SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Much like on the men's side, a matchup between preseason favorites highlights the opening night of the the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, which gets underway with nine contests Wednesday.

South Dakota State (7-6, 1-0), the Summit League preseason favorite, will venture to Northern Arizona (9-3, 1-0 BSC) to take on a Lumberjacks' squad that has won five straight and was picked by the Big Sky's media to win that conference's title. These two programs have never met on the hardwood but that will change when they meet at the Walkup Skydome.

Wednesday's nine games and Saturday's nine games will all be streamed by each conferences' digital partner. The Summit League home games will be streamed on the Summit League Network, while the Big Sky home games will be streamed on ESPN+.

Both conference's men's and women's basketball programs are competing in a total of 36 games with a trophy being awarded to the conference with the most points. Home wins are worth a single point, while road wins are worth 1.5 points.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
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# (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

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

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)

TEAM TRACKER
DENVER PIONEERS (4-9, 1-1 SL) | @DU_WHoops
Next Up: Idaho (1/3; 5 p.m. MT); at Northern Colorado (1/6; 2 p.m. MT)
Previous Games: Omaha* (W, 81-63); at Oral Roberts* (L, 95-64)
The Pioneers stand at 1-1 in League play after picking up a home win over Omaha and a loss at Oral Roberts ... Jordan Jones paced the efforts for the Pioneers averaging 17.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg and 3.5 apg through two games ... Against the Mavericks, Jones led the way with a game-high 23 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, while Emma Smith added 20 points … Angelina Robles chipped in with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists … Denver outrebounded Omaha 44-26 and the Pioneers’ defense held the Mavericks to just 36.4 percent from the field … In the loss to ORU, Robles notched 14 points and four assists, while Jones tacked on 12 points … The Denver bench had a 21-point showing against the Golden Eagles ... DU will open the Big Sky-Summit Challenge with a home game against Idaho then take to the road to play at nearby Northern Colorado Saturday ... The Pioneers are 0-4 all-time against the Vandals and will be playing the Bears for the 51st time ... UNC owns a 27-23 edge in that all-time series. 

KANSAS CITY ROOS (7-8, 0-2 SL) | @KCRoosWBB
Next Up: Portland State (1/3; 7 p.m. CT); at Weber State (1/6; 12 p.m. MT)
Previous Games: at Oral Roberts* (L, 76-61); St. Thomas* (L, 66-57) 
Kansas City fell to 0-2 in League play after suffering a road loss to Oral Roberts and a home loss to St. Thomas … In the loss to the Golden Eagles, Ifunanya Nwachukwu earned her second double-double of the season with 10 points and a season-high 16 rebounds … Emani Bennett scored a team-high 15 points and played all 40 minutes … Against St. Thomas, Nariyah Simmons notched a team-high 12 points, while Alayna Contreras scored 10 points off the bench … Kansas City totaled seven blocks against the Tommies, including two from Kelby Bannerman … The Roos also snatched 11 steals for their fourth double-digit steal performance of the season ...  The Roos will open the Big Sky-Summit Challenge with a home game against a Portland State squad they have won the two previous meetings against ... KC and Weber State will meet for the first time on the hardwood when the Roos travel to Ogden for a Saturday tilt against the Wildcats.

NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (3-10, 0-2 SL) | @UNDwbasketball
Next Up: at Idaho State (1/3; 7 p.m. MT); Eastern Washington (1/6; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at St. Thomas* (L, 95-76); South Dakota State* (L, 74-53) 
North Dakota suffered back-to-back League losses to St. Thomas and South Dakota State over the opening weekend ... Senior Kacie Borowicz led the Fighting Hawks offense with a season-high 32 points against the Tommies and by doing so, became UND’s career points leader in the Division I era and now sits seventh all-time on the UND scoring list … Borowicz has now scored 20 or more points in six games this season … Sophomore Kiyah Hurst matched a career-high with four steals and added 12 points … In the 21-point home loss to South Dakota State, Borowicz had a team-high 17 points and grabbed two rebounds … Kiera Pemberton added eight points with three rebounds off the bench as she returned to action after missing the previous five games ... Miranda VanderWal secured 10 rebounds and blocked four shots … The Fighting Hawks open the Big Sky-Summit Challenge at Idaho State Wednesday and play Eastern Washington, the Big Sky’s coaches preseason favorite, Saturday at home ... UND was a member of the Big Sky Conference from 2012-2018 before joining the Summit League ... The Fighting Hawks own an 8-5 all-time record against the Bengals and are 6-4 vs. the Eagles. 

NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON (6-6, 1-0 SL) | @NDSUwbb
Next Up: at Montana State (1/3; 5:30 p.m. MT); Northern Arizona (1/6; 12 p.m. MT)
Previous Games: Central Michigan (W, 67-57); at South Dakota* (W, 84-69)  
In NDSU’s lone league game last week, the Bison defeated South Dakota 84-69 on the road … Heaven Hamling paced the offensive efforts, finishing with a season-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field ... It marked her second 20-point game of the season … She also added three rebounds, three assists and one steal to her stat line … Elle Evans registered her first double-double of the season with 14 points and a season-high 10 rebounds … Abby Krzewinski closed out the top performers, equaling her season-high with 14 points and six rebounds … As a team, NDSU shot a season-best 54.2 percent from the floor (32-for-59) with nine different players reaching the scoring column … The Bison also grabbed 42 rebounds, while limiting the Coyotes to 26 ... NDSU opens the Big Sky-Summit Challenge at Montana State, who they are 4-1 against all-time, then play NAU, the Big Sky media’s preseason favorite, Saturday at home ... The Lumberjacks are 3-1 all-time vs. NDSU.

OMAHA MAVERICKS (4-9, 0-2 SL) | @OmahaWBB
Next Up: at Montana (1/3; 7 p.m. MT); Idaho State (1/6; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Denver* (L, 81-63); South Dakota* (L, 77-71; OT)
The Mavericks are now 0-2 in League play after they fell to Denver on the road and South Dakota at home in overtime ... In the loss to the Pioneers, Aaliyah Stanley and Kennedi Grant both put up 20 points, while Polina Nikulochkina and Grace Cave paced the Mavericks with six rebounds apiece … Grant and Nikulochkina both played a team-high 38 minutes, while Omaha held an 8-2 advantage in steals … In a six-point loss to the Coyotes, Cave paced the team with 17 points and nine rebounds … Cave also led with five assists, two blocks and went 4-of-7 beyond the arc … Stanley (15), Kennedi Grant (12) and Nikulochkina (10) notched double-digit scoring efforts … Through the first week of league action, Stanley (17.5) and Grant (16.0) rank seventh and ninth, respectively, in points per game in League play ... Omaha begins the Big Sky-Summit Challenge Wednesday at Montana before entertaining Idaho State at home Saturday ... The Mavericks have never faced either of these programs.

ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES (9-4, 2-0 SL) | @ORUWBB
Next Up: Northern Colorado (1/3; 7 p.m. CT); at Sacramento State (1/6; 12 p.m. PT)
Previous Games: Kansas City* (W, 76-61); Denver* (W, 95-64)   
The Golden Eagles stand at 2-0 in League play after picking up a home wins over Kansas City and Denver ... Five players scored in double-digits for the sixth time this season as Taleyah Jones paced the efforts, averaging 20.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 2.0 apg in those two victories ... Against the Roos, Jones paced tallied a game-high 20 points on 8-of-14 from the floor … Hannah Cooper added 16 points, dished out four assists and collected four steals in all 40 minutes … Jalei Oglesby pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass … The remaining trio of Golden Eagles to land in double figures were Oglesby (12), Ruthie Udoumoh (11) and Emily Robinson (10) … In the 31-point win over the Pioneers, Udoumoh pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds and Jones scored 20 or more points for the sixth time this season … Udoumoh notched her sixth double-double of the season with her 13-point, 18-rebound effort … Robinson (19), Cooper (16) and Oglesby (14) rounded out the double-digit scorers for ORU ... The Golden Eagles host Northern Colorado Wedneday to open the Big Sky-Summit Challenge then travel to California’s capital to face Sacramento State Saturday ... ORU has won the only previous matchup with the Bears (2007-08; 83-56) and Hornets (1994-95; 71-50, respectively.  
 
