SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Two of the hottest teams in the Summit League will square off Thursday night in Brookings when St. Thomas pays a visit to preseason favorite South Dakota State to highlight a full slate of conference games.
The Tommies have reeled off five straight wins, while the Jackrabbits have secured three straight as both squads resume their respective League slates after going 2-0 during the Big Sky-Summit Challenge a week ago.
St. Thomas improved its win total from year one at the Division I ranks to year two by six last season, going from 7-21 to 13-17 and the Tommies are well on their way to improving that again in year three with a 10-6 overall record and 14 more regular season games to play. The Jackrabbits, meanwhile, will look to extend their own League record as they have reeled off 32 consecutive wins against Summit foes in regular season play.
The Tommies are not the only League squad bringing a five-game winning streak into the week, however, as Oral Roberts can lay claim to that total as well. The Golden Eagles, who are off to the program's best start since 2002-03, will try to extend that to six with a road tilt Thursday at South Dakota, who split its opening two games in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge along with its first two League games as well.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Thursday, Jan. 11
Omaha at North Dakota* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at South Dakota State* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Oral Roberts at South Dakota* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Kansas City at North Dakota State* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, Jan. 13
Oral Roberts at St. Thomas* (SLN) | 12 p.m. CT
Kansas City at North Dakota* (SLN) | 1 p.m. CT
Omaha at North Dakota State* (SLN) | 1 p.m. CT
Denver at South Dakota State* (SLN) | 2 p.m. CT
Thursday, Jan. 18
North Dakota State at Denver* (SLN) | 6 p.m. MT
South Dakota State at Omaha* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
North Dakota at Oral Roberts* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
South Dakota at St. Thomas* (SLN) | 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, Jan. 20
North Dakota State at Oral Roberts* (SLN) | 12 p.m. CT
North Dakota at Denver* (SLN) | 1 p.m MT
Omaha at Kansas City* (SLN) | 2 p.m. CT
South Dakota at South Dakota State* (SLN) | 6 p.m. CT
Rankings: (AP/Coaches)
All times local to site
*Summit League game
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 (4-11, 1-1 SL) | @DU_WHoops
Next Up: at South Dakota State* (1/13; 2 p.m. CT); North Dakota State* (1/18; 6 p.m. MT)
Previous Games: Idaho (L, 60-51); at Northern Colorado (L, 59-56)
The Pioneers lost both games of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge and will look to regroup when they resume League action on the road against South Dakota State … In a nine-point home loss to Northern Colorado, Jordan Jones scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to post her third double-double of the season, while Emily Counsel added 16 points and a pair of blocks … The Pioneer defense held Idaho shooters to only 37.7 percent from the field … Jones led all Denver scorers with a team-high 20 points in a three-point road loss to Northern Colorado … Emma Smith tacked on 19 points on five made triples, while Makayla Minett grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds … Minett sits sixth in the league in both rebounds (111) and rebounds per game (6.8) ... DU has a week off after its tilt at SDSU before hosting North Dakota State next Thursday.
KANSAS CITY ROOS (9-8, 0-2 SL) | @KCRoosWBB
Next Up: at North Dakota State* (1/11; 7 p.m. CT); at North Dakota* (1/13; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Portland State (W, 75-56); at Weber State (W, 61-51)
After losing their previous three games, Kansas City bounced back with two wins in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, taking down both Portland State and Weber State … Against the Vikings, the Roos shot a season-high 62.7 percent from the field with Emani Bennett and Ifunanya Nwachukwu reached double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively … Kansas City used its ninth different starting lineup in the win over PSU and the Roos’ bench combined for 31 points … In the 10-point road win against Weber State, Alayna Contreras and Dominque Phillips both scored in the double digits … Contreras dropped a career-high 20 points and Phillips went 4-of-4 from the field and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe to finish with 14 … Contreras, who started her first game of the season against the Wildcats, played a career-high 37 minutes ... KC resumes League play with back-to-back road games Thursday at North Dakota State and Saturday at North Dakota.
NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (4-11, 0-2 SL) | @UNDwbasketball
Next Up: Omaha* (1/11; 7 p.m. CT); Kansas City* (1/13; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Idaho State (W, 78-72); Eastern Washington (L, 72-65)
The Fighting Hawks split their two games of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge with a road win at Idaho State and a home loss against Eastern Washington … Miranda VanderWal totaled a career-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks against the Bengals … Four other Fighting Hawks notched double-digit scoring efforts vs. ISU as Kacie Borowicz (16), Sammiyah Hoskin (13), Kiera Pemberton (13) and Kiyah Hurst (12) made up that quartet … Borowicz recorded four steals for the second time this season … North Dakota and Eastern Washington met for the first time since 2018 as Borowicz scored in double-digits for the sixth straight game and 11th game this season … She totaled a team-high 17 points with seven rebounds, two assists and one steal … Pemberton was the only other Fighting Hawk to reach double figures against the Eagles as she tallied 10 points on seven rebounds ... UND has a pair of home games this week as League play resumes with Omaha and Kansas City visiting Grand Forks Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON (7-7, 1-0 SL) | @NDSUwbb
Next Up: Kansas City* (1/11; 7 p.m. CT); Omaha* (1/13; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Montana State (L, 65-45); Northern Arizona (W, 99-73)
After a 20-point road loss to Montana State, North Dakota State bounced back with a commanding 26-point home triumph over Northern Arizona to split their two Big Sky-Summit Challenge games … Abbie Draper paced NDSU with a team-high 13 points with three rebounds, two blocks and one steal against the Bobcats … Abby Graham also chipped in a season-high 12 points, while Avery Koenen grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds at MSU … Against the Lumberjacks, four Bison reached double figures in scoring led by Elle Evans’ career-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 effort from beyond the arc … Heaven Hamling added 19 points with six rebounds, while Draper chipped in 16 points on six boards … NDSU shot a season-best 55.9 percent from the field and a season-high 54.5 percent from downtown in the win over NAU … The Bison resume League play with a pair of home games as Kansas City (Thursday) and Omaha (Saturday) visit Fargo.
OMAHA MAVERICKS (4-11, 0-2 SL) | @OmahaWBB
Next Up: at North Dakota* (1/11; 7 p.m. CT); at North Dakota State* (1/13; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Eastern Washington (L, 96-82); Montana (L, 81-60)
The Mavericks have now lost five straight games, including two games in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge to Eastern Washington and Montana … Although Omaha fell to the Eagles 96-82, Aaliyah Stanley had a remarkable outing with a game-high 32 points and was perfect from beyond the arc, going 6-of-6 … The fifth-year guard went 11-of-17 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe … Grace Cave followed with 15 points and four assists, while Polina Nikulochkina garnered 11 points on three rebounds … Deanay Watson secured a team and season-high 10 rebounds vs. the Eagles … Against the Grizzlies, Katie Keitges was the lone Maverick to score in double figures ... Kietges scored 17 points after going 6-of-11 from the field and 5-of-9 from behind the arc … As a team, Omaha shot 40 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from downtown vs. the Grizzlies ... The Mavericks hit the road as League play resumes with games Thursday at North Dakota and Saturday at North Dakota State.
ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES (11-4, 2-0 SL) | @ORUWBB
Next Up: at South Dakota* (1/11; 7 p.m. CT); at St. Thomas* (1/13; 12 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Northern Colorado (W, 81-80; OT); at Sacramento State (W, 56-51)
A five-game winning streak, including both games of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, has the Golden Eagles off to an 11-4 start, which is the program’s best since the 2002-03 campaign … Hannah Cooper scored her 1,000th career point and also hit the game-winning layup in overtime in ORU’s 81-80 defeat of Northern Colorado … She scored 11 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter and overtime … Jalei Oglesby led ORU in scoring with 18 points in just under 18 minutes of action … She scored 16 of those points during the fourth quarter and overtime on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor … Taleyah Jones (16), Ruthie Udoumoh (13) and Emily Robinson (11) rounded out a quintet of double-digit scorers for ORU ... In the 56-51 road win over Sacramento State, Jones led the way by scoring 18 points and racking up a career-high six steals … Udoumoh secured her seventh double-double of the season after scoring 12 points to go with 12 rebounds … Cooper pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds and added nine points, four assists and four steals … The Golden Eagles out-rebounded the Hornets 43-40 with 21 of their rebounds coming off the offensive glass … With the win, second-year head coach Kelsi Musick matcher her win total from a season ago ... ORU will look to stay hot on the road as they resume League play Thursday at South Dakota and Saturday at St. Thomas.
