MARSHALL, Minn.- Southwest Minnesota State (1-3, 0-1 NSIC) will look to capture its first conference win of the season this weekend as it hosts its first home NSIC games of the year against Upper Iowa on Friday at 4 p.m., and Winona State on Saturday at 5 p.m.

SMSU Quick Hits
- Senior forward, Lauren Hedlund, enters the week just six points shy of becoming the 19th member of the SMSU women's basketball 1,000 career points club 
- Head Coach, Tom Webb, enters his second season at the helm to the SMSU women's basketball program after spending eight seasons at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla.
- SMSU is 315-238 all-time in home games after its win over Waldorf on Nov. 18 
- SMSU currently ranks first in the NSIC in blocked shots (all games) 
- True freshman, Abuk Akoi, ranks first in the NSIC (all games) in blocked shots
- Taylor Holicky's six blocked shots at USF made her the first SMSU player since 2007 to have at least five blocked shots in a single game

Weekend Recap
- SMSU lost its conference opener last Saturday at Sioux Falls, 76-58
- Caleigh Rodning posted a second straight double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds against USF
- Meleah Reinhart led SMSU in scoring for the first time in her career with 16 points at USF
- Erin Baxter reached double figures in the Mustangs loss to USF with 12 points
- Taylor Holicky became the first SMSU player to have five or more blocks in a single game with her six rejections at USF last Saturday
- SMSU had double-digit blocks as a team for a second game in a row with 10 total blocks at USF

Upper Iowa: Game Preview
            UIU Team Notes
- 2016-17 Record: 4-23, 4-18 NSIC
- 2017-18 Record: 2-5, 0-1 NSIC
- The Peacocks suffered a 67-59 loss to Lincoln (Mo.) on Monday night giving them a 2-4 record through their non-conference schedule this season
- Upper Iowa opened NSIC play with a 65-56 loss to Winona State at home on Saturday afternoon
- The Peacocks went 2-4 during non-conference play with its lone win coming at home against Clarke
- Blair Klostermann and Savannah Domeyer led the team in scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively last weekend
- Natalie Dinius joined the pair in double figure scoring with 10 points
- Haley Martin pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds
            Series History
- Upper Iowa leads the all-time series with SMSU, 13-9
- The Mustangs are 5-6 all-time at home against the Peacocks
- SMSU split last season's games against Upper Iowa with a road win and a home loss
- SMSU defeated Upper Iowa, 79-70 on Dec. 2, 2016 for the first win at SMSU for Head Coach, Tom Webb
- Lauren Hedlund had 17 points and 16 boards in the Mustangs' win over Upper Iowa last year
- The Mustangs' dropped the second game of the season against Upper Iowa last year in a 66-59 defeat on Jan. 7, 2017
- Caleigh Rodning had 21 points and her first career double-double in the Mustangs' loss to UIU this past January
            Game Coverage
- Friday night's game will be broadcast live by Midco Sports Network on MidcoSN2 and MidcoSN2 HD
- SMSU vs UIU will also be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik and Anthony Rohlik handling the play-by-play for SMSU basketball
- The game can also be viewed online at SMSUmustangs.com
*[TIME CHANGE] Friday's men's and women's doubleheader in the R/A Facility, originally scheduled for 6 p.m, and 8 p.m., were moved up two hours earlier due to the NCAA Central Region Volleyball Tournament being hosted on the SMSU campus
 