ST. THOMAS TOMMIES (8-6, 2-0 SL) | @TommieWBBall
Next Up: Sacramento State (1/1; 7 p.m. CT); at Portland State (1/6; 2 p.m. PT)
Previous Games: North Dakota* (W, 95-76); at Kansas City* (W, 66-57)
For the first time since joining the Summit League, St. Thomas opened League play 2-0 after earning a home win against North Dakota and a road victory against Kansas City … In the triumph over the Fighting Hawks, Amber Scalia scored a team-high 27 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a 5-of-8 clip from beyond the arc … She additionally went 10-of-11 from the charity stripe and added two rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block … Jade Hill added 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting and tallied a season-high seven assists … Against the Roos, Jo Langbehn led the team with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for her first double-double of the season … Scalia posted 13 points, while Hill had 11 points with three steals and three assists … The Tommies are playing Sacramento State and Portland State for the first as part of the Big Sky Challenge ... UST will host the Hornets Wednesday before traveling to play at the Vikings Saturday. 

SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES (11-4, 1-1 SL) | @SDCoyotesWBB
Next Up: at Montana (1/3; 7 p.m. MT); Idaho State (1/6; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: North Dakota State* (L, 84-69); at Omaha* (W, 77-71; OT)
South Dakota is off to a 1-1 start in League play after suffering a home loss to North Dakota State that snapped a seven-game winning streak before bouncing back by posting an overtime-win at Omaha ... Junior guard Grace Larkins was the lone Coyote in double figures in the loss to the Bison, finishing with 17 points … The Coyotes have now lost three straight games to NDSU after winning the previous 13 games dating back to the 2016-17 campaign … The 89-83 victory over the Mavericks marked the third straight road win for the Coyotes, who used overtime to seal each of those ... USD had never had three overtime wins in the same season, let alone three on the road … Larkins became the 31st Coyote with 1,000 career points as the junior tallied a game-high 22 points and collected 11 rebounds at Omaha … Kendall Holmes finished with 18 points, including seven of USD’s 11 points in overtime … Tori DePerry joined them in double-figures with 12 points … The Coyotes will look to keep their road-winning streak going as they open the Big Sky-Summit Challenge at Montana before returning home to face Idaho State Saturday ... USD is 2-1 all-time against the Grizzlies with the one loss occuring last season at home, 76-60 ... ISU has split its two previous meetings with USD with the road team winning both of those matchups. 

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS (6-5, 0-0 SL) | @GoJacksWBB 
Next Up: at Northern Arizona (1/3; 6 p.m. MT); Montana State (1/6; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at (21/21) Creighton (L, 58-46); at North Dakota* (W, 74-53)
The Jackrabbits captured a 1-0 start to League play after picking up a 74-53 road win over North Dakota … Against the Fighting Hawks, Madison Mathiowetz led the way with 18 points, two rebounds and two assists … Mathiowetz’ 18 points are her most against a Summit League foe and marked her sixth double-digit scoring game of the campaign ... Brooklyn Meyer added a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds while contributing two assists, two steals and two blocks … Madysen Vlastuin chipped in 13 points, including three triples to go with four rebounds … Tori Nelson added nine points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal … Nelson is now tied for fifth on SDSU’ career games played chart with 136 career appearances … SDSU opens the Big Sky-Summit Challenge on the road against the Big Sky media’s preseason favorite Northern Arizona, who the program has never faced before ... The Jackrabbits will then return to Frost Arena to take on a familiar Montana State squad, who they own a 4-1 record against ... The Bobcats won last year’s matchup in Bozeman 71-66 for their first win in the series.

#SUMMITWBB