# 2023–24 Summit League women's basketball season

The 2023–24 Summit League women's basketball season began non-conference play on November 6, 2023. Conference play started on December 29, 2023. This was the seventeenth season of women's basketball play under the Summit League name and the forty-second overall for the conference. The Summit League tournament took place from March 8–12, 2024. South Dakota State won the tournament, beating North Dakota State in the tournament final, and advanced to the NCAA tournament. North Dakota State, Oral Roberts, and South Dakota played in the 2024 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).

## Conference changes

Just after the conclusion of the Spring regular season, Western Illinois announced they would be leaving the Summit League on July 1, 2023, and joining the Ohio Valley Conference in all sports except men's soccer (which will join the OVC the following fall). The Leathernecks were the only remaining charter member of the Mid-Continent Conference.

## Preseason

The preseason Summit League women's basketball poll was released on October 10, 2023.

### Preseason poll

First place votes in parentheses
* South Dakota State (27) – 577
* North Dakota State (5) – 526
* South Dakota (2) – 485
* North Dakota – 434
* Oral Roberts (1) – 357
* Omaha – 263
* Denver (1) – 233
* St. Thomas – 203
* Kansas City – 174

### Preseason awards

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Kacie Borowicz, North Dakota |
| Preseason All-Summit League First Team | Hannah Cooper, Oral Roberts |
| Preseason All-Summit League First Team | Elle Evans, North Dakota State |
| Preseason All-Summit League First Team | Heaven Hamling, North Dakota State |
| Preseason All-Summit League First Team | Grace Larkins, South Dakota |
| Preseason All-Summit League First Team | Paige Meyer, South Dakota State |
| Preseason All-Summit League Second Team | Carley Duffney, South Dakota |
| Preseason All-Summit League Second Team | Makayla Minett, Denver |
| Preseason All-Summit League Second Team | Tori Nelson, South Dakota State |
| Preseason All-Summit League Second Team | Emma Smith, Denver |
| Preseason All-Summit League Second Team | Ruthie Udoumoh, Oral Roberts |

## Regular season
### Records against other conferences

2023–24 records against non-conference foes as of January 6, 2024:
| Power 7 Conferences | Record |
| American | 2–2 |
| ACC | None |
| Big East | 1–3 |
| Big Ten | 0–5 |
| Big 12 | 0–8 |
| Pac-12 | 0–2 |
| SEC | 0–2 |
| Power 7 Conferences Total | 3–22 |
| Other NCAA Division 1 Conferences | Record |
| America East | None |
| A-10 | None |
| ASUN | 2–1 |
| Big Sky | 13–9 |
| Big South | None |
| Big West | 1–2 |
| CAA | None |
| C-USA | 0–1 |
| Horizon | 2–1 |
| Independent | 1–0 |
| Ivy League | 0–1 |
| MAAC | None |
| MAC | 3–1 |
| MEAC | 2–0 |
| MVC | 4–6 |
| Mountain West | 0–4 |
| NEC | None |
| OVC | 3–4 |
| Patriot League | None |
| SoCon | None |
| Southland | None |
| SWAC | 2–0 |
| Sun Belt | 2–3 |
| WAC | 2–0 |
| WCC | 2–4 |
| Other Division I Total | 39–37 |
| NCAA Division I Total | 42–59 |
| NCAA Division II Total | 4–0 |
| NCAA Division III Total | 3–0 |
| NAIA Total | 11–1 |
| NCCAA Total | 1–0 |
| Non-Conference Total | 63–60 |
| Power 7 Conferences | Record |
| American | None |
| ACC | None |
| Big East | None |
| Big Ten | None |
| Big 12 | None |
| Pac-12 | None |
| SEC | None |
| Power 7 Conferences Total | 0–0 |
| Other NCAA Division 1 Conferences | Record |
| America East | None |
| A-10 | None |
| ASUN | None |
| Big Sky | None |
| Big South | None |
| Big West | None |
| CAA | None |
| C-USA | None |
| Horizon | None |
| Ivy League | None |
| MAAC | None |
| MAC | None |
| MEAC | None |
| MVC | None |
| Mountain West | None |
| NEC | None |
| OVC | None |
| Patriot League | None |
| SoCon | None |
| Southland | None |
| SWAC | None |
| Sun Belt | None |
| WAC | None |
| WCC | None |
| Other Division I Total | 0–0 |
| NCAA Division I Total | 0–0 |

