Women's Basketball | 12/6/2017 4:44:00 PM

Live Stats
Live Video/Audio
Game Notes (pdf)
The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team begins its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference home season this weekend. MSUM will host Minnesota Crookston at 6 p.m. on Friday in Bismarck, N.D., and then face Bemidji State at 4 p.m. on Saturday to close out the weekend.

MSUM, which is receiving votes in the latest WBCA D2 Coaches Poll,  is 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the NSIC. The Dragons rolled to double-digit road wins to open NSIC play, defeating Mary, 64-54 on Friday and Minot State, 85-64 on Saturday. Junior Jacky Volkert scored a career-high 24 points in the win over Mary while freshman guard Kiley Borowicz scored a career-high 23 at Minot.

MSUM will meet Minnesota Crookston for a 40th time and leads the series 33-6. The Dragons will meet Bemidji State for a 105th time and lead the series 65-39.

Volkert leads the Dragons at 13.7 points and 4.7 assists per game. Senior forward Drew Sannes is at 12.0 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game. Senior guard Cassidy Thorson averages 11.7 points per game and leads with 16 three-pointers. Sophomore forward Megan Hintz averages 10.3 points per game. As a team MSUM scores 73.2 points per game and shoots 40.9 percent from the field.

On defense MSUM allows 59.7 points per game. MSUM outrebounds its foes 42.8-35.0.

Karla Nelson is in her 18th season as the MSUM head coach with a record of 307-183.

About Minnesota Crookston
The Golden Eagles are 0-6 overall and 0-2 in the NSIC after dropping home games to St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth last weekend.

Isieoma Odor leads UMC at 14.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Micaela Noga is averaging 12.2 points per game while Emily Gruber averages 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Caitlin Michaelis averages 10.0 points per game.  The Golden Eagles score 58.3 points per game and shoot 40 percent from the field on the season.

On defense Minnesota Crookston allows 68.8 points per game. The Golden Eagles are being outrebounded 40.2-32.8.

Mike Roysland is in his 11th season as the UMC head coach. He has posted 97 wins in his UMC coaching career.

About Bemidji State
Bemidji State is 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC. The Beavers split at home last weekend, losing to Minnesota Duluth 52-44 before edging St. Cloud State 52-51.

The Beavers are led in scoring by Brooklyn Bachmann who is averaging 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Sierra Senske averages 10.7 points per game while Sydney Arrington averages 9.3. Bachmann leads at 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. As a team Bemidji State is shooting 36.6 percent from the field and scoring 59 points per game.

Bemidji State is being outrebounded 42.2-38.2 and is allowing 64.7 points per game.

Chelsea DeVille is in her third season as the BSU head coach with a record of 16-44 at the school.Three-Point Record Falls

More on MSUM...
MSUM was on fire from three-point range at Minot State on Saturday, hitting 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) in the 85-64 rout of the Beavers. That mark set a new single-game record with 16 threes, topping the previous mark of 15 set against Bemidji State in Jan. 2015. Senior Cassidy Thorson and freshman Kiley Borowicz each hit 6 threes in the win.

Career-Highs for Volkert and Borowicz
It was a pair of career highs for senior guard Jacky Volkert and Borowicz this past weekend that helped the Dragons to a pair of road wins. Volkert scored a career-high 24 points in the win at Mary while Borowicz, only a freshman, scored a career-high 23 points in the win at Minot State. Volkert is tied for 10th in the NSIC at 13.7 points per game and is second in assists at 4.7.

Taking Advantage of Free Chances
MSUM has taken advantage of its trips to the free-throw line this season. The Dragons lead the NSIC at 81.7 percent free throw shooting on the year, which is 11th-best in all of Division II this season. Borowicz is a perfect 13-of-13 (1.000) at the line this season while senior forward Drew Sannes is 15-of-16 (93.8 percent). Sophomore forward Megan Hintz is at 16-19 (84.2 percent)

Well Taken Care of
MSUM was the NCAA Division II statistical champion in 2016-17 for fewest turnovers per game. The Dragons finished the year at 11.4 turnovers per game to lead all of Division II in that category. MSUM finished the season with 331 turnovers in 29 games. This year MSUM continues to take good care of the ball, averaging 12.5 turnovers per game, which is 11th-best in the nation.

No Place Like Home
MSUM finished 12-1 at home in 2016-17, with the only loss coming to Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 20. Since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, MSUM is 34-7 (.844) at Nemzek Hall.

Sannes Closing in on Milestones
Senior forward Drew Sannes is closing in on a pair of career milestones. She is second all-time at MSUM in blocks with 185, trailing only Jessica Fesenmaier, who has 210. Sannes is also at 963 career points for her Dragon career and is 50 away from becoming the 22nd Dragon women's player to surpass the 1,000-point plateau for her career. She was the NSIC Player of the Year in 2016-17 and 2017-18 NSIC Preseason Player of the Year.

Welcome Additions
MSUM has added five freshmen to its roster in 2017-18: guard Lauren Fech, guard Ashley Davis, guard Kiley Borowicz, guard Brooklyn Liegel and forward Peyton Boom. Fech has started every game at point guard for MSUM while Liegel is tied for seventh in the NSIC this season. Borowicz had a career-high 23 points at Minot and is 13th in the NSIC at 44.4 percent three-point shooting. Davis has provided depth on the perimeter. Boom plans to redshirt this season.

Thorson at No. 2 in Threes, Closing In on Record
Senior guard Cassidy Thorson now has 169 three-pointers, which is second-most in MSUM history. She leader Marisa Yernatich by 28 as of Nov. 28.  Thorson, an All-NSIC second team selection a year ago, is also third in attempts at MSUM.  She also isn't far from the 1,000-point milestone as she currently sits at 813 points.

Nelson Back for 18th Season
Three-time NSIC Coach of the Year Karla Nelson returns for her 18th season as the Dragon head coach. MSUM has had 17 straight winning seasons under Nelson, who won her 300th game last February. Nelson has a 307-183 record at MSUM. Allison Swenson is her in 10th season as an assistant coach while Brenna Rollie is in her first year as an assistant.

Career-High for Hintz
Sophomore forward Megan Hintz got off to a strong start for MSUM. She had a career-high 20 points and hit 10-of-12 free throws in the Dragons' 66-53 loss to No. 21 Michigan Tech on Nov. 16. Through six games she is averaging 10.3 points per game.