Orange City, Iowa - Women's basketball will travel to Orange City, Iowa to compete in the Northwestern Classic hosted by Northwestern College this weekend.

The Comets will take on the Northwestern College Raiders at 5:00pm Friday and have a quick turn around Saturday morning playing the Dordt University Defenders at 10:00am. 

The weekend should be expected to be a competitive one, as all three teams are receiving national attention. Mayville State remained at #22 in week two of the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches Top 25 poll and are 3-0 on the season. The Defenders climbed up one spot to #2 and the Raiders are receiving votes. 

"It should be two very good challenges for our team. Both teams are talented,  play hard and pose some sort of challenge for us defensively. It's always fun to play high level competitive basketball early in the season to get a gauge on where we are as a team," said head coach Dennis Hutter, who is in his 19th year at the helm with the Comets.

Preview Friday vs. (RV) Northwestern College Raiders

Northwestern enters Friday with a current record of 2-0 after recently beating (RV) Indiana Northwest. Last year, Northwestern was 19-11 overall and 14-8 in the GPAC. They earned a bid to the NAIA National Tournament, but fell in the first round.  

The last match up between the Comets and the Raiders was November 4th of 2017 where Mayville State got the win in the Lewy Lee.

Game Time: 5:00pm CT 
Watch the game live: https://nwcraiders.com/watch/?Live=580&type=Live
Watch the live stats: https://nwcraiders.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary

Preview Saturday vs. (2) Dordt University Defenders

The Defenders current record is 3-0 and are now ranked #2 in the country after taking down #8 Dakota State significantly. Dordt will take on the University of Saint Mary on Friday before the match up Saturday with the Comets.

Last year, Dordt went 30-4 on the season and 20-2 in the GPAC. They fell to #18 Briar Cliff in the GPAC Championship but went on to the NAIA National Tournament opening round where they met up with the Comets and snagged the win. 

The Defenders earned their bid to the NAIA National Championship Final Site, but lost in their first game against #15 Montana Western.

Game Time: 10:00am CT 
Watch the game live: https://nwcraiders.com/watch/?Live=580&type=Live
Watch the live stats: https://godordt.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary

The Comets are treating this week as any other, but are excited for a chance to compete at a high level. Hutter added, "Our conversation this week has been like any other week. Let's go get 1% better through our daily effort and attitude. No matter what the outcomes are this weekend, let's at least say we got better. I'm excited for the team to have a chance to compete again this weekend!"

For full schedule information visit: https://msucomets.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule/2023-24