### Record against ranked non-conference opponents

This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll): Summit League teams in Bold
| Date | Visitor | Home | Site | Score | Conference record |
| Nov 6 | No. 22 Creighton | North Dakota State† | Sanford Pentagon ● Sioux Falls, SD | L 52–75 | 0–1 |
| Nov 10 | South Dakota | No. 22 Creighton | D. J. Sokol Arena ● Omaha, NE | L 55–81 | 0–2 |
| Nov 20 | South Dakota State | No. 1 South Carolina | Colonial Life Arena ● Columbia, SC | L 38–78 | 0–3 |
| Nov 29 | Oral Roberts | No. 10 Texas | Moody Center ● Austin, TX | L 74–112 | 0–4 |
| Dec 5 | No. 21 Washington State | South Dakota State | Frost Arena ● Brookings, SD | L 64–69 | 0–5 |
| Dec 17 | South Dakota State | No. 21 Gonzaga | McCarthey Athletic Center ● Spokane, WA | L 58–83 | 0–6 |
| Dec 18 | Oral Roberts | No. 12 Kansas State | Bramlage Coliseum ● Manhattan, KS | L 59–102 | 0–7 |
| Dec 20 | Omaha | No. 25 TCU | Schollmaier Arena ● Fort Worth, TX | L 56–96 | 0–8 |
| Dec 21 | South Dakota State | No. 20 Creighton | D. J. Sokol Arena ● Omaha, NE | L 46–58 | 0–8 |
| Mar 23 | South Dakota State | No. 21 Utah†^ | McCarthey Athletic Center ● Spokane, WA | L 54–68 | 0–9 |
Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking
† denotes game was played on neutral site ^ denotes NCAA tournament game

### Conference matrix

The matrix represents head-to-head matchups within the conference.
| | Denver | Kansas City | North Dakota | North Dakota State | Omaha | Oral Roberts | St. Thomas | South Dakota | South Dakota State |
| vs. Denver | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Kansas City | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. North Dakota | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. North Dakota State | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| vs. Omaha | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Oral Roberts | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| vs. St. Thomas | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. South Dakota | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 |
| vs. South Dakota State | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – |
| Total | 5–11 | 3–13 | 5–11 | 13–3 | 3–13 | 11–5 | 7–9 | 9–7 | 16–0 |
As of March 2, 2024

### Points scored

| Team | For | Against | Difference |
| Denver | 1931 | 2090 | –159 |
| Kansas City | 2064 | 2111 | –47 |
| North Dakota | 2006 | 2297 | –291 |
| North Dakota State | 2565 | 2328 | +237 |
| Omaha | 2242 | 2516 | –274 |
| Oral Roberts | 2628 | 2413 | +215 |
| St. Thomas | 2103 | 2206 | –103 |
| South Dakota | 2551 | 2326 | +225 |
| South Dakota State | 2428 | 1985 | +443 |
Through March 30, 2024

### National Television Games

Before the 2023-24 season began, the Summit League announced a new media deal with CBS Sports Network that would show up to 12 regular season games (6 guaranteed men's games) on the network, as well as moving the league's tournament final games to CBSSN. The women's tournament semifinal games will also be broadcast on CBSSN. On October 18, 2023, the Summit League and CBS Sports Network announced the league's 2023-24 slate of games to appear on the network throughout the conference season. Those games and any others that league members will play are listed here.
Summit League members in bold
| Date Time (CT) | Road Team | Home Team | Final Score | Network |
| November 20, 2023 1 PM | South Dakota | Arizona | 52–61 | ESPNU |
| December 31, 2023 12 PM | South Dakota State | North Dakota | SDSU 74–53 | CBSSN |
| January 28, 2024 3 PM | Oral Roberts | South Dakota State | SDSU 96–80 | CBSSN |

