Jamestown, N.D. – The University of Jamestown women's basketball team, under ninth-year head coach Thad Sankey, has its sights set on the 2026-27 season which begins at home against Minnesota State University Moorhead on Wednesday, November 11, at 6 p.m. inside Harold Newman Arena.
 
The 2026-27 season marks Jamestown's second year as a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and its first year as a full-fledged NCAA Division II member. UJ can now qualify for all NSIC and NCAA postseason competition in addition to being eligible for various other team and student-athlete accolades.
 
The Team
 
UJ returns a large portion of its core from a season ago when the Jimmies featured a very young roster. Four of the five regular starters are back in the Orange and Black, including leading scorer Allie Berns.
 
Berns was one of the top freshmen in the Northern Sun in 2025-26, starting all 26 games while averaging 15.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and recording 27 blocked shots. Her impressive field goal percentage of 50.8% ranked third in the NSIC, while her 27 blocks (1.0 per game) placed her seventh.
 
The Wayzata, Minn., native had several outstanding performances, with her best game coming against the University of Minnesota Crookston late in the season (2/7). In that game, Berns finished with 34 points on 15-for-22 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds. She scored 20 or more points nine times and reached double figures in all but six games.
 
Another key returners is Jessika Lofstrom. Like Berns, Lofstrom started all 26 games, leading the team in minutes per game (31.9) and rebounds per game (6.5) while also averaging 9.9 points. The Minnesota native caught fire late in the season, scoring in double figures in nine of her final 11 games, including a career-high 24 points against St. Cloud State University (1/23).
 
Samantha Paulsen, meanwhile, made 15 starts in 25 games played, averaging seven points, four rebounds and one assist per game. Now entering her fourth year, Paulsen shot an efficient 42% from the field and 27% from three-point range in 2025-26. Also returning is Hali Savala, who averaged five points, four rebounds and one assist per game while making 20 starts and appearing in all 26 contests.
 
Another big Jimmies coming back is Kate Cordes, a 5-foot-8 graduate student who was named Jamestown's Player to Watch ahead of the upcoming season. Cordes redshirted in 2025-26 but was a standout performer in 2024-25, when she averaged 19.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists. That season, she earned First Team All-Conference honors in the North Star Athletic Association and was also named a Third Team NAIA All-American. The Shakopee, Minn., native has 1246 career points to her name, ranking 12th in Jamestown women's basketball history as she looks to add to that total this season.
 
Other returners for UJ include Jordan Munson, Madelyn Malmgren, Caitlin Beauchamp, Aubrey Beauchamp and Kiara Jangula, with all five looking to contribute for the second-year NSIC program.
 
Eight newcomers join the Jimmies this season. The seven freshmen include Addison Sage (Thompson, N.D.), Maycie Talbott (Max, N.D.), Sophia Perry (Lakeville, Minn.), Haley Attleson (Jamestown, N.D.), Izzy Friedt (Oakes, N.D.), Hattie Fullhart (Fergus Falls, Minn.) and Cassie Wegman (Delano, Minn.). The final newcomer is Kelsey Willems, a graduate transfer from Wayne State College who averaged seven points and four rebounds per game last season for the Wildcats.
 
The Staff
 
Sankey returns to the helm for his ninth season in 2026-27. He played four years at Concordia University Nebraska, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 2006. Sankey landed his first head coaching position at Concordia University Ann Arbor beginning with the 2013-14 season. Following five seasons there, he was named head coach at the University of Jamestown ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.
 
After several seasons of building the program, Sankey developed Jamestown into one of the better NAIA women's basketball teams, advancing to the NAIA National Tournament in each of UJ's final three NAIA seasons in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. The highlight of this run was a Sweet 16 appearance in the 2024 tournament, when the Jimmies defeated No. 11 Lewis-Clark State College in the Round of 32 before battling No. 1 Marian University in a 72-63 loss in the Sweet 16. Heading into 2026-27, Sankey holds a 123-106 (.537) record at Jamestown.
 
Assisting the Jimmies for the fifth season will be Faith Brintle. Brintle split her playing career between Lincoln University in Missouri and Minot State University. After one season as an assistant coach at Laramie County Community College, she joined the Jimmies ahead of the 2022-23 season, just in time for their three consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances.
 
A newcomer to the coaching staff is graduate assistant Jack Wagner, who begins his first season at Jamestown in 2026-27.
 
The Schedule
 
The Jimmies will play a full 28-game schedule this season, consisting of 22 NSIC contests and six nonconference matchups.
 
Jamestown hosted a scrimmage against North Dakota State College of Science on October 23 before earning a 71-53 exhibition victory at Bismarck State College on October 28.
 
Conference play begins this week as the Jimmies host MSU Moorhead for their season and home opener (11/11). Later in the week, UJ hosts NAIA opponent Dickinson State University (11/14).
 
The first road contests will take place in the Centennial State the following week, when the Jimmies face a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) opponents in Regis University (11/18) and Metropolitan State University of Denver (11/20).
 
Afterward, the Jimmies return to NSIC play with a matchup against Northern State University (11/24), just before Thanksgiving, followed by a contest against Minnesota Crookston (11/28), two days after the holiday.
 
Rounding out November will be a Monday night matchup against Bismarck State College (11/30), marking Jamestown's final home nonconference game of the season.
 
Later that week, the Jimmies will face two fellow North Dakota institutions in NSIC action, taking on the UMary (12/3) and Minot State (12/5).
 
Their final conference games of the 2026 calendar year will come on the road against Bemidji State University (12/10) and the University of Minnesota Duluth (12/12).
 
The weekend before Christmas, Jamestown will travel to Hawaii for the Hoops in Hawaii Christmas Classic, where the Jimmies will play two neutral-site games at Hawaii Pacific University. UJ will face Chaminade University (12/18), before taking on Montana State University Billings (12/19).
 
The remainder of the schedule will consist entirely of conference action, with the first game of 2027 coming against Jamestown's travel partner, Northern State (1/2).
 
The following weekend begins an eight-game stretch against NSIC South opponents, starting with a return to Harold Newman Arena to face Wayne State College (1/8) and Augustana University (1/9).
 
Next on the schedule is a four-game road trip, beginning with matchups at Winona State University (1/15) and Concordia University, St. Paul, on (1/16). The Jimmies will then travel to the University of Sioux Falls (1/22) and Southwest Minnesota State University (1/23).
 
Jamestown returns home to close out January with matchups against the two remaining South Division opponents, Minnesota State University (1/29) and St. Cloud State University on (1/30).
 
Six games remain on the schedule in February, beginning with a short trip to northwestern Minnesota to face MSU Moorhead (2/4) and Minnesota Crookston on (2/6).
 
The following weekend, the Jimmies return home for their final two-game homestand, hosting Minnesota Duluth (2/11) and Bemidji State on (2/13).
 
For the final two games of the 2026-27 regular season, UJ will travel to UMary on (2/18) before hosting Minot State (2/20) to conclude the regular season.
 
Should Jamestown finish among the top 12 teams in the conference standings, the NSIC Tournament will take place from February 24 through March 2. The first round will be played at campus sites, while the quarterfinals and subsequent rounds will take place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
For all game previews, recaps and season updates, be sure to visit jimmiepride.com to stay on top of the latest news surrounding Jamestown women's basketball.