University of North Dakota Women's Basketball

Bernhard (Youngblut) is in her fourth season at her alma mater in the 2016-17 season. Her teams have enjoyed great success with a Big Sky title (2014) and a pair of WBI appearances (2015, 2016) at UND coming after two state championship seasons at the high school level. Her return to UND came after leading her high school alma mater, Davenport Assumption High School, to back-to-back Iowa State Class 3A titles in her two years at th helm. Her teams went a combined 31-1 in conference play and went 50-4 overall in her two seasons at the helm. Im excited to have Mallory back on campus, head coach Travis Brewster said at her time of hiring. She does an excellent job teaching the game and has a passion to succeed. She will definitely be an asset to have here at UND. Youngblut finished her five-year playing career at North Dakota ranked 15th all-time with 1,307 career points. The 29th player in program history to join the 1,000 Point Club, she ranks second in career field goal percentage (81.6) and fifth in career three-pointers made (220). She was part of a 2013-14 staff that captured the Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament titles as well as last seasons WBI postseason appearance. Bernhard works primarily with the guards. She is married to husband, Nick.

University of North Dakota head women’s basketball coach Mallory Bernhard announced the addition of Dennis Hutter to the North Dakota coaching staff as the associate head coach on Mar. 29, 2024. Hutter was elevated to Head Coach on March 24, 2025.    Hutter has spent the previous 19 years patrolling the Mayville State sidelines where he’s complied a school record 314 wins with seven 20+ win seasons. Under Hutter’s guidance, the Comets have recorded 13 straight winning seasons with a 258-102 mark, three North Star Athletic Association Regular Season Championships and four conference tournament titles, including back-to-back championships during that stretch. The Comets were crowned regular season champions in consecutive seasons in 2018-19 and 2019-20.   Hutter was honored as the NSAA Coach of the Year twice in 2014 and 2019 after leading his team to regular season NSAA titles. The 2013-14 Comets were crowned the conference tournament champions and held a 25-4 mark and a 14-1 record at home. The Comets carried a potent offense that averaged 90.1 points per game with four players averaging over 14.5 points per contest and poured in 100 or more points in five games. Hutter’s squad was stout on the other side of floor as well, holding teams to 64.4 points per game with a .349 field goal percentage.   Hutter and the Comets set a program record with 26 wins, with just three losses this past season and were a perfect 12-0 on their home court. Mayville State earned a share of the regular season title with an 11-1 league mark and won the NSAA Tournament over Dakota State, 61-59, to claim an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament. After winning both games in their opening pod, the Comets advanced to the NAIA National Tournament’s Round of 16 for the second time under coach Hutter.   The Comets were one of the top offensive units in the NAIA, averaging 79.1 points per game which ranked 22nd and was top-10 in three-pointers made per game (10.4), three-point percentage (.363), free throws made per game (16.8) and free throw percentage (80.8).   Prior to his time at Mayville State, Hutter was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Southwest Minnesota State for three seasons and helped lead the Mustangs to a NSIC Championship in his final year with the team. He coached and worked with five all-conference players, one all-region player and one All-American.   Before joining the SMSU coaching staff, Hutter began his coaching career at Centennial High School in Blaine, Minn., where he guided the team to its first conference championships, back-to-back conference titles and a 64-28 overall mark in his four years as the head coach.

North Dakota head women's basketball coach Mallory Bernhard announced the promotion of Alex Kladis to assistant coach in June of 2024. Kladis previously served as the team's director of operations since the 2022-23 season.  Kladis spent the 2021-22 season as the Director of Basketball Operations Intern for the Bradley women's basketball team in Peoria, Ill. He spent time scheduling and managing the team's travel while also coordinating facility use, team meals, and other team projects as needed. Before Bradley, he spent the 2019-20 season in Devils Lake, N.D. as the assistant men's basketball coach for Lake Region State College. Kladis helped the Royals through a tough season that ended at the Region XIII Playoffs against Miles Community College. Before working for the Royals, Kladis spent the 2018-19 season as the boys' varsity assistant coach for Lexington High School in Lexington, S.C. He helped the team to 29-1 record with a 5A Final Four appearance during his singular season with the team. Kladis earned his Master's in Sport Management degree from Southern Methodist University in 2021. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Sport and Entertainment Management from the University of South Carolina in 2019.

