MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Minnesota State Moorhead women's basketball will fight for a potential home game in the first round of the NSIC Tournament in a pair of games this week. The Dragons conclude the 2025-26 regular season hosting Bemidji State on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before taking on Minnesota Duluth in a road clash on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. 

Live video and stats will be available at msumdragons.com. Fans can watch Thursday's contest on the Dragon Digital Network with Steve d'Eustachio on play-by-play and Jared Bledsoe on commentary. Saturday's game can also be listened to on AM 1100/FM 92.3 with Jace Denman and 'Big Game' James McCarty on the call.

Matchup History...The Beavers won the first meeting between the two programs this season, collecting a 55-53 victory on December 4. Moorhead has won five of the last seven matchups with the Beavers and is 27-7 against Bemidji State since the 2008-09 season. The Dragons and Beavers share a long-standing history with Thursday being the 116th meeting between the two programs. Moorhead holds the advantage in the all-time series 72-43. The teams first met during MSUM women's basketball's inaugural season in 1966-67 with the Beavers earning a 29-27 victory. Minnesota Duluth earned a 73-69 overtime win over the Dragons on December 6 in Moorhead. The Bulldogs hold a nine-game winning streak over MSUM entering Saturday's contest. Minnesota Duluth holds the all-time series record as well 37-63. The Dragons won the first-ever meeting in the series during the 1976-77 season, topping the Bulldogs 64-47. 

Trouble With The Berg...Junior forward Abby Berge turned in a career weekend for the Dragons in a pair of victories. Berge averaged 23.5 points and an NSIC-best 11.5 rebounds across MSUM's two contests. The Sunburg, Minn., native also led the conference in three-point percentage (85.7 percent) and free throw percentage (92.3). Against Minot State on Saturday, Berge scored a career-high 28 points with 14 rebounds (also a career best). Berge shot 88.8 percent from the floor against the Beavers while sinking all 10 of her free throw attempts. 

Safranski Steals...And Deals...Sophomore guard Ashton Safranski was once again a key facilitator for the Moorhead offense in two wins. Safranski led the NSIC, averaging 9.5 assists per contest last weekend. The Fargo, N.D., native dished out 11 assists in an overtime win over UMary on Thursday before dealing out eight more against Minot State. Safranski also averaged 10 points, five rebounds and 2.5 steals for the Dragons last week. Her five steals on the weekend brought her career total to 143, moving her to seventh all-time in MSUM history. To date, Safranski has played in 54 career games for Moorhead. 

The New Big Shot Bob...True freshman point guard Aubrey Morrison played a pivotal role in MSUM's two wins a week ago. Morrison scored eight points with five rebounds and two steals against UMary on Thursday. She would follow that up with 11 points and three steals against Minot State on Saturday. The Walker, Minn., native was especially potent from behind the arc, drilling four three-pointers across Moorhead's two games. 

Terry's Doing Side Quests...Senior post Terryn Johnson continues to move up MSUM's all-time rebounding list. Johnson is six rebounds shy of surpassing Allison Swenson on the all-time list and eight boards away from entering the top ten all-time. Entering this weekend, Johnson is 29 rebounds away from 800 for her career. If she is able to surpass 800, Johnson would be only the seventh player in program history with 1,000+ career points and 800 or more career rebounds. 

Kelly In Her Bag...Sophomore guard Caylin Kelly continued her strong season last week for Moorhead. Kelly scored a massive 16 points on six of 11 shooting in the overtime win over UMary. In total, Kelly has had 11 games of double figure scoring this season. 

Karla Nelson is in her 26th season as MSUM's head women's basketball coach. 

Scouting The Opposition

Bemidji State
2025 Record: 8-16 (5-15 NSIC)
2024 Record: 6-20 (4-18 NSIC)
Head Coach: Chelsea Stoltenberg (11th Season)
Nickname: Beavers
Top Beaver: Kassandra Caron (16 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 45.2 FG%)

Minnesota Duluth
2025 Record: 17-7 (15-5 NSIC)
2024 Record: 10-18 (8-14 NSIC)
Head Coach: Mandy Pearson (11th Season)
Nickname: Bulldogs
Top Bulldog: Claire Bjorge (13 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 44.8 FG%)