SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The first month of the college basketball season is behind us and Summit League play is looming in just three short weeks. There is plenty to fine-tune between now and then but a couple of squads that got off to slow starts were able to find the win column in back-to-back settings to give them a little push into the last month of the calendar year.
North Dakota found back-to-back wins for the first time this season as Kiyah Hurst led the way with the first two 20-plus point scoring games of her career. Kansas City achieved the same feat to kickstart this final stretch of non-conference play.
The hottest team in the League, however, is South Dakota, who has reeled off three straight wins under the direction of second-year head coach Kayla Karius including an overtime-thriller at Loyola Marymount that saw the Coyotes erase an eight-point fourth quarter deficit.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Thursday, Dec. 7
North Dakota at Eastern Illinois (ESPN+) | 12 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at Milwaukee (ESPN+) | 7 p.m. CT
Friday, Dec. 8
North Dakota State at Drake (ESPN+) | 11 a.m. CT
Saturday, Dec. 9
Stetson at Denver (SLN) | 1 p.m. MT
South Dakota State at Northern Iowa (ESPN+) | 2 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at Purdue Fort Wayne (ESPN+) | 3 p.m. CT
Sunday, Dec. 10
Dickinson State at South Dakota (SLN) | 1 p.m. CT
Peru State at Omaha (SLN) | 2 p.m. CT
Wesetern Illinois at Kansas City (SLN) | 2 p.m. CT
North Dakota State at Iowa State (ESPN+) | 5 p.m. CT
Monday, Dec. 11
Oklahoma Wesleyan at Oral Roberts (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Tuesday, Dec. 12
Dordt at South Dakota State (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Rankings: (AP/Coaches)
All times local to site
# Multi-Team Event
Key: FLO (FloSports), ESPN+ (ESPN Plus), SECN+ (Southeastern Conference Network Plus), SLN (Summit League Network), WDAYX (WDAY Xtra), WIU (GoLeathernecks.com/watch)
TEAM TRACKER
DENVER PIONEERS (1-6, 0-0 SL) | @DU_WHoops
Next Up: Stetson (12/9; 1 p.m. MT); at Texas State (12/14; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Loyola Marymount (L, 79-61); at UC Irvine (L, 50-47)
The Pioneers dropped a pair of tilts in the Golden State to fall to 1-6 on the season ... Emma Smith led DU with 20 points against LMU ... For Smith, it was the second 20-plus point game of her season and sixth straight double-digit scoring game to open the season ... Smith did have that streak stopped in the 50-47 loss at UC Irvine the next time out but ranks among the League’s top 10 scorers (7th; 14.0 ppg) along with teammate Jordan Jones (9th; 13.1 ppg) ... Senior Emily Counsel picked up the scoring slack with a season-high 18 against the Anteaters ... Counsel equaled her season-high with four 3-pointers and five rebounds in that contest ... DU returns home to face Stetson in a Saturday afternoon tilt.
KANSAS CITY ROOS (4-5, 0-0 SL) | @KCRoosWBB
Next Up: Western Illinois (12/10; 2 p.m. CT); Alabama A&M (12/14; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Arkansas State (W, 62-57); Bellevue (W, 84-34)
Kansas City has won back-to-back games for the first time this season thanks to a 62-57 home win over Akansas State and an 84-34 thumping of Bellevue ... In the win over the Redwolves, Nariyah Simmons led the Roos with 16 points to record her fourth double-digit scoring game of the season ... Simmons also dished out a season-high five assists ... Freshman Emani Bennett added 11 points in what was her fifth straigth start ... Bennett is averaging 12.6 ppg during that stretch after scoring just 2.8 ppg in four appearances off the bench to begin her rookie season ... The Roos raced out to 25-4 after one quarter in the rout of Bellevue ... Missouri State transfer Ifunanya Nwachukwu scored a season-high 14 points to lead a group of 11 Roos that scored at least four points in the win ... Kansas City remains at home to face former Summit League foe Western Illinois Sunday.
NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (3-5, 0-0 SL) | @UNDwbasketball
Next Up: at Eastern Illinois (12/7; 1 p.m. ET); Mayville State (12/15; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Minot State (W, 82-53); Eastern Michigan (W, 64-56)
After starting the season 1-5, the Fighting Hawks won back-to-back games for the first time this season with home wins over Minot State and Eastern Michigan ... UND did so without the services of Summit League-leading scorer Kacie Borowicz (19.3 ppg), who missed both of those contests ... Sophomore Kiyah Hurst, who has returned after missing the opening three games of the season, picked up the scoring slack with the first two 20-plus point outings of her career ... Against the Beavers, Hurst went for 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting and led the way with eight rebounds ... In the win over EMU, Hurst recorded her first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds ... Freshman Kiera Pemberton also hit double-figures in both of those wins, going for 12 against Minot State and 13 against the Eagles ... UND has a Thursday matinee slated at Eastern Illinois before returning home to face Mayville State next Friday.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON (4-4, 0-0 SL) | @NDSUwbb
Next Up: at Drake (12/8; 11 a.m. CT); at Iowa State (12/10; 5 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Eastern Michigan (W, 93-73); Mayville State (W, 91-68)
The Bison picked up back-to-back home wins to push their overall record to the .500 mark at 4-4 ... NDSU won both tilts by 20-plus as Heaven Hamling led five Bison in double figures with a season-high 23 points in the 93-73 win over Eastern Michigan ... Hamling also recorded her second dobule-double of the season after leading all players with 10 boards against the Eagles ... Hamling added 12 points in the 91-68 win over Mayville State and has her season average up to 12.9 ppg after hitting double figures for the seventh straight game ... It was Hamling’s younger sister, Taryn, who led NDSU in scoring against the Comets ... The freshman had scored 13 total points in four previous appearances but went for 18 off the bench, going 6-for-11 from distance to more than double her season-scoring output ... NDSU heads to Iowa for its next two games starting with a tilt at Drake on Friday afternoon.