## Home attendance

| Team | Arena | Capacity | Total Games | Average Attendance | Attendance High | Total Attendance | % of Capacity |
| Denver | Hamilton Gymnasium | 2,500 | 15 | 366 | 615 Nov 14 vs. Wyoming | 5,495 | 14.7% |
| Kansas City | Swinney Recreation Center | 1,500 | 16 | 559 | 1,203 Nov 6 vs. Bradley | 8,959 | 37.3% |
| North Dakota | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center | 3,300 | 15 | 1,414 | 2,913 Feb 3 vs. North Dakota St | 21,221 | 42.9% |
| North Dakota State | Scheels Center | 5,460 | 13 | 979 | 2,502 Feb 24 vs. North Dakota | 12,736 | 17.9% |
| Omaha | Baxter Arena | 7,898 | 12 | 461 | 705 Dec 31 vs. South Dakota | 5,538 | 5.8% |
| Oral Roberts | Mabee Center | 10,154 | 14 | 1,819 | 6,358 Nov 9 vs. Friends | 25,475 | 17.9% |
| St. Thomas | Schoenecker Arena | 1,800 | 14 | 530 | 979 Nov 29 vs. Iowa State | 7,426 | 29.5% |
| South Dakota | Sanford Coyote Sports Center | 6,000 | 15 | 1,779 | 3,316 Feb 3 vs. South Dakota St | 26,696 | 29.6% |
| South Dakota State | Frost Arena | 6,500 | 14 | 2,088 | 3,768 Mar 2 vs. North Dakota St | 29,237 | 32.1% |
Bold - Exceed capacity As of March 2, 2024 Does not include exhibition games

## Head coaches

Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Overall and Summit League records are from time at current school.
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Seasons at school | Overall record | Summit record | Summit titles | NCAA tournaments | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | NCAA Championships |
| Denver | Doshia Woods | Tulane (recruiting coordinator) | 4th | 29–54 (.349) | 18–32 (.360) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kansas City | Dionnah Jackson-Durrett | Texas (Associate head coach) | 2nd | 9–23 (.281) | 3–15 (.167) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Dakota | Mallory Bernhard | North Dakota (assistant) | 4th | 36–47 (.434) | 22–29 (.431) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Dakota State | Jory Collins | Kansas (assistant) | 5th | 55–58 (.487) | 35-33 (.515) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Omaha | Carrie Banks | Ohio State (assistant) | 4th | 29–49 (.372) | 15–32 (.319) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oral Roberts | Kelsi Musick | Southwestern Oklahoma State | 2nd | 12–19 (.387) | 8–10 (.444) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Thomas | Ruth Sinn | Apple Valley HS | 19th | 376–126 (.749) | 11–25 (.306) † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Dakota | Kayla Karius | Drake (assistant) | 2nd | 14–16 (.467) | 10–8 (.556) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Dakota State | Aaron Johnston | South Dakota State (assistant) | 24th | 571–185 (.752) | 228–34 (.861) | 10 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
Notes:
* † St. Thomas joined the Summit League in the summer of 2021.
* Overall and Summit League records, conference titles, etc. are from time at current school and are through the end the 2022–23 season.
* NCAA tournament appearances are from time at current school only.

## Awards and honors
### Players of the week

Throughout the conference regular season, the Summit League offices named one or two players of the week each Monday.
| Week | Player of the Week | School |
| Nov. 13 | Kacie Borowicz | North Dakota |
| Nov. 20 | Hannah Cooper | Oral Roberts |
| Nov. 27 | Brooklyn Meyer | South Dakota State |
| Dec. 4 | Grace Larkins | South Dakota |
| Dec. 11 | Paige Meyer | South Dakota State (2) |
| Dec. 18 | Kendall Holmes | South Dakota (2) |
| Dec. 27 | Ruthie Udoumoh | Oral Roberts (2) |
| Jan. 2 | Taleyah Jones | Oral Roberts (3) |
| Jan. 8 | Paige Meyer (2) | South Dakota State (3) |
| Jan. 15 | Kacie Borowicz (2) | North Dakota (2) |
| Jan. 22 | Ruthie Udoumoh (2) | Oral Roberts (4) |
| Jan. 29 | Elle Evans | North Dakota State |
| Jan. 29 | Brooklyn Meyer (2) | South Dakota State (4) |
| Feb. 5 | Jordan Jones | Denver |
| Feb. 12 | Madison Mathiowetz | South Dakota State (5) |
| Feb. 19 | Brooklyn Meyer (3) | South Dakota State (6) |
| Feb. 26 | Paige Meyer (3) | South Dakota State (7) |
| Mar. 4 | Brooklyn Meyer (4) | South Dakota State (8) |