Claire Canahuate joins the Fighting Hawks in April 2025 as the women's basketball assistant coach. Canahuate was with Mayville State University since 2016, where she played on the women's basketball team from 2016-2020. In her playing career, she helped lead the team to an 81-35 record and scored 1,194 points and recorded over 300 career assists. In her four years of playing, they were crowned the regular season champions twice and led the team to win the conference tournament championship, giving the team a national tournament berth. Canahuate graduated from Mayville State in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sport Management. Following graduation, she started as the assistant coach at Mayville State, where she coached four years. Under Canahuate, the team has a record of 84-25 with three straight 20+ win seasons. With those wins it led a regular season championship title, two conference tournament championships title, and two national tournament appearances making it to the round of 32 and the Sweet 16 the following year. Canahuate has helped run youth/team camps and has done individual lessons both locally, through the University, and traveling to locations around North Dakota and Minnesota. She has worked alongside her father in the Minnesota area with his camps through his company "Hoopology".

University of North Dakota head women’s basketball coach Mallory Bernhard announced the addition of Andi Gayner to the North Dakota coaching staff as an assistant coach on May 22, 2024.  Following a decorated four-year playing career at Mayville State, Gayner served as the team's head assistant women's basketball coach, under UND associate head coach Dennis Hutter, for three seasons. While on the sidelines for the Comets, Gayner helped lead the team to consecutive Regular Season North Star Athletic Association Championships from 2018-20 with a conference mark of 22-6 over the two seasons. Mayville State also was crowned the NSAA's postseason tournament champions in 2019-20 and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament. In her three seasons on the bench, the Comets held a 58-22 overall record and a 34-5 mark in home contests. Gayner handled the defensive play as well as post play for the Comets and assisted with game day scouting reports. She was also responsible for team fundraising and split part of her time in the Mayville State admissions office. As a player at Mayville State, Gayner earned four NSAA All-Conference honors with two appearances on the second team in her first two seasons and was a first team selection as a junior and senior. She was named an Honorable Mention All-American in back-to-back seasons to close out her career after averaging over 19.0 points per game in both seasons. In 2017, she was also named a NAIA DAKTRONICS Academic All-American Gayner finished her career with the second most points by a Comet with 1,757. She also tallied 736 rebounds, 137 steals, 76 blocks and 164 assists. Following her stint as a coach at MSU, Gayner spent time in the St. Thomas Athletic Department as a compliance extern and with Bemidji State as a compliance intern. During that time, she was an assistant girls basketball coach for the Wayzata girls basketball team in Plymouth, Minn. Gayner earned her bachelor's degree in sport management with minors in fitness/wellness and coaching from Mayville State. She graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law with a Master of Legal Studies and holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of St. Thomas School of Law.  

Allison "Izy" Todd was announced as the University of North Dakota women's basketball's team director of basketball operations on July 19, 2024. Todd has spent the last five years as an assistant coach for Lake Superior State’s women’s basketball team. She spent three years as the team’s top assistant and prior to the 2023-24 season she was promoted to associate head coach. Under Todd’s guidance over the past two seasons, a pair of Lakers, Grace Bradford and Mattison Rayman, earned All-GLIAC honors. Rayman was a second team selection in 2022-23, while Bradford was the GLIAC Freshman of the year that season and a second team and all-defensive selection this past season.   As the assistant coach at Southeastern Community College, Todd’s responsibilities included aiding the head coach in any needed capacities and supporting with daily practice duties. She was responsible for creating and executing practices in the absence of the head coach. Todd uploaded game statistics and film following every home game. In addition, Todd maintained the team’s budget. During her time at Southeastern Community College, Todd also served as Student Activities Coordinator/Residence Life Advisor.    Prior to Southeastern, Todd held two roles at Point Guard College. PGC is considered to be the nation’s leading basketball education camp. She served as the Staffing Coordinator Intern in 2018, where she assisted in identifying, interviewing, screening and hiring Point Guard College staff. From 2016-2017, Todd worked as a Basket Instructor for Point Guard College. Her duties included demonstrating on-and-off ball offensive and defensive techniques, instructing young athletes in a gym setting and leading drills that reinforced classroom learning.    Todd was a member of the Monmouth College Women’s Basketball team from 2014-18 and served as captain during her senior year. She was the Women’s Basketball representative for Monmouth’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee from January 2016 - May 2018.    A 2018 graduate of Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ill., Todd completed her bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics.