DENVER at NORTH DAKOTA
DATE:  Friday, Jan. 24 |  7 p.m. CT
SITE:  Grand Forks, N.D. (Betty Engelstad Sioux Center)
RADIO:  100.3 FM, 740 AM (Jack Michaels)
TV/VIDEO:  MidcoSN
LIVE STATS:  FightingHawks.com
TWITTER: @UNDWBasketball

WESTERN ILLINOIS at NORTH DAKOTA
DATE:  Sunday, Jan. 26 |  2 p.m. CT
SITE:  Grand Forks, N.D. (Betty Engelstad Sioux Center)
RADIO:  100.3 FM, 740 AM (Jack Michaels)
TV/VIDEO:  FOX Sports North
LIVE STATS:  FightingHawks.com
TWITTER: @UNDWBasketball

ON TAP
After a three-game road trip in Tulsa, Brookings, and Fargo, the University of North Dakota will begin a stretch of four home games in its next five, hosting Denver and Western Illinois this weekend.

QUICK JUMPERS
*North Dakota returns home after a three-game road trip that covered 2,440 miles.
*UND beat Denver in the Fighting Hawks Summit League opener on New Year's Day, 90-82.
*Last season, the University of North Dakota earned Summit League series sweeps over Omaha and Purdue Fort Wayne.
*The Fighting Hawks have won the last two games against the Pioneers.
*Julia Fleecs averaged 16.5 points last week, going 17-of-17 at the free-throw line.
*Fleecs tied UND's single-game record for free throw percentage, matching Makailah Dyer's 14-for-14 performance in 2016.
*UND was balanced offensively last week with four players averaging 9.5 points per game.
*The Fighting Hawks are ranked ninth in the country in free throws made with 276. Denver leads the NCAA with 321 makes at the foul line.
*Through 19 games, UND's freshmen class has combined for 42-percent of the team's points this season.
*North Dakota will play four of its next five games at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
*With a win this weekend, the Fighting Hawks will tally their most wins since 2016-17 (20).

SEEKING THE SWEEP
Friday night's game will be the University of North Dakota's second game against Denver, making the Pioneers the Fighting Hawks first foe they've played twice this season. UND defeated DU in its Summit League opener on New Year's Day, 90-82. In its first season in The Summit League last year, North Dakota earned series sweeps over Omaha and Purdue Fort Wayne.

FLEECS IS SOFT TO THE TOUCH
Tying UND's single-game record for free throw percentage last time out at North Dakota State, Julia Fleecs has had as soft a touch as anybody at the free-throw line in the previous four games. The junior has attacked the basket with ferocity, drawing 21 fouls and 26 trips to the free-throw line. Fleecs has made 25 of those 26 attempts at the charity stripe (.962), bumping up her season percentage 55 points to a Summit League-leading .841 average and a top-50 mark in the country.

SCOUTING DENVER
Denver is 8-11 overall with a 2-4 record in Summit League games. The Pioneers snapped a four-game winless streak on Jan. 18 versus Omaha, defeating the Mavericks for their first win of the calendar year, 66-60. Despite its record this season, DU is still a potent offensive team, averaging over 76 points per game with three players - Madison Nelson (17.1), Lauren Loven (12.9) and Uju Ezeudu (11.9) - averaging over 10 points per game.

SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS
Western Illinois has won its last three Summit League games and enters the weekend 4-2 in conferences tilts with a 10-9 overall record. WIU will play its first road game in three weeks at Omaha on Friday. Olivia Kaufmann leads the team with 16.8 points per game, the fourth best average in The Summit League. Evan Zars is WIU's top-rebounder with an average of 10.2, the second-best clip in The Summit League.

UP NEXT
North Dakota will return to the road next weekend when it heads to Fort Wayne, Ind., to take on Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 1. It will be the Fighting Hawks lone game of the week.

Game Notes  |  Live Stats  |  Live Audio (Denver)  |  Live Video (Denver)  |  Live Audio (WIU)  |  Live Video (WIU)