WBB Returns to Summit with Games Against North Dakota

WATCH (Jan. 2) | LIVE STATS

UPDATE: Due to unique roster limitations within the North Dakota women's basketball program, this weekend's two-game series in Grand Forks will be shortened to a single game on Saturday. This agreement was reached with support from both programs and The Summit League. Saturday's game, scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m., will be streamed live on the MidCo Sports Network.

Five Things to Know

Following a 16-day break in action, Kansas City opens the new year and its conference slate in Grand Forks, N.D. in its first-ever meeting with North Dakota.
The Roos enter conference play with a 3-3 mark and will look to generate the same success as last season. In 2019-20, the Roos were 8-7 entering conference play and rattled off a 13-3 conference record to take the Western Athletic Conference championship.
Kansas City is seeking a 1-0 start in conference play for the fourth-straight season. Under Jacie Hoyt, the Roos have never lost their conference opener. Should the Roos sweep the Fighting Hawks, it will be the second time (2018-19) in Hoyt's career that Kansas City begins conference play 2-0.
Despite a 16-point, seven-rebound, seven-assist performance from Jonaie Johnson against Southern Illinois on Dec. 17, Kansas City did not have enough to take down the Salukis. It was the first time in Johnson's career that the Roos lost a game in which she crossed the 10-point barrier. KC is now 13-1 in games where Johnson scores at least 10.
Naomie Alnatas has led Kansas City's scoring efforts in each of the last four games, averaging 18.0 points per game over that stretch. These were the first four games of her Kansas City career that she led the team, but her scoring prowess is no surprise as she was a 50-40-90 shooter in her first season at Iowa Western CC before suffering a knee injury.

Last Time Out: L, 68-79 at Southern Illinois (12/17/20)

After falling behind by 10 points early on, the Roos used a 17-4 run to grab a 29-26 lead. However, the Salukis took the lead before the half and retained it for the rest of the game.
Despite out-shooting and out-rebounding Southern Illinois, the Roos were hurt by 19 turnovers compared to just six for SIU. That translated into a 26-8 points off turnovers advantage for the Salukis.
Naomie Alnatas (19) and Jonaie Johnson (16) were the only KC players to reach double figures.
The Roos came away with just three steals in the game, a season low. Alnatas had two steals, Johnson added the third.
Neither team blocked a shot throughout the game, which meant the first game of the season in which Jada Mickens failed to come away with at least one block.

All-Time Series vs. North Dakota

These will be the first two matchups between the Roos and Fighting Hawks. Many more are sure to come, as both are now members of the Summit League.

North Dakota Scouting Report

An 0-6 record does not seem to fairly assess the Fighting Hawks, as they have played multiple opponents to tough finishes.
North Dakota averages 41 rebounds per game, 96th in Division One and three boards higher than Kansas City's average.
Julia Fleecs leads the Fighting Hawks' scoring efforts, averaging 16.0 points per game. The 6'2 forward can be an outside threat, shooting the three at a 35% clip.
Fleecs also pulls down the most rebounds for UND, averaging 8.2 per game.
Juliet Gordon has only started in one game thus far this season but is the Fighting Hawks second-leading scorer with a 10.8 points per game average. She is a threat for second chance points as well, pulling down a team-leading 3.4 offensive rebounds per game.