GRAND FORKS, N.D.-- First-year head coach Travis Brewster officially ushered in the new season as the University of North Dakota women's basketball team held its first official practice Tuesday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Coach Brewster and his new staff: assistant coaches Linda Sayavongchanh, Drew Woods and Tom Dryburgh along with Director of Operations Val Sussex all got their first opportunity to work with the entire team in the preseason.
UND returns 10 letterwinners and three starters from a team that finished 21-11 overall last season, culminating in a trip to the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) at the regular season's end. North Dakota enters its first season competing as a full member in the Big Sky Conference and will be eligible for the NCAA Division I tournament.
North Dakota is less than a month away from its first game as UND will play host to a pair of exhibition games at the Betty. Former Division II foe Bemidji State is the opponent on Nov. 1 to set things in motion followed by Mayville State on Nov. 6. Harvard officially opens the regular season Nov. 11 with a 2:00 p.m. tip at the Betty.
The 2012-13 schedule also features the re-kindling of the rivalry with North Dakota State after an eight-year hiatus. UND and the Bison battle Nov. 30 in Fargo, N.D. The Big Sky Conference tournament will be held at the number one seed following the regular season with the top seven teams advancing.
