UND freshman Jayden Sonnenberg shows promise in victory over Minot State

UND Athletics By Alex Faber Today at 3:27 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? GRAND FORKS — UND senior guard Jayda Maves passed the ball to Jayden Sonnenberg late in the third quarter of Sunday afternoon's 84-68 win over Minot State. "Shoot it," Maves mumbled to the true freshman, who was open in the corner. ADVERTISEMENT Sonnenberg, who had scored her first collegiate points with a layup earlier in the game, sank the 3-pointer. "You're talking about a kid that's playing her second college game ever," head coach Dennis Hutter said. "Jayden can shoot the ball, she really can." Sonnenberg led the Fighting Hawks' bench with 13 points, shooting 5-for-6 from the field. She also tallied five rebounds and one assist in her 17 minutes on the court. Sonnenberg set the all-time school scoring record at Frazee High School last season. Through her first two collegiate games, Sonnenberg appears to be getting comfortable with the jump in competition. "It's been difficult, I'm not going to lie," Sonnenberg said. "It was definitely an adjustment, but honestly, I'm just asking questions and understanding what coach wants from me. It's totally different than high school. Very physical, very fast and my role is different, too. So just being able to be open-minded and being able to do whatever the team needs, I'm willing to do that, whether I'm comfortable with it or not." Sonnenberg, a 5-foot-10 guard, has also played a bit out of position. With 6-foot graduate forward Abby Duchscherer sidelined due to injury, the Hawks have deployed Sonnenberg at the No. 5 position. "She's probably more of a four than she is a five," Hutter said. "She stepped in (and has) done a really good job." ADVERTISEMENT Sonnenberg logged 14 minutes against Minnesota Crookston in her first collegiate game. Her stat line was quiet in that first appearance, but Hutter has been impressed with her effort. "Jayden wants to be really good," Hutter said. "She's in the gym every morning at 6 a.m., getting up shots, working out her game, just constantly, constantly in the gym. She just really wants to be good. It's nice when kids are like that, and then they have success. You get happy for them, you really do, because they trust the process a little bit. So I'm really happy for her, and the fact that game two was better than game one — game one was game one, I'm sure that played a factor a little bit, and obviously you saw a little bit more comfortable Jayden in game two, a little bit more of the player we think she can be down the road." Hutter has not been afraid to deploy his freshmen. Maggie Fricke and Mia Jacobson logged nine and eight minutes, respectively, against Minot State. Fricke, a 5-foot-7 guard from Minot, N.D., hit two free throws to finish with two points. She played nine minutes in the opener against Minnesota Crookston, making a free throw to score her first collegiate points. Jacobson also scored her first collegiate points against the Beavers. The 6-foot-1 guard from San Diego finished with five points and four rebounds. "I think (the freshmen's) confidence level is great," Maves said. "My confidence doesn't waver in them at all. I'm just so excited to see how they are throughout the season." ADVERTISEMENT The freshmen share a suite, which means they see plenty of each other off the court as well. "We spend a lot of time together," Sonnenberg said. "Everyone's really great. We have a lot of good girls on the team. It's just so easy to play with them and it's so easy to hang around with them. On and off the court, we always have a good time, and they just make it really easy to be around them." 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Tags Tags UND BASKETBALL COLLEGE BASKETBALL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BASKETBALL By Alex Faber Alex Faber is a sports reporter for the Grand Forks Herald. A Michigan transplant, he graduated from Michigan State University in 2024 with a degree in journalism and minors in history and environmental studies. 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