THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth hits the road to begin its most important stretch of the season with the taunting task of playing the top five Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference teams in the next six games. The Bulldogs will tackle a pair of NSIC teams that are close to polar opposites of the league standings this week. Standing in the way first is Winona State University, who is the second hottest team in the conference, on Friday, Jan. 12 at 6:00 p.m. UMD takes on the slumping Upper Iowa University Saturday, Jan. 13 at 4:00 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON WINONA STATE: The Warriors are the second hottest team in the NSIC coming into Friday's contest. The eight-game winning streak is tied for the 16th longest winning streak in the nation. Winona State's only lost was a heart breaker to Sioux Falls 61-60. The Warriors are undefeated at home. 
Hannah McGlone has been one of the more notable players in the NSIC. McGlone paces the squad with 15.2 points per outing and is the lone player in the NSIC  to be averaging a double-double for the season. Her seven double-doubles are ranked seventh in the nation. McGlone leads the conference in rebounds and field goal percentage.
Scott Ballard is in his 14th year of coaching Winona State. The Warriors limit opponents to 53.1 points per game which is the best figure in the NSIC and 7th overall. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON UPPER IOWA: The Peacocks have lost 12 in-a-row coming into the weekend and have yet to win a NSIC game this season. Upper Iowa's last win Dec. 17, 2016 against McKendee University. 
Micha Thompson is the 13th head coach in school history and is currently in her second season. The Peacocks hold the NSIC's lowest scoring output with the lowest field goal and three-point field goal percentages.
Blair Klostermann leads Upper Iowa with 12.3 points per game. Haley Martin is the leading rebounder while Ashley Rosenstiel is the main passer for the club. Angelica De Paulo led the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game last weekend including 21 against Sioux Falls.

THE SERIES: UMD leads 63-12 in the all-time series but have lost the last three appearances to Winona State. The last win for the Bulldogs came on Feb. 15, 2014 when it won 67-52 on the road. The Warriors won the previous outing in the only matchup of the season last year 70-60 at Romano.
Undefeated in all 13 contests, UMD will attempt to keep a perfect record over Upper Iowa. The rivalry started when the Peacocks made their way into the NSIC for the first time in 2008-09. The Bulldogs walked away with a 20-point victory in the only meeting last year. UMD has been dominant as of late, winning the last seven contests by double digits.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and their opponents stack up in the NSIC standings and in the Women's Coaches Basketball Association (WCBA) and the D2SIDA media polls.
TEAM        NSIC        WCBA        D2SIDA
UMD         T-6th            NR             NR
WSU         T-3rd            NR             NR
UIU            16th            NR              NR

THE BROADCAST: Both games this weekend will be carried live through a video stream with live stats and is available at:
portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs improved to 6-0 at Romano Gymnasium after sweeping the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University the past weekend. UMD won 73-65 Friday night against UMC and defeated Bemidji State 66-61 on Saturday.

Sammy Kozlowski led the way with 20 points, tying a season high against the Golden Eagles. She also had seven rebounds and seven assists. Katie Stark knocked down 13 points and had three steals and two blocks. Freshman forward Sarah Grow collected 10 points, six boards and a career-high four blocks. Her four blocks were the most by a Bulldog since Dec. 5, 2015 when senior Allison Olley rejected four shots against Bemidji State.
On Saturday, BSU scored five points in the opening 10 minutes, which was a season-low allowed by UMD. The Bulldogs held their biggest lead of 14 in the second quarter but the third quarter was a back-and-forth battle with the lead changing six times. Stark and Kozlowski stole the show in the fourth. Stark made all eight free throw attempts and Kozlowski had seven fourth-quarter points as the duo combined for 15 of the team's 22 points in the final 10 minutes.
Ann Simonet gave the Bulldogs the lead for good on a three and, later, Emma Boehm put the game out of reach and a no-look dish through the double team to Grow for an uncontested layup with two minutes to go. Boehm had two of her career high five assists in the fourth quarter.

BRING IT!: In the next six games, UMD will be playing five teams with winning records. It will be put to the test the next three weeks as the combined record of its opponents is 67-23 (.744). With half the regular season done with, the Bulldogs have the fourth-hardest schedule remaining among the teams in the NSIC (78-67, .538).

