The latest road trip for UMD women’s basketball was a reflection of the Bulldogs’ season. That is of their .500 record of wins and losses. This weekend the women split their two games on the road in North Dakota.
On Friday night the Bulldogs defeated Minot State 72-60 in Minot, North Dakota, but on Saturday the Bulldogs fell short to the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota 72-83.
After UMD’s weekend they are currently 9-9 overall on the season, and 7-7 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
On Friday night the team played solid defense and rebounded, which is something that Coach Annette Wiles preached at the beginning of the season.
On Saturday the team was overmatched in categories such as rebounds, field goal percentage and defense.
Junior player Taylor Meyer is one of the players that feel consistency is key to a strong finish.
“Consistency is key for myself individually, and for us as a team, to finish our season the way we want to finish,” Meyer said.
Meyer believes that points and getting stops aren’t the issue with the team’s up-and-down season, but doing it together for a complete 40 minutes is needed for future success.
Meyer played consistently in both games over the weekend with a total of 44 points and 15 rebounds in the two games. As one of the leaders on the team, Meyer knows that her consistency opens up the game for the other players on the court.
When the team plays consistently for 40 minutes they have won good games. When they haven’t played consistently or with much energy, the team has struggled down the stretch.
The women said togetherness is also a theme for the team to finish on a strong note, especially away from home.
“When we’re away from home on an eight or nine hour road trip with not as many fans, we have to get motivated to play for one another,” Meyer said.
Coach Wiles contributed that to the ladies playing as one after the team had a hot start out of the gate .
With 10 games left, the Bulldogs have a chance to rewrite the story of their season.
The Bulldogs feel that by being consistent and playing together, whether at home or the road, the points, rebounds and playing solid defense will happen.
BY NICOLE BRODZIK Sports Editor