Aberdeen, S.D. – The Northern State women's basketball team will play their final two games of the year 2021 at home in Wachs Arena this weekend, as they welcome Minnesota Duluth and #20 St. Cloud State to Aberdeen. Friday's game against the Bulldogs is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off, and Saturday's game is set for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
 
GAME & FAN INFORMATION

• The live stream, live stats, radio broadcast, tickets, and game notes are available at the links above
• Saturday's match-up with St. Cloud State will be broadcast live on Midco Sports

NORTHERN STATE STORYLINES

• Northern State enters this weekend with a record of 6-4 (3-2 NSIC)
• The Wolves are currently tied for sixth place overall in the conference and are tied for third place in the north division of the league
• Last weekend Northern went 1-1 on their road trip to Minnesota, winning their first contest on Friday night at Minnesota Crookston (64-47) before falling at Bemidji State (66-50) on Saturday afternoon
• As a team NSU is averaging 69.0 points, 41.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists, 12.1 turnovers, 7.8 steals, and 3.9 blocks per game
• This season the Wolves are shooting the ball 38.8 percent from the field, 22.3 percent from 3-point range, and 74.1 percent from the free throw line
• Kailee Oliverson leads three Northern State players who average double figures in scoring while she averages 15.3 points per game on 40.4 percent shooting
• Laurie Rogers leads the team with 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game
• Rogers has recorded two or more blocks in seven of the team's ten games this season, her 2.9 blocks per game ranks second in the NSIC and 20th in Division II
• Rianna Fillipi leads the team with 5.3 assists and 2.9 steals per game
• Fillipi has two or more steals in seven of the teams ten games this season, her 2.9 steals per game is tied for second in the NSIC and is tied for 25th in Division II
• NSU is averaging 41.7 rebounds per game this season, which is the third best in the NSIC and has the top rebounding margin in the league at 6.8
• The Wolves have recorded 40 more rebounds in six games this season and have reached 50 rebounds in three of the past four games

MINNESOTA DULUTH STORYLINES

• Minnesota Duluth enters the weekend with a record of 6-3 (4-1 NSIC)
• The Bulldogs are currently tied for third place overall in the conference and are second place in the north division of the league
• Last weekend Duluth extended their win streak to four games with home victories over Minot State (72-54) and UMary (73-67)
• As a team UMD is averaging 65.4 points, 32.9 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 13.3 turnovers, 8.7 steals, and 4.3 blocks per game
• This season the Bulldogs are shooting the ball 43.3 percent from the field, 27.0 percent from 3-point range, and 79.5 percent from the free throw line
• Minnesota Duluth is led by the Preseason NSIC North Division Player of the Year, Brooke Olson, who leads the team with 18.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game
• Olson's 18.6 points per game is tied for second in the NSIC, she has reached the 20 point mark in three games this season
• Maesyn Thiesen leads UMD with 5.2 assists per game, and ranks fourth in the NSIC
• Minnesota Duluth features the number two scoring defense in the NSIC, giving up only 58.9 points per game and holding opponents to 60 points or less five times

LOOKING BACK TO JANUARY

• Minnesota Duluth swept the two game series with Northern State last year in Duluth, the Bulldogs earned a 61-55 victory on January 29th and followed that performance with a 67-64 win on January 30th
• Lexi Roe led the Wolves in last year's weekend series averaging 20.0 points per game on 14-23 shooting from the field and 7-9 from 3-point range, while she also added 6.0 rebounds per game

ST. CLOUD STATE STORYLINES

• St. Cloud State enters this weekend with a record of 7-1 (5-0 NSIC)
• The Huskies are tied for first place overall in the conference and lead the league's north division
• St. Cloud State moved up to #20 in this week's WBCA Top-25 Rankings, up three spots from #23 last week               
• Last weekend SCSU won games against UMary (79-70) and Minot State (71-50)
• St. Cloud State travels to Moorhead, Minnesota on Friday night to face off against MSU Moorhead
• The Huskies average 64.5 points, 36.9 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 12.3 turnovers, 9.0 steals, and 4.5 blocks per game
• This season SCSU is shooting the ball 41.9 percent from the field, 29.0 percent from 3-point range, and 73.2 percent from the free throw line
• Brehna Evans leads a trio of Huskies players averaging double figures in scoring with 13.0 points per game, while Tori Wortz adds 12.9 points and Nikki Kilboten adds 12.0 points per game
• Kilboten leads the team with 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, she is tied for sixth in rebounds and is third in the NSIC in blocks
• St. Cloud State leads the NSIC in scoring defense, allowing only 52.3 points per game, and holding three opponents below the 50 points mark this season
• The Huskies have the third best scoring margin in the NSIC at 12.3 points, and have won five games by 14 or more points

LOOKING BACK TO JANUARY

• Northern State and St. Cloud State split last season's weekend double header in Aberdeen, the Huskies won the first game 69-40 on January 22nd and the Wolves bounced back with a 64-56 victory on January 23rd