LIGHT 'EM UP: Six of the victories this season have come by double figures. The Bulldogs have wins of 25, 38, 10, 15, 18 and 21 points this season. The Bulldogs have a positive point differential by at least 22 points in each quarter with their largest in the first (plus-41).
UMD's largest margin of victory came in the home opener vs. Lake Superior State when it blasted them in a 38-point rout. The 38-point victory was the largest since Nov. 19, 2013 when Wisconsin-Superior fell 89-43 at Romano.

HAVE A NIGHT, STARK: It was a career night for Katie Stark on Saturday. She registered a collegiate best 16 points in the win over Bemidji State. Stark has scored in double figures the last three games. Earlier this season, Stark recorded career high nine rebounds on Minot State.

DOMINATING THE INSIDE: The only Bulldog to hit the double-double threshold this season is freshman Sarah Grow. The Circle Pines, Minn., native has all four double-doubles. Grow had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the latest go-around.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE: The Bulldogs have held opponents to under 60 points in seven of their 13 games. They have allowed 59.2 points per game, good for third best in the NSIC and 44th in Division II. UMD is 6-1 when holding teams under 60 points and 3-3 when teams score more than 60 points.

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 43: When the Bulldogs hold opponents to under 43 percent shooting they are a flawless 8-0. Trouble looms, however, when teams hit above that mark as UMD is 1-4.

AGGRESSIVE ON THE BOARDS: Ten out of the 13 games this season the Bulldogs have either tied or won the battle in the paint with rebounding. In those 10 games, UMD is 9-1 with the lone loss coming in the overtime game to Michigan Tech.

PROTECTING THE BALL: No one in the NSIC excels at limiting its turnovers quite like UMD. It has done a masterful job at getting it done on the offensive end without giving possessions away. Actually, no other team in the country commits fewer turnovers per game than the Bulldogs, who lose the ball 10.7 times a game.
UMD is fourth in the country in fewest turnovers with 120 and 23th in turnover margin and second in the NSIC behind Augustana University.

DROPPING DIMES: UMD's offense is coordinated for success off the open look via the dish. Ranked fourth in the conference in assists per game, the Bulldogs average 15.8 assists per game, which equates to 62.2 percent of their total offensive production. Nationally, they are ranked 80th in assists per contest.
In the match against Lake Superior State, UMD assisted on 27 made buckets, the most by the team since Jan. 6, 2001 when it dished out 28 dimes against the University of Minnesota Morris.
Four Bulldogs have set personal bests in assists for a game this season (Sammy Kozlowski, Emma Boehm, Ayo Porte, Taylor Schneider). Kozowski, Boehm and Ann Simonet have registered at least five assists in a game.

RUNNING THE POINT: There are not many elite passers in the NSIC better than Sammy Kozlowski. The New Berlin, Wis., native is the second-best player in the conference with 5.4 assists per game. Kozlowski ranks 22nd in the country. Her 70 assists in the NSIC only trails Jacky Volkert of MSU Moorhead (73).

SLIGHT OF HAND: In addition to her passing, Sammy Kozlowski is a master of the pickpocket. The 2016-17 All-NSIC Defensive Team selection has 25 steals this season good for an average of 1.9 per game. She is third in the NSIC in total steals and fourth in per game swipes.

GET THAT OUTTA HERE: The Bulldogs are 29th in the nation in blocks shots per game (4.5) and 40th in total blocks (59). They are also third and fourth in the NSIC in those categories, respectively. Sarah Grow leads UMD with 26 blocks (2.0 per game) and Katie Stark has 14 (1.1 per game). The duo is in the top 15 in the NSIC in total blocks and blocks per game.

GO AHEAD AND SHOOT THE DEEP BALL: Opposing clubs struggle to hit the three-ball against UMD's defense. Teams are shooting 27.3 percent from behind the arc. That figure is 59th in the nation and third in the conference.

FOUR NEW FACES IN THE STARTING FIVE: UMD replaced four of its starters as Taylor Meyer, Kenzie Kane, Jenna Orr and Allyson Harris each played their final collegiate games in 2016-17. Sammy Kozlowski is the only starter returning. The Bulldogs have started Katie Stark, Ann Simonet, Emma Boehm in each game this season. Sarah Grow has received 12 of the 13 starts while Anna Monke tallied the other start.

WEEKLY HONORS: Recognition was given to Sammy Kozlowski this week as she was named the NSIC North Division Player of the Week on Monday, Dec. 11. Kozlowski is the first Bulldog to achieve the honor since Taylor Meyer grabbed her third award of the season back in 2015.

