points and Tori Nelson added 10 vs. Creighton ... SDSU has been top defensive team in pre-Christmas play, holding opponents to just 58.8 ppg during a 6-5 start that has seen the Jackrabbits face four top-25 opponents ... Meyer and Nelson share the lead among League players in total blocks (21) and blocks per game (1.9) ... SDSU will open the Big Sky-Summit Challenge with a tilt at Northern Arizona on Jan. 3.
#SUMMITWBB
