Aberdeen, S.D. – The Northern State women's basketball team is set to open the 2021-22 regular season at the Central Region Conference Challenge in Warrensburg, Missouri. The Wolves first game is set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday against the host Central Missouri, and they will close the weekend with an 8:30 p.m. match-up with Rogers State on Saturday evening.
 
GAME & FAN INFORMATION

• Live video, live audio, live stats, and game notes are all available at the links above

NORTHERN STATE STORYLINES

• Northern State played host to Presentation in an exhibition contest on November 2^nd, the Wolves defeated the Saints 74-40
• Kailee Oliverson and Jordyn Hilgemann both scored a team high 14 points in the game, Oliverson shot 6-9 from the field while Hilgemann shot 5-6 from the field and 4-5 from 3-point range
• The leading rebounder for NSU in the exhibition was Oliverson with seven, and Rianna Fillipi led the team in assists with five
• As a team Northern shot 28-68 (41.2%) from the field, 7-20 (35.0%) from 3-point range, and 11-15 (73.3%) from the free throw line
• Northern State utilized their depth and outscored Presentation 45-12 in bench points, 12 different players scored in the game for the Wolves
• NSU's defense forced 26 turnovers for the Saints, leading to a 25-8 advantage in points off turnovers

#6 CENTRAL MISSOURI STORYLINES

• Central Missouri enters the weekend with a record of 1-2 early in the season, after having played in the 2021 D2CCA Tip Off Classic
• In the D2CCA Tip Off Classic, Central Missouri defeated West Texas A&M, but fell to #16 Southwestern Oklahoma State and #2 Drury
• Fresh off a Final Four appearance, the Jennies are tied for sixth in the WBCA Preseason Poll and fourth in the D2SIDA Preseason Poll
• In the Preseason MIAA Polls, UCM was tabbed second in the Coaches' Poll and tied for first in the Media Poll
• Central Missouri returns three of their five main starters from last season
• Nija Collier and Olivia Nelson lead the team in points per game at 17.7 each, while Brooke Littrell is close behind at 16.7
• Collier also leads the team with 13.0 rebounds per game, and Nelson leads the team with 4.3 assists per game
• Through three games the Jennies are shooting 43.3 percent from the field, 35.0 percent from 3-point range, and 82.4 percent from the free throw line
• Dave Slifer is in his 18^th season as the head coach at Central Missouri, he holds a career record of 742-258 and is 358-159 in his time at UCM

LOOKING BACK TO 2019

• The last time Northern State and Central Missouri played was November 9^th of 2019, when the Jennies came away with a 62-50 victory in Aberdeen
• Central Missouri leads the all-time series 3-0

ROGERS STATE STORYLINES

• Rogers State enters this weekends match-ups having played two exhibition games at Oklahoma and Oral Roberts
• The Hillcats dropped both exhibition contests, 93-23 to the Sooners and 97-63 to the Golden Eagles
• In the two exhibition contests Rogers State shot 22.5 percent from the field, 15.8 percent from 3-point range, and was 68.8 percent from the free throw line
• Last season RSU went 6-16, and finished tied for tenth place in the MIAA
• Rogers State was picked to finish 11^th in the Preseason MIAA Media Poll and 12^th in the Preseason MIAA Coaches' Poll
• Kyle Bent is in his fourth season as the head coach for Rogers State, he holds a career record of 185-149 and a 24-54 record at RSU

LOOKING BACK TO 2019

• The last time Northern State and Rogers State played was November 8^th of 2019, when the Wolves secured a 71-64 victory in Aberdeen
• Northern State leads the all-time series 1-0