Men's Basketball Exhibition Rundown (Nov. 1)

All three Summit League teams in action Thursday night posted exhibition victories of 20 or more points.

North Dakota State rolled past Concordia (Minn.), 86-57, behind 18 points from Marshall Bjorklund. Taylor Braun added 13 points and a game-high six rebounds while Nate Zastrow scored 12 points off the bench in the second half. All 11 Bison players scored in the game.

 South Dakota State handled Black Hills State, 89-66, in its lone exhibition contest. The Summit League preseason favorite opened the game on a 13-0 run and the game never got closer than 11 points. Taévaunn Prince led the Jackrabbits with 17 points off the bench on 7-of-11 shooting. Jordan Dykstra added 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including a perfect 2-for-2 mark from three point range. Nate Wolters scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists.

Western Illinois defeated Harris-Stowe State, 77-56. The Fighting Leathernecks jumped out to an early 19-6 lead, but lead by only a point at halftime. Terell Parks and newcomer Jordan Foster each had 14 points to pace WIU. Foster also added a team-high four assists while Parks recorded a pair of blocked shots. Ceola Clark III added 11 points and three assists.

Follow Summit League Basketball @summithoops.

Women's Basketball Exhibition Recap (Nov. 1)

NDSU's Dani DeGagne

North Dakota State and South Dakota State each captured exhibition wins Thursday night in women's basketball action.

The Bison defeated Minnesota-Crookston 68-65 behind Katie Birkel's game-high 16 points. Birkel also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds along with teammate Marena Whittle. Dani DeGagne added 15 points with a team-high six assists.

In Brookings, the Jackrabbits downed Black Hills State by a score of 90-48. The Jackrabbits placed four players in double figures to end the exhibition season at 2-0. Senior Ashley Eide led the way with 16 points, followed by 15 points from Megan Waytashek. Gabby Boever added 14 points and Tara Heiser chipped in with 12 off the bench.

Men's Basketball Exhibition Recap (Oct. 30)

Oakland opened the men's basketball exhibition schedule with a 80-56 victory over Davenport Tuesday night. Travis Bader led the way with 24 points while highly-touted newcomer Duke Monday added 13 points and dished out seven assists. 

IUPUI's scheduled exhibition against Anderson was cancelled.

Follow Summit League basketball on Twitter @summithoops.

My Championship Experience - Men's Cross Country Edition

My Championship Experience is a diary blog written by Summit League student-athletes detailing their experiences at each of the 19 Championships. 

Fort Wayne junior Cody Sengthong’s championship experience at the 2012 Summit League Cross Country Championships:

The first day of my experience started off with a nice bagel and a YOYO's caramel apple shake on a glorious Friday morning.  After my morning meal we loaded into the vans and headed North-East for Rochester, Mich.  We left at 9 a.m., which I consider a day to sleep in, because I am used to waking up for practice at 6:57 a.m. every morning.  

During our ride to Oakland I did not think about the race very much because I did not want to get too nervous and anxious before the race even happened.  To keep relaxed I listened to music with my team and talked to my good friend Taylor Crowell most of the way.  We stopped for lunch for the usual Subway about half way there.  When we arrived in Rochester the first place we went to was the course so we could run our pre-meet and get a good look at what the course had to offer.  My first thoughts of the course were, it was going to be a challenge but it would be one that I could overcome.  My legs were feeling kind of tired during the run but I tried not to let that get in my head.  I just kept on thinking to myself that the next day was a new one and I would be fine. 

After we left the course we checked into our hotel which was very fancy.  We had about two and a half hours to be downstairs and ready for the banquet.  I had a feeling that my team waited until the last minute to get ready because people were still getting dressed on the elevator ride down.  When we first got downstairs for the banquet I think my team took about 59 pictures before we even got into the room where it was held.  The banquet was nice and the food was on point.  As soon as I sat down I drank about six cups of sweet tea because it was so delicious!  Our guest speaker was Neely Spence and she did a great job speaking and giving all of us some motivation for the next day.  After the banquet my team and I headed to our rooms to get ready for the next day.  I hung out around the pool for a bit and talked it up with Alex Quick and Taylor before our team meeting.  After the meeting with my teammates, I headed back to the room and to get some sleep for race day.

I woke up and headed downstairs for breakfast around 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning.  I didn’t eat much because I was nervous about eating too much before the race.  After that we headed to the course and set up camp at our tent that Oakland provided for us.  This was the first time that our team had a tent to camp out in at a race.  I liked having a tent so hopefully this changes in the near future.  I went to warm up with my team as soon as the women’s race started.  I was focused at this point and was excited to be there because I know that very few people get to experience what I had experienced the last few years.  Then I spiked up and headed to the line to get my active stretching in.  Throughout this process I kept telling my team that all we needed to do was to do our best and things would fall into place.  We have a very young team and I know that in the near future we will be great. It will just take time, patience, and hard work. 

As soon as the gun went off for the race all of my thoughts and feelings left and all I thought about was racing.  I love to race and be competitive more so with myself than with others.  I think that if we compare ourselves to others it will only bring us down.  Being a runner is a tough road to follow.  There are no timeouts, half times, or second chances on competition day.  We have one chance to put everything we have worked for on the line.  I wanted to do this for my team and I knew that they were going to be doing the same for me. 

After the race I went straight back to the tent in disappointment.  I felt that I let my team down by not running how I was supposed to but some days you get rained on and I was drenched.  For the most part my team was in the same boat that I was in, but on our cool down I told them that we need to keep our heads held high, that tomorrow was a new day and that we need to take what we experienced and learned from our mistakes so that next time it won’t happen again.  I love my team and would do anything for them and I know they would do the same for me.  What we experienced at this championship was a positive thing even though it seems like it wasn’t. Hitting rock bottom is not fun, but it’s how you deal with getting back up that matters and I know my team is on the rise.

