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Husky Basketball 2003-2004
Women await difficult task
By Derek Sullivan
Published:
Thursday, November 13, 2003
The North Central Conference ended last season with a member winning it all. This year, they begin with four members ranked in the top 15.
South Dakota State University won the NCAA Division II National Championship last season. The Jackrabbits are primed to defend their title.
"You have to look at SDSU. They're the returning champion," said Jessica Abrahams of SCSU. "They are going to be a powerhouse."
SCSU will return four starters, and is ranked number one in the preseason in the USA Today/ ESPN/WBCA Division II Top 25 poll.
"SDSU is very athletic," said Sascha Hansen of SCSU. "They get up in your shorts, and they are very aggressive."
SDSU could get some serious competition from their neighbors to the south. The University of South Dakota is currently ranked No. 3, and arguably has the conference's premiere player.
"I believe USD will be the preseason number one team in the NCC," SCSU head coach Lori Ulferts said. "They have a post player (Mandy Koupal), who should have gone Division I."
Mandy Koupal, a senior from Wagner, S.D. is an All-American. The 6-1 post player averaged 23.1 points and 11.3 rebounds last year. She has already broken 12 school records in her career. However, USD did prove beatable last weekend. The Coyotes lost 79-73 to Drury in the Division II Tip-off Classic.
The State of North Dakota also has two teams ranked in the preseason top 25.
The University of North Dakota is ranked No. 6. The Fighting Sioux return three starters from last year's 26-6 team, including 6-foot post player Marisa Leighton.
North Dakota State is ranked No. 15. The Bison return 10 letter winners, including five players with starting experience from a team that compiled a 26-7 record overall.
NDSU, playing their final season in the North Central Conference, is looking for big things. According to SCSU Coach Lori Ulferts, "big" is the right word.
"(NDSU) has so many big post players," Ulferts said. "They can go fast or slow. (They have) lots of experience."
With the exception of Mandy Koupal, many strong post players in the conference have graduated.
"We lost a lot of good post players to graduation," Kris DeGroot of SCSU said. "There is going to be a lot of new people, so that will be fun."
The North Central Conference has four power teams, and four teams looking to surprise the pre-season prognosticators.
The University of Nebraska-Omaha returns eight letter winners and two starters from last year's fifth place team.
Augustana College of Sioux Falls, SD returns seven letter winners and their two leading scorers from last year's 7th place team. Augustana is a very young team with six first-year players and only one senior, 6-0 Joanna Nuemann.
Minnesota State University-Mankato finished last in the NCC in 2002-2003. They graduated five players and brought in four first-year players.
Like Augustana, they are going to play a lot of young players. The Mavericks have seven players who are in their first or second year.
The North Central Conference season begins Jan. 15 when the Huskies will play No. 15-ranked NDSU at home. No. six-ranked UND follows Saturday night.
While the Huskies are glad to be at home to start conference play, would they prefer an easier opponent?
"There are no easy teams," DeGroot said. "Every team in this conference is so tough."
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