Women's Basketball | 2/22/2018 6:05:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Tournament play on Sunday when it faces the University of Sioux Falls in the quarterfinals. Game time is 8 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

MSUM, which has won back-to-back NSIC regular season titles and three straight NSIC North Division crowns, is looking for its first-ever NSIC tournament title.

MSUM will meet USF for a ninth time and leads the all-time series 5-3. The Dragons beat the Cougars, 69-58 on Jan. 27.

In the latest Central Region rankings released on Feb. 21, MSUM was ranked fourth behind Southwestern Oklahoma State, Central Missouri and Northern State. The winners of the NSIC, MIAA and GAC postseason tournaments receive automatic berths while five teams will earn at-large berths to the tournament.  MSUM is looking for its second straight trip to the NCAA tournament.

The Dragons (23-4, 19-3 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) recorded a 70-53 win over Southwest Minnesota State on Wednesday in the opening round of the tournament.  Freshman guard Kiley Borowicz had 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting.  Sophomore forward Megan Hintz had 12 points.  MSUM built a 20-point halftime lead and went on to the double digit win.

Junior guard Jacky Volkert leads MSUM at 13.8 points and 5.6 assists per game. She also has a team-best 27 steals. Sannes averages 13.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, while sophomore forward Megan Hintz is averaging 11.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.  Senior guard Cassidy Thorson is averaging 10.3 points per game and leads with 69 three-pointers.  

As a team MSUM scores 72.0 points per game and shoots 41.5 percent from the field.  On defense MSUM allows 60.1 points per game. MSUM outrebounds its foes 43.9-33.9 and leads the NSIC in rebound margin.

Karla Nelson is in her 18th season as the MSUM head coach with a record of 325-186.

About Sioux Falls
The Cougars are 15-12 after beating Mary, 60-50 in the first round of the conference tournament on Wednesday. Kaely Hummell and Mariah Szymanski had 20 points each for USF.

Hummel leads USF at 16.0 points per game, while Szymanski averages 12.7 points per game. Jacey Huinker averages a team-best 9.8 rebounds per game while also leading the team with 3.3 assists per game.

As a team USF scores 64.7 points per game and shoots 39.4 percent from the field. The Cougars allow 61.6 points per game and are being outrebounded 39.1-36.4.

Travis Traphagen is in his 10th season as the USF head coach with a record of 193-102 at the school.

More on MSUM
Sannes and Volkert First Team All-NSIC; Thorson 2nd
Senior Drew Sannes and junior Jacky Volkert were both named to the All-NSIC First Team in women's basketball,. In addition senior guard Cassidy Thorson was named to the All-NSIC Second Team.

Sannes picked up the second first-team all-conference honor of her Dragon career. In 22 NSIC games Sannes averaged 13.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Sannes had seven double-doubles during conference play and scored in double figures in 17 of 22 games.

Volkert earned first-team All-NSIC honors for the first time in her Dragon career. In 22 conference games Volkert averaged 14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. Volkert also shot 83.5 percent (96-of-115) from the foul line in league play.

Thorson was named to the NSIC All-Conference second team for a second straight year. She averaged 10.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. She led the Dragons with 60 three-pointers in conference play. She scored in double figures in 11 conference games.

Thorson in the Record Books
Senior guard Cassidy Thorson is the new three-point career record holder for Dragon women's basketball. She hit seven 3-pointers in the 86-84 overtime win over Wayne State on Jan. 13 to set the record. Thorson now has 222 three-pointers and is the only Dragon women's player ever to surpass 200 threes in her career.  Thorson reached another milestone on Feb. 16 against Minnesota Duluth, surpassing 1,000 points for her Dragon career.

In a Sharing Mood
Junior guard Jacky Volkert is second in the NSIC at 5.6 assists per game, a total that is ranked 18th in the nation this season. Volkert is 16th in assist-to-turnover ratio.  The Arden Hills, Minn., native is now sixth in school history with 345 career assists. Volkert is one assist away from the single season record of 149 held by Dragon Hall of Famer Rosalie Hayenga. The all-time career leader at MSUM is Krista Opheim who has 488.

Doubled Up
MSUM has recorded 16 double-doubles this season, led by nine from senior forward Drew Sannes. Sophomore forward Megan Hintz has five double-doubles while junior guard Jacky Volkert has two. Volkert was one assist away from the first-ever triple-double in Dragon program history against Minnesota Crookston on Dec. 8.

Senior Success
The three seniors on the Dragon roster -- Drew Sannes, Cassidy Thorson and Shannon Galegher -- have enjoyed unmatched success in their MSUM careers. The record for the Dragons during that time is 89-18 (.831). That stretch includes back-to-back NSIC regular-season championships in 2016-17 and 2017-18, three straight NSIC North Division titles and a trip to the NCAA tournament in 2016-17.