ST. THOMAS TOMMIES (10-6, 2-0 SL) | @TommieWBBall
Next Up: at South Dakota State* (1/11; 7 p.m. CT); Oral Roberts* (1/13; 12 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: Sacramento State (W, 70-52); at Portland State (W, 62-44)
St. Thomas had an impressive showing during the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, winning both games to extend its overall winning streak to five straight … In the 70-52 win against Sacramento State, Amber Scaia led the team with 22 points, going 9-of-10 from the free throw line to improve her free throw percentage to 88.8 on the season … Jade Hill added 15 points with three dimes in the win … Sammy Opichka notched a season-high 12 points with six rebounds and one steal against the Hornets … The Tommies fifth straight triumph came at Portland State where they won by 18 … Scalia led the team with a 16-point effort to go with four rebounds, four steals and three assists ... Hill scored 14 points, added two steals and dished out five assists … Jo Langnehn put up 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds vs. the Vikings … Scalia wrapped up the challenge, averaging 19.0 points on 50 percent shooting (11-of-22) from the floor ... The Tommies resume League play Thursday at preseason favorite South Dakota State before returning home to face ORU Saturday.
SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES (12-5, 1-1 SL) | @SDCoyotesWBB
Next Up: Oral Roberts* (1/11; 7 p.m. CT); at St. Thomas* (1/18; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Montana (W, 74-61); Idaho State (W, 73-47)
After a 74-61 road loss to Montana in the opening game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, South Dakota responded with a 73-47 home win against Idaho State … Against the Grizzlies, the Coyotes were led by Kendall Holmes’ 15 points as she connected on four 3-pointers … Walker Demers put together 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds against the Grizzlies, while Grace Larkins narrowly missed a triple-double with nine points, 14 rebounds and nine assists … Larkins recorded a double-double featuring 19 points and 11 rebounds in leading USD to a win over the Bengals … It was her third of the season and 11th of her career … The junior guard added six assists, one steal and one block to her stat line … Natalie Mazurek produced 12 points off the bench, was 5-of-7 from the floor and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds as USD won its 12th game of the campaign … The Coyotes return to League play Thursday at home against Oral Roberts before taking a week off.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS (9-5, 0-0 SL) | @GoJacksWBB
Next Up: St. Thomas* (1/11; 7 p.m. CT); Denver* 1/13 (2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Northern Arizona (W, 110-102; 20T); Montana State (W, 61-53)
Junior Paige Meyer helped the Jackrabbits to a 2-0 week, averaging 24.5 ppg and shooting at a 59.3 percent clip in a pair of wins during the Big Sky-Summit Challenge … Meyer led SDSU to a 110-102 double-overtime victory against Big Sky preseason favorite Northern Arizona by scoring a career-high 37 … She scored eight points during the Jacks’ comeback in the final five minutes of regulation, including the game-tying bucket with four seconds to play … Her 37 points is the most by a League player this season and the most for a Jackrabbit since 1987 … Brooklyn Meyer added 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for the Jackrabbits … Mesa Byom tallied 12 rebounds and five blocks in the contest, including six boards and four rejections in the combined overtime periods … In the 61-53 home win against Montana State, Madison Mathiowetz finished with 14 points and led SDSU in scoring for the third time this season … She grabbed six rebounds, which matched her career high, and dished three assists to go with two steals … Meyer added 12 points to go with three steals and a pair of assists … Brookyln Meyer rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points while recording seven rebounds and three blocks ... The Jackrabbits will resume League play with a pair of home games this week as St. Thomas visits Thursday and Denver visits Saturday.
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