UND has a 2-5 women's basketball record so far this season while North Dakota State is 1-8.
"Neither team is lighting the world on fire with our records," said UND coach Travis Brewster.
But it's early. Conference play for UND in the Big Sky Conference and NDSU in the Summit League will be the determining factor for both programs.
However, there is one more serious piece of nonconference business facing both programs as the longtime rivals will play again tonight at the Scheels Center in Fargo.
"Whenever it's Bison week, the energy will always be higher," said UND senior Makailah Dyer. "The competitiveness of this game is what stands out to me. It doesn't matter what our record is; who we've played or what our preseason ranking is. It's always a great game between us."
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UND's record is a bit misleading. The Fighting Hawks played three Power 5 opponents and were competitive in all three contests.
They played the favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference (Drake); the favorite to win the Summit League (South Dakota State); and a Big Ten team (Iowa). Drake, Texas Tech, Iowa, Kansas and South Dakota State-the teams that defeated UND this season-have a combined record of 27-15.
SDSU has received votes in the AP Top 25 poll and may have been one of the better teams to play in Grand Forks during the past few years. UND lost 83-71 to the Jacks earlier this week.
"I'm not much for taking medals for being close," said Brewster. "But we did some things really well. I was encouraged by how we can battle. But that's something we have to do for 40 minutes. We'll be moving in the right direction then."
UND is 4-0 against NDSU in the Division I era for both schools. Last season, UND beat NDSU 71-54 in Grand Forks.
One factor in UND's favor is its balanced scoring through seven games. The Hawks have three players in double figures, Leah Szabla (14.3 ppg), Makailah Dyer (13.3) and Lexi Klabo (10.4).
The Bison are led by junior Taylor Thunstedt (15.8) and senior Emily Spier (11.0).
One side note to the rivalry is UND senior Holly Johnson, who played three years at NDSU before transferring to UND after last season. Brewster said she is battling and injury and her status for tonight's game is undetermined.
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A sub-.500 record is nothing new to UND this early in the season, considering the demanding schedule the program has faced the past few years. Last year, UND was 4-10 at one point before making a run at the Big Sky postseason title in March.
"We just have to remain confident in each other," said Dyer.