OMAHA MAVERICKS (2-6, 0-0 SL) | @OmahaWBB
Next Up: Peru State (12/10; 2 p.m. CT); at Texas Southern (12/18; 5:30 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: UIC (L, 95-89); at Western Illinois (L, 78-75)
The Mavericks churned out 82.0 ppg over their last two contests but came up empty in the win column as UIC held on for a 95-89 road win and former Summit League foe Western Illinois rallied for a 78-75 win in Macomb ... The 89 points against the Flames matched Omaha’s season-high as Aailayah Stanley erupted for a career-high 33 points on the strength of 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc ... Stanley did her scoring damage off the bench in just 24 minutes ... Kennedi Grant added 17 for the Mavericks and led the way against WIU with 19 points ... Stanley hit double figures again off the bench vs. the Leathernecks, going for 13 and has her season average up to a team-leading 12.0 ppg, which is tops among Summit League players who have started less than half of their team’s games ... Omaha plays Peru State Sunday at home.
ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES (4-3, 0-0 SL) | @ORUWBB
Next Up: Oklahoma Wesleyan (12/11; 7 p.m. CT); USAO (12/14; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Tulsa (W, 93-87); at UTRGV (W, 72-63); at (10/11) Texas (L, 112-74)
The Golden Eagles had their three-game winning streak snapped against a talented Texas squad as the (10/11) Longhorns dealt ORU a 112-74 setback ... Taleyah Jones paced the Golden Eagles with a season-high 23 points ... It was the third 20-plus scoring game of the season for the UT Arlington transfer ... Jones currently sits fifth in the League in scoring and is tops among all newcomers with a 16.0 ppg clip ... Ruthie Uduomoh added 13 points and eight rebounds against Texas and ranks second among League players with a 7.7 rpg ... ORU has been off since the loss to the now fifth-ranked Longhorns and and it will be 11 days between games for the 4-3 Golden Eagles ... They will return to action with back-to-back home games against Oklahoma Wesleyan Monday and USAO Thursday.
ST. THOMAS TOMMIES (3-5, 0-0 SL) | @TommieWBBall
Next Up: at Milwaukee (12/7; 7 pm. CT); at Purdue Fort Wayne (12/9; 3 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Iowa State (L, 85-44); at Western Illinois (L, 82-78)
St. Thomas hosted its first Power-5 program last week when Iowa State paid a visit to Schoenecker Arena but the Cyclones were not kind to the Tommies, dealing the home team an 85-44 setback ... Amber Scalia (10) and Jade Hill (11) each reached double figures as those two continue to be the highest-scoring tandem in the League, averaging 16.5 ppg and 15.6 ppg, respectively ... Those two played well again vs. WIU with Hill going for 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and a career-high six steals, which are the most by a Summit League player in a game this season ... Scalia added 14 points and four assists ... The Tommies led by three going into the final quater but the Leathernecks were able to outscore the visitors 26-19 to rally for the win ... The Tommies hit the road for a pair of games at Horizon League foes starting Thursday at Milwaukee.
SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES (6-3, 0-0 SL) | @SDCoyotesWBB
Next Up: Dickinson State (12/10; 1 p.m. CT); Mount Marty (12/13; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Northern Iowa (W, 84-65); at Loyola Marymount (W, 78-73; OT)
The Coyotes have reeled off three straight wins and top all Summit League teams with six non-conference triumphs so far ... Junior Grace Larkins has played tremendous during the three-game winning streak, averaging 23.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 5.0 apg ... Larkins earned her first TicketSmarter weeky honor of the season after scoring 28 in a home win over Northern Iowa and 12 of her 25 in the fourth quarter of an overtime win at Loyola Marymount ... The Altoona, Iowa native also added her first double-double of the season, pulling down 11 boards against the Panthers ... Graduate transfer Tori DePerry earned the first two starts of her Coyotes’ career in the wins over UNI and LMU ... DePerry is second on the team in scoring at 10.8 ppg ... Alexi Hempe hit double figures off the bench in those two wins as well, scoring 13 and 12, respectively ... Against the Lions, her 3-pointer with five seconds to play in regulation forced the extra session ... USD will return home to face Dickinson State Sunday.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS (4-3, 0-0 SL) | @GoJacksWBB
Next Up: at Northern Iowa (12/9; 2 p.m. CT); Dordt (12/12; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Washburn (W, 95-58); (21/22) Washington State (L, 69-64)
The Jackrabbits are coming off a split of two home games, trouncing Washburn 95-58 before falling 69-64 to (21/22) Washington State - a team that improved to 9-1 with the win ... Against Washburn, Brooklyn Meyer led six SDSU players in double figures with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor ... All five starters scored at least 10 points while Mesa Byom added her double-digit scoring game of the season with 11 off the bench ... In the tight tilt with the Cougars, Paige Meyer scored a season-high 23 points and went 9-for-9 from the foul line but the Jackrabbits could never claw their way back from an early 17-9 deficit ... The Albany, Minn., native’s 20-plus point game was her first of the season and first since her freshman season when she had 22 at Kansas City on Dec. 20 to open Summit League play ... Brooklyn Meyer added 16 and currently ranks second among League scorers with 17.9 ppg and first in rebounding at 9.7 rpg ... The Jacks are back on the road to take on Northern Iowa Saturday afternoon.
#SUMMITWBB
