QUICK JUMPERS

* North Dakota returns to the road against the Pioneers in Denver. This is the first of two road contests before they return home to host St. Thomas.

*The Fighting Hawks head into Thursday's game with an overall record of 12-10 and a conference record of 6-5.

* Kacie Borowicz led the Fighting Hawks with 22 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

* Claire Orth followed with 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists against the Coyotes.

* Maggie Manson was the third Hawk to end the night in double figures. She ended the night with 11 points, secured four rebounds, and had two assists.

* Melissa Leet is currently leading the Summit in blocks with an average of 2.0 per game and a total of 44 this season.

* North Dakota leads Denver in the series, 6-4.

* The Pioneers currently sit at a 7-15 overall record. They are currently 2-9 for conference play. They beat the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in overtime Saturday to improve to two wins.

* The Pioneers Uju Ezeudu holds the record for Denver when it comes to reaching 1,000 points the fastest in their Division I history.

* The Pioneers were picked as the fifth team in the preseason poll and currently sit ninth in the standings.

* North Dakota is currently averaging 66.9 points per game, and they are averaging 38.0 rebounds per game.

 * The Fighting Hawks were ranked ninth in the Summit's Preseason Coaches' Poll. They currently sit fourth in the standings.

 

ON TAP

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks travel to Denver to play the Pioneers. Opening tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on Thursday, Feb. 3.

 

LAST TIME OUT

The University of North Dakota fell to South Dakota, 80-72. The Coyotes took the initial lead with a layup from Hannah Sjerven, but Orth responded seconds later to keep it tied. Manson hit a jumper to give the Hawks their first lead of the game, but the Coyotes took the lead back with a three pointer seconds later. The teams continued to trade baskets until 5:41 when Borowicz tied it once more. The Coyotes hit a three and took the lead before the media timeout. Exiting the timeout, the Coyotes continued to attack on offense and went on an 8-0 run before it was stopped by North Dakota with 2:05 left in the first. The Fighting Hawks continued to attack the Coyotes, but it was not be enough as South Dakota ended the quarter with a 12-point lead (22-10).  The two teams entered the second quarter battling as they traded baskets to start. Borowicz and Manson combined for back-to-back plays to bring the Fighting Hawks within four with 4:42 left in the second. Chloe Lamb extended the lead to six for the Coyotes, but Borowicz scored consecutive baskets to give the Fighting Hawks a 5-0 run and give them a one-point lead (33-32) with 3:14 left in the half. Maddie Krull netted a layup to give the Coyotes the lead again. In the final seven seconds, Borowicz drove to the basket and netted a layup to put North Dakota up by one going into intermission (37-36). After intermission, Sjerven hit a three and gave the Coyotes the lead and started a 7-0 run. The Fighting Hawks stopped the run, but the Coyotes continued to attack their defense and held a 50-45 lead headed into the media timeout. The third quarter continued to be a back-and-forth battle, but the Coyotes held a 68-58 lead. In the final quarter, the Fighting Hawks and Coyotes continued to make it a back-and-forth game. Leet and Orth combined for consecutive plays to bring the game within five with 5:48 left (66-71). After the media timeout, the Coyotes went on a 9-2 run to extend the lead and win 88-72.
 

ALL-TIME WITH DENVER

The University of North Dakota leads Denver in the series, 6-4. The last time that the two teams played each other was on Jan. 8, 2022, at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The Fighting Hawks beat the Pioneers 80-75.

ORTH ON OFFENSE

Claire Orth ended the afternoon with 14 points against the South Dakota Coyotes. Including that afternoon, Orth has had 14 double figure games this season. In her career, Orth has had 19 games end with her in double-digits.

BOROWICZ POPS BUCKETS

Kacie Borowicz is currently leading the Fighting Hawks in scoring. She netted 22 points against the Coyotes. She currently averages 18.3 points per game. She currently sits at 617 points in her career. She scored 216 points as a freshman. During her sophomore year, she suffered an injury and missed multiple games to end the year with 53 points. This season, Borowicz has netted 348 points.

 

SCOUTING DENVER

Denver enters the game with a 5-9 overall record and a 0-3 conference record. The Pioneers opened their season on the road against Air Force with a loss of 62-79.  They returned home to host Missouri S&T and had their first win (70-61) of the season. They dropped two home contests to Wichita State (61-76) and Colorado State (43-67) before hosting the University of Denver Classic. During the University of Denver Classic, they went 1-1 winning their first game against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 87-65. They then lost to Wyoming, 51-81. They returned on the road against Santa Barbara with a loss of 80-89. They played one more game in California and secured the 75-63 win against Cal Poly. This sparked a winning streak as they hosted Colorado Christian (89-62) and traveled to Butler to secure a 100-94 overtime win. They fell in their final non-conference game against Purdue, 68-101. Their first conference game was against Western Illinois, who beat the Pioneers, 66-72. The Pioneers then traveled to St. Thomas where they fell, 48-56. The Pioneers took their travel to North Dakota State, which resulted in their third conference loss (68-74). After battling the Bison, Denver headed to Grand Forks and lost to North Dakota, 75-80. The Pioneers returned home to host a four-game home stretch against Oral Roberts (53-79), South Dakota (51-79), South Dakota State (43-87), and Kansas City (68-77). The Pioneers then traveled to Omaha where they secured their first conference win against the Mavericks, 71-62. The road trip continued in Kansas City where they fell 54-72. Their most recent conference game was an overtime win (69-64) against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.

NEXT UP

Following Thursday night's game, the University of North Dakota travels to Omaha, Neb., to face the Mavericks on Saturday, Feb. 5. The tip-off is scheduled for noon.