-Cody Sengthong 

Don’t forget to check out the next edition of My Championship Experience as it follows the Women’s Soccer Championship, Nov. 1-4 and throughout the 2012-13 season for coverage at each of The Summit League Championships.

My Championship Experience - Women's Cross Country Edition

My Championship Experience is a diary blog written by Summit League student-athletes detailing their experiences at each of the 19 Championships.

Omaha sophomore Kristin Rogers' championship experience at the 2012 Summit League Cross Country Championships:

The Summit League championships were a new and exciting experience for us Mavericks. The meet was the first D-I league championship for our university since our switch to The Summit League last year. Our first full day in Detroit was Friday. We began our morning with breakfast and an inspirational speaker named Dr. Ray Johnson. Afterwards, we headed downtown to see a little bit of the city. While downtown, we ate at the Hard Rock Café and enjoyed time as a team. Friday afternoon we went to run the course at Oakland. I thought the course was really pretty and well-marked out. After we ran we returned to our hotel to get ready for the banquet at six. The dinner was delicious, and the speaker, Neely Spence did a very good job. After dinner our team had a short meeting and went to bed. 

The morning of the race was thrilling and scary all at the same time. We knew that this meet was going to make history for our school, being that it was our first D-1 league meet; we also knew that we had a couple awesome seniors on our team to run for. We went about warm-ups and everything as usual. We had nothing to lose. We came in brand new, ranked last, and ready to go. As the race went off we knew that if we gave it our best, we would be content, so that’s what we did. In the end, we took fifth place and were especially proud of our lead senior Amanda who took third overall and concluded an awesome season for herself.

I was proud of my team because I know where we’ve come from in the last three years. Prior to my arrival here two years ago our team was very small and not overly competitive. Coach Bierbaum does a great job recruiting.  He brought in my class two years ago which added six girls more than doubling our team. Then again, this year, we added another six girls to get a total of eighteen. The improvement of our team as a whole is exciting. Many of us are very young and we have a lot of hope for the future. We’re extremely honored to be a part of The Summit League, the experience of the league meet was both a learning one, and very exciting one. I realize at the league meet more than ever that I run for a team. My team is everything. These girls are my best friends, my training partners, and we do everything together. Our team is so close that when we go into a big race such as the league meet, I know we will run for each other, push each other and I can count on the fact that if any of us are having an off race, someone will be there to step up in their place. I guess that’s the best part of it all, no matter what happens, we will be okay. Even in this new and sometimes scary experience, I always kept that in the back of my mind. So to my team I’d like to say, thank-you.

-Kristin Rogers 

Don’t forget to check out the next edition of My Championship Experience as it follows the Women’s Soccer Championship, Nov. 1-4 and throughout the 2012-13 season for coverage at each of The Summit League Championships.

Women's Basketball Exhibition Recap (Oct. 28)

Four South Dakota State players scored in double figures as the Jackrabbit women's basketball team opened the exhibition season Sunday afternoon with an 86-43 victory over Minnesota-Crookston at Frost Arena.

Ashley Eide scored a team-high 17 points, while Mariah Clarin narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Oakland Head Coach Breaks Silence About Sexual Abuse

Beckie Francis remembers sitting on her couch last year, staring in amazement as she watched Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts reveal on TV that he was a survivor of sexual abuse.

Francis turned to her husband and told him she could do the same thing.

The women's basketball coach at Oakland University shared her story with parishioners at her suburban Detroit church, and with her players. And now, she is telling everyone else in hopes that it will encourage victims of sexual abuse to seek help, and to assist parents and children to avoid what she endured.

Kansas City's Todd Named CS360 Primetime Performer

Kansas City defender Sarah Todd was named to a CS360 Primetime Performer for her performance last week.

Todd earned her first career Summit League Offensive Player of the Week honor on Monday after helping the Kangaroos collect three points against the top two teams in the league standings, Fort Wayne and Oakland. Against Oakland, the sophomore assisted on Sophie Rackham's match-winner in the 41^st minute. In the 82^nd minute of the match, Todd connected on her only shot on a free kick 15 yards outside of the box to add an insurance goal.

More Picks Are In ...

The USA Today College Basketball Special Edition tabs South Dakota State as its pick to win The Summit League.  The tabloid also runs down The Summit League and picks the standings, player of the year, all-league teams and three “Don’t-miss games.”

Below is a sneak peek at their projections. To read the entire Summit League preview, pick up a copy of the publication on your local newsstand or purchase online here.

Projected Order of Finish
1) South Dakota State
2) Western Illinois
3) Oakland
4) North Dakota State
5) Fort Wayne
6) IUPUI
7) South Dakota
8) Kansas City
9) Omaha

Player of the Year: Nate Wolters, South Dakota State
All-League: Travis Bader, Oakland; Frank Gaines, Fort Wayne; Terell Parks, Western Illinois; Corey Petros, Oakland; Nate Wolters, South Dakota State.

Don’t-miss games
Nov. 26: Oakland at Tennessee
Dec. 29: South Dakota at Omaha
Feb. 9: South Dakota State at Oakland

Oakland Freshman Leads Men's Cross Country Team

George O’Connor has less than a semester of experience competing for the Oakland University cross country team.

It hasn’t stopped the 2012 Croswell-Lexington High School graduate from leading the Golden Grizzlies.

O’Connor has been the individual winner of two invitationals this fall, one on the Oakland campus in Rochester and the other in Fort Wayne. He also has been the Grizzlies’ top finisher in every race except one, and he was second then.