For the weekend, Kozlowski averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.0 steals. She shot 52 percent from the floor (13-of-25) including makes on five of her eight attempts from three-point range. The New Berlin, Wis., native led the team in scoring each night, knocking down 17 points vs. SMSU and 16 points versus USF.

CONFERENCE COACHES CORNER: On Oct. 25, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference 2017-18 Preseason Coaches' Poll picked UMD to finish in eighth in the conference and fourth in the North Division. The Bulldogs, which finished third in the division and ninth overall a season ago, received 132 points in the poll.

Minnesota State Moorhead, who claimed the preseason favorite in the North Division, topped out in the overall poll with 213 points slightly topping division rival Northern State with 209. Augustana, who was picked to finish first in the south, was picked to finish third overall in the NSIC.

The Dragons' senior forward Drew Sannes was named the North Division Preseason Player of the Year. The Wildcats' senior forward Paige Ballinger was named the South Division Preseason Player of the Year.

NEW DOGS ON THE BLOCK: The Bulldogs bring in six newcomers this season after losing seven letterwinners from last season. UMD hopes to have found its next low post dominator in Sarah Grow (Circle Pines, Minn.). The Bulldogs bring in a pair of guards who had a bunch of success scoring in bunches. Maizie Deihl (New Prague, Minn.) and Ann Simonet (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) each reached the 1,000-point threshold in their careers for their respective high schools. Payton Kahl (Stoughton, Wis.) and Jordyn Thomas (Hermantown, Minn.) are athletic wing players that can play the tweener between guard and forward. UMD also picked up another guard in Chelsea Mason from Mountain Iron, Minn., who dominated the high school landscape in northern Minnesota and was a Ms. Minnesota finalist her senior season.

THE COACH: Third-year head coach Mandy Pearson, following a 14-14 (11-11 NSIC) second season, will look to continue to stamp her mark on the University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball program.

The Bulldogs doubled their win total from Pearson's first season at the helm, displaying definite signs of a program headed in the right direction. Pearson will look to continue to take steps forward in the 2017-18 season and vault UMD further up the NSIC standings.

Pearson proved her ability to turn a program around while leading the NCAA Division III Cardinals since the 2007 season. Saint Mary's quickly moved up the ranks in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference under her guidance, securing its first playoff bid since 2005 during the 2011-12 campaign. A year later, the Cardinals posted a 22-5 record, second-best in program history, advanced to the MIAC Tournament semifinals, and earned a victory over UMD's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rival Winona State University. Pearson was named the MIAC Coach of the Year for the first time in 2012-13, repeating that feat a year later, and also earned the SMU Staff Recognition Award following that season.

Her last two years with the Cardinals, Pearson's squads posted a 42-13 combined record including a 24-4 mark--best in program history--in 2013-14. The team found itself ranked in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today Sports NCAA III Top 25 Coaches' Poll and d3hoops.com polls for the first time ever, as high as no. 12. In her nine seasons as the SMU bench boss, Pearson produced one d3hoops.com All-American selection in Courtney Euerle (an honorable mention in 2013-14), who also earned MIAC Player of the Year honors and was the only player from the entire conference to earn All-America recognition that season. Pearson also produced two All-NCAA III West Region Team members, nine All-MIAC award selections, seven all-conference honorable mentions, four All-MIAC Defensive Team selections, and four MIAC All-First Year Team picks.

Before joining Saint Mary's, Pearson served as an assistant with NCAA III Hamline University during the 2005-07 seasons after wrapping up a four-year playing career at another MIAC school, Concordia College of Moorhead. Pearson earned three All-MIAC selections during her playing career and was named a First Team All-American during her senior season in 2004-05. She was the first Cobber to achieve 1,000 points and 500 assists in her career. She also played softball for Concordia-Moorhead, earning All-MIAC citation on the diamond as well in her senior campaign. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Concordia with minors in sociology, health and coaching. While coaching at Saint Mary's, she earned her Master of Arts degree in human development in 2013.

Over the last five years, Pearson has spoken at several camps and clinics, including the Minnesota State High School League Association Clinic in 2011. She also polished her own coaching acumen at the Nike Championship Basketball Clinic, the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, Northern State University, and Final Four Coaching Clinics.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs return home, where they are a perfect 6-0, after the two-game road trip with matchups against Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University. UMD will meet those two ball clubs for the first time this season and before playing them at home to end the regular season.