MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State women's basketball team is ready to take the next step and compete at the Sanford Pentagon.

Host site for the NSIC Tournament's final 8 teams, the Beavers have made the playoffs both of the first two seasons under head coach Ryan Clark, but now have their sights set on at least the quarterfinals at the Pentagon.

"Last year for us, it was having a winning record at home, and we did that," Coach Clark said of the team's goal. "Now we need to strengthen our home record and not just be just above .500, and then, obviously in the NSIC, which is such a tough league, try and steal a few on the road as well and position ourselves to have a home playoff game or get a straight through to the Pentagon.

"…So hopefully we can take the next step forward and get down to the quarters and be at the Pentagon to be one of the eight teams there."

The season-long race to the postseason begins this weekend for the Beavers, who open the season with a pair of non-conference games in Puerto Rico on Friday and Saturday in the Puerto Rico Clasico.

"It's going to be really awesome," Clark said of this weekend's games. "Looking forward to taking in some of what Puerto Rico has to offer and learning about that culture down there as well, and just making some awesome memories.

"But definitely it's a business trip at the same time; we want to go down there and improve as a team and get better, and we have two great opportunities down there to do that."

Following the once-in-a-lifetime season openers, Minot State makes its home debut hosting Mayville State on Wednesday, November 18, and Dickinson State on Thursday, November 19, with tip-off at the MSU Dome at 5:30 p.m. both nights.

The Beavers open the daunting NSIC race hosting in-state rival Mary on Tuesday, November 24, in a pre-Thanksgiving battle at the MSU Dome.

Leading the way in the charge to make it to the Pentagon will be two standout returners in 5-foot-9 senior guard Taryn Hamling, a 2^nd-team All-NSIC performer last season, and 6-0 junior forward Lara Dobbins.

Hamling led the Beavers in scoring last season (15.9 ppg), steals (55), and 3-pointers (83), while adding 3.9 rebounds per game and 32 assists.

Dobbins contributed 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and was second on the team with 52 assists.

"(Taryn) was awesome for us last year, an All-Conference player, and I'm excited to see her build off of that," Clark said.

"(Lara's ) looked great all fall," he added. "I think there are times last year Lara probably sacrificed for the greater good of the team, and I'm excited to see her kind of step into a bigger role, and she's really embracing it, which has been great."

They are the two more experienced returners back for the Beavers, who return eight from last season. They team with four transfers and two freshmen.

Senior 5-3 guard Helena Kuck from the University of Tampa, an All-Region player in junior college at Western Nebraska CC, will have a big impact at point guard for Minot State.

"She's someone that can settle us down a little bit, take control of the ball there," Clark said.

Also set to make an impact are senior forwards Jordan McMahon (6-0 from Upper Iowa) and Nyah Vermeulen (6-2 from Newberry College), and 5-7 junior guard Molly Burns from Georgia College & State.

Then the Beavers add two of the top talents in North Dakota in freshmen Emma Jones from Glenburn High School and Skotti Beck from South Prairie High School.

Jones, a 5-11 guard and 1^st-Team All-State player, is the all-time scoring leader at Glenburn – for both boys and girls basketball – with more than 2,100 career points and more than 1,200 rebounds.

Beck, a 6-0 guard, is a two-time 1^st Team All-State player who eclipsed 1,000 points in her high school career.

"They're both going to get opportunities this year," Clark said. "It's going to be a learning curve and a learning experience for them as freshmen playing in the NSIC, but they're two players that our Minot State fans can be very excited about watching over the course of the next 4 to 5 years."

But for now, the focus is this season, this weekend, and starting things off right.

"Hopefully we can start a bit better in our non-conference schedule, build some momentum and be ready to go as conference season starts," Minot State's head coach said.