Bulldogs Set To Open 2012-13 Campaign In San Antonio

Nov 9, 2012

Northland Sports Online

This weekend the University of Minnesota Duluth hits the road for a voyage down Interstate 35 to San Antonio, Tex., where the Bulldogs will open the 2012-13 season against a pair of unfamiliar opponents. UMD will take on Central Oklahoma University on Saturday before doing battle with the tourney hosts from St. Mary’s University. Both games are slated to tip off at 3:00 p.m.

Scouting the Opposition: Central Oklahoma fought through an injury plagued season to post a 16-10 record a year ago. The Bronchos are no stranger to the forefront of the NCAA II scene, having advanced to the National Tournament in 2010-11 behind a 22-10 overall record. The Bulldogs lost their only previous meeting with Central Oklahoma during the 1999-2000 season. Central Oklahoma is the first regional opponent on the schedule for UMD this winter following realignment by the NCAA. The Central region now consists of schools from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (to which Central Oklahoma belongs) and the Great American Conference.

St. Mary’s rolled up an overall record of 13-16 in 2011-12. The Rattlers struggled mightily outside of Lone Star Conference competition, finishing 5-12 in non-league games. The Bulldogs fell at the hands of St. Mary’s in the only all-time meeting between the programs back in the 1999-2000 campaign.

WHAT’S THE STORY?: UMD head coach Annette Wiles enters hear 20th season as a collegiate head coach, and her fifth behind the Bulldog bench this weekend. In 19 years of coaching, the Fort Hays State University Hall of Famer has racked up an overall record of 369-186, with a 69-45 mark at UMD – which includes two trips to the NCAA Tournament in four full seasons at the helm. This winter marks the first time Wiles will have a roster fully recruited by her own staff at her disposal, highlighted by NSIC North Division preseason player of the year Katrina Newman. After pulling down NSIC Freshman of the Year honors two years ago, Newman was named NSIC All-Conference First Team as a sophomore. Newman led UMD in scoring and was sixth in the league with a scoring average of 14.4 points per game, the highest of any Bulldog. She ripped down more offensive rebounds than anyone in the league, pulling down an average of 3.29 offensive boards per contest. Newman tied for third in the NSIC in the rebounding ranks, grabbing 8.2 per game through the 2011-12 campaign.

TOUGH CROWD: Already known as one of the toughest leagues in all of NCAA II, the NSIC now features 16 teams with the additions of Minot State University and the University of Sioux Falls. The move to 16 teams will include the introduction of a division system (North/South) this season. UMD received the second-highest point total (190 points) among teams in the annual league preseason coaches’ poll. That total was the highest in the north division, while Augustana College topped the poll with 225 points and all 15 possible first-place votes — coaches may not vote for their own team.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Heading into opening weekend, the biggest question mark surrounding the Bulldogs will be how the team handles the loss of last season’s NSIC Defensive Player of the Year in Shelly Stemper, who graduated last spring. The Becker, Minn., native brought unmatched tenacity on the defensive end of the floor on her way to hauling in 5.1 rebounds a game with an average of 2.4 steals and nearly two blocks per game. Coach Wiles does not expect any individual to step in and replace Stemper, noting that it will take a committee approach to replace Stemper’s level of production, especially in the early going.

WILES’ WIDSOM: “Central Oklahoma returns so many of their best players. They really went through an injury-ridden season last year, so they’re going to be starting a lot of upperclassmen. We know they’re an experienced team. When you look at them on paper, we’re very similar in terms of height and size and position on the floor. I think we’re going to be evenly matched in terms of personnel. The big thing is going to come down to how we’re able to establish our team defense and how we’re going to be able to put pressure on them, because they have some of the best 3-point shooters we’ve seen. This is a regional game for us, and to be able to go out and start against a high-caliber opponent is exciting because we know the challenge we have ahead of us.”

“St. Mary’s is without question the favored team in terms of being the home team with the home-court advantage. Both of these teams present extremely athletic and talented competition. We’re starting our year off against teams that have made recent appearances in the national tournament. To know that we’re starting with that competition, it will give us a good barometer of where we are, and what we need to be working on.”

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