UTTC Women's Basketball Looking To Punch Their Ticket to the NJCAA National Tournament

THIS WEEK         
The United Tribes (17-13, 10-5 Mon-Dak) women's basketball team faces off with #1 Kirkwood Eagles (30-0, 18-0 ICCAC) in the North Central B District Championship. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m., Saturday, at Johnson Hall, on the campus of Kirkwood Community College. Winner advances to the NJCAA DII National Tournament. 

TOURNAMENT COVERAGE
Watch: The North Central B District Championship game will be live streamed on the Kirkwood Eagles webpage: https://kirkwoodeagles.com/live

LAST TIME OUT
The Thunderbirds advanced to their third straight Region XIII Championship game, defeating Dakota College at Bottineau, 71-63. Alionna Lawrence posted her fifth 15-point game in the last six with a season-best 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field. Natalie DeCoteau netted a season-high 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while handing out seven assists. Ronessa Sazue gathered another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman, Ezura Rainbow, had a huge game off the bench with 10 points and seven rebounds. As a team, the Thunderbirds shot 32.0 percent from the field (24-75) and 90.9 percent (20-22) from the free throw line. UTTC netted 40 points in the paint and the bench added in 12 points. The Thunderbirds also hauled in a season-best 61 rebounds, with seven different players grabbing at least one, to DCB's 44 rebounds.

TWO THUNDERBIRDS EARN ALL-REGION XIII HONORS
Sophomore guard, Natalie DeCoteau, was named Region XIII Most Valuable Player. A transfer from Lake Region State College, this marked DeCoteau's first collegiate post-season honor. Alionna Lawrence was selected to the All-Region XIII First Team for the second time in her career. 

MON-DAK PERFORMERS OF THE WEEK
Ronessa Sazue was named Mon-Dak Conference player of the week in December 2024. The freshman forward from Fort Thompson, SD is averaging nearly a double-double and league play with 14.2 ppg and 9.8 rpg. She was awarded Most Valuable Player during the Thunderhawk Classic, earlier this season. Sophomore, Natalie DeCoteau, also collected player of the week honors, earlier this month, after an impressive win over Bismarck State College. The St. John, ND native scored 29 points, collected 10 rebounds, and handed out seven assists in the victory over the Mystics. DeCoteau is averaging 16.7 ppg and 4.9 apg. Alionna Lawrence was the third Thunderbird, this season, to collect player of the week honors , in late February. The Four Winds HS product is averaging 16.5 ppg and 8.2 rpg.

LEADERS OF THE PACK
Natalie DeCoteau has been consistent for the Thunderbirds, averaging 16.7 ppg (4th Mon-Dak), 7.2 rpg (8th Mon-Dak), and 4.9 apg (3rd Mon-Dak). The Lake Region State transfer is also averaging 34.9 minutes per game (2nd Mon-Dak). Alionna Lawrence is the most experienced player, in terms of minutes in a UTTC jersey. The sophomore forward is averaging 16.6 ppg (5th Mon-Dak), 8.1 rpg (6th Mon-Dak), and is shooting 36.5% from the 3-point line (3rd Mon-Dak). Freshman, Ronessa Sazue, has had a breakout season in her first year for the Thunderbirds. The 6'0 forward is avaergaing a double-double in the conference with 14.3 ppg (9th Mon-Dak) and 10 rpg (2nd Mon-Dak).