### All-League Honors

The All-Summit League teams and individual awards were announced on March 7, ahead of the Summit League tournament.
2024 Summit League Women's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Brooklyn Meyer – South Dakota State |
| Newcomer of the Year | Taleyah Jones – Oral Roberts |
| Freshman of the Year | Emily Robinson – Oral Roberts |
| Sixth Woman of the Year | Jalei Oglesby – Oral Roberts |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Brooklyn Meyer – South Dakota State |
| Coach of the Year | Aaron Johnston – South Dakota State |
| Honor | Recipient |
| All-Summit League First Team | Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State |
| All-Summit League First Team | Elle Evans, North Dakota State |
| All-Summit League First Team | Paige Meyer, South Dakota State |
| All-Summit League First Team | Kacie Borowicz, North Dakota |
| All-Summit League First Team | Grace Larkins, South Dakota |
| All-Summit League First Team | Hannah Cooper, Oral Roberts |
| All-Summit League Second Team | Heaven Hamling, North Dakota State |
| All-Summit League Second Team | Taleyah Jones, Oral Roberts |
| All-Summit League Second Team | Jordan Jones, Denver |
| All-Summit League Second Team | Ruthie Udoumoh, Oral Roberts |
| All-Summit League Second Team | Jade Hill, St. Thomas |
| All-Summit League Honorable Mention | Amber Scalia, St. Thomas |
| All-Summit League Honorable Mention | Grace Cave, Omaha |
| All-Summit League Honorable Mention | Madison Mathiowetz, South Dakota State |
| All-Summit League Honorable Mention | Jalei Oglesby, Oral Roberts |
| All-Summit League Honorable Mention | Emma Smith, Denver |
| All-Defensive Team | Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State |
| All-Defensive Team | Ruthie Udoumoh, Oral Roberts |
| All-Defensive Team | Tori Nelson, South Dakota State |
| All-Defensive Team | Elle Evans, North Dakota State |
| All-Defensive Team | Hannah Cooper, Oral Roberts |
| All-Newcomer Team | Taleyah Jones, Oral Roberts |
| All-Newcomer Team | Jalei Oglesby, Oral Roberts |
| All-Newcomer Team | Kendall Holmes, South Dakota |
| All-Newcomer Team | Alayna Contreras, Kansas City |
| All-Newcomer Team | Dominique Phillips, Kansas City |
| All-Freshman Team | Emily Robinson, Oral Roberts |
| All-Freshman Team | Abby Krzewinski, North Dakota State |
| All-Freshman Team | Kiera Pemberton, North Dakota |
| All-Freshman Team | Emani Bennett, Kansas City |
| All-Freshman Team | Jenna Hopp, South Dakota State |

## Postseason
### Summit League tournament

All 9 teams qualify for the Summit League tournament. The tournament is held at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It will be held from March 8 to March 12, 2024.
| First Round March 8 Summit League Network | First Round March 8 Summit League Network | First Round March 8 Summit League Network | Quarterfinals March 9 & 10 Summit League Network | Quarterfinals March 9 & 10 Summit League Network | Quarterfinals March 9 & 10 Summit League Network | Semifinals March 11 CBS Sports Network | Semifinals March 11 CBS Sports Network | Semifinals March 11 CBS Sports Network | Championship March 12 CBS Sports Network | Championship March 12 CBS Sports Network | Championship March 12 CBS Sports Network |
| | | | 1 | South Dakota State | 66 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Kansas City | 55 | 9 | Omaha | 53 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Omaha | 61 | | | | 1 | South Dakota State | 76 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | South Dakota | 63 | | | |
| | | | 4 | South Dakota | 70 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | St. Thomas | 57 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | South Dakota State | 67 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | North Dakota State | 54 |
| | | | 2 | North Dakota State | 72 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Denver | 60 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | North Dakota State | 75 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Oral Roberts | 66 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Oral Roberts | 91 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | North Dakota | 68 | | | | | | |

### NCAA tournament

Only South Dakota State was selected to participate in the tournament as the conference's automatic bid.
| Seed | Region | School | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| No. 12 | Spokane Regional | South Dakota State | lost to No. 5 Utah 68–54 | — | — | — | — | — |
| | 1 Bid | W-L (%): | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 0–1 (.000) |

### WNIT

North Dakota State, Oral Roberts, and South Dakota were selected to participate in the tournament as at-large bids.
| School | First round | Second round | Super 16 | Great 8 | Fab Four | Championship |
| North Dakota State | Bye | defeated Montana 72–63 | lost to Minnesota 69–65 | — | — | — |
| Oral Roberts | lost to Grambling 93–91 | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Dakota | defeated UC Riverside 72–57 | defeated Northern Arizona 79–65 | lost to Wyoming 84–52 | — | — | — |
| 3 Bids W-L (%): | 1–1 (.500) | 2–0 (1.000) | 0–2 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 3–3 (.500) |