Winona State: Game Preview
            WSU Team Notes
- 2016-17 Record: 22-9, 15-7 NSIC
- 2017-18 Record: 5-0, 1-0 NSIC
- WSU is off to its first 5-0 start since the 2014-15 season
- The Warriors currently lead the NSIC in scoring margin (+25.4), field goal % (50.5), rebound defense (27.8)
- WSU ranks second in NSIC in turnover margin (+8), assist/turnover ratio (1.57), three-point % (39.5)
- Senior, Hannah McGlone, recorded her 13th career double-double vs. Waldorf (20 points/17 rebounds)
- Junior, Rachel Novotny, added 20 points vs. Waldorf
- Freshman, Allie Pickrain, has scored in double digits in four of five games, including both last week as she leads the team with 13.6 ppg
- WSU will play at USF on Friday night before traveling to Marshall to face SMSU on Saturday
            Series History
- SMSU leads the all-time series, 44-35
- Winona State has won six straight games over SMSU dating back to the 2014-15 season
- SMSU is 39-33 all-time in conference games against WSU
- WSU won both of last season's matchups including a 74-65 win over SMSU in Marshall in the last meeting on Jan. 6, 2017
- The Mustangs went just 10 of 55 (18 percent) shooting in their first loss to WSU last season
- In the second game against WSU last season, SMSU went on a 25-8 run in the second half as the Mustangs attempted to erase a 19-point deficit
- Lauren Hedlund had 13 points and 18 boards while Caleigh Rodning led SMSU with 16 points in the second game vs WSU last season
            Game Coverage
- SMSU vs WSU will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik and Anthony Rohlik handling the play-by-play for SMSU basketball
- The game can also be viewed online at SMSUmustangs.com

NSIC Stats
Below are highlights of NSIC rankings through the first three weekends of the regular season (as of 11/27):
Player/ Team              Category                                             NSIC Rk. (all games)
SMSU                          Blocked Shots- 29 (7.3 blk/gm)                      1         
Caleigh Rodning          Reb.- 9.7 reb/gm                                            5
Caleigh Rodning          FT Pct.- .905                                                 T-6
Caleigh Rodning          DReb.- 7.3 dreb/gm                                        5
Erin Baxter                  Steals- 1.8 stl/gm                                             7
Emily Buysse               3FG Pct.- .667                                               T-1
Abuk Akoi                    Blocked Shots- 12 (3.0 blk/gm)                      T-1
Taylor Holicky              Blocked Shots- 8 (2.0 blk/gm)                         6

Conference Openers
- SMSU is now just 11-28 in home openers since 1979-80 season following last Saturday's loss at USF
- The Mustangs' last win in a conference opener was a 63-56 home win over Augustana in 2010
- SMSU has lost its last five conference openers all to Sioux Falls
- Sioux Falls defeated SMSU, 75-45 in last season's conference opener
 
Fresh Faces
- The Mustangs' 2017-18 roster features seven true freshman after having just two freshman on their 2016-17 roster
- True freshmen, Sadie Stelter, Meleah Reinhart and Erin Baxter have started all four games for the Mustangs entering the weekend
- True freshman players have accounted for 56 percent of the total minutes on the court for SMSU through three non-conference games and one NSIC contest with five freshman players averaging over 10 mpg
 
Home Sweet Home
- SMSU is 35-14 all-time in home openers after its win over Waldorf on Nov. 18
- The Mustangs win over Waldorf was the first win for SMSU in a home opener since a 101-43 win over Crown College back in 2013
- SMSU fell, 75-40 to USF in last season's home opener
- The 2017-18 season marks the 22nd year the R/A Facility has been the home arena for SMSU women's basketball
- SMSU has compiled a record of 135-139 in 274 games in the R/A Facility
- SMSU is 315-238 in all home games in the program's history
  
SMSU Individual Player Notes
- Reinhart Notes: Led SMSU in scoring for the first time in her career with 16 points at USF (11/25) ... has started all four games for SMSU so far this season … signed with SMSU during early signing period on Nov. 10, 2016
- Stelter Notes: Averaging 6.5 ppg and 22.8 minutes per game on the court as a true freshman ... has started all four games so far for SMSU ... made her SMSU debut vs MWSU (11/10) … signed with SMSU during early signing period on Nov. 10, 2016
- Rodning Notes: Had a second straight double-double with 11 points and 12 boards at USF (11/25) … named to NSIC All-Freshman team in 2016-17 ... averaged 13.7 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game as a true freshman ... posted eight straight double-doubles last season
- Bonestroo Notes: Had team high three assists in career debut vs MWSU (11/10) … signed with SMSU during early signing period on Nov. 10, 2016
- Bohler Notes: Has played in 60 career games ... signed with SMSU during the late signing period on April 16, 2014
- Wenning Notes: Has appeared in 13 career games ... signed with SMSU during early signing period on Nov. 13, 2013
- E. Buysse Notes: Conncected on 3 of 4 three point attemtps against Waldorf (11/18) ... appeared in 19 games as a true freshman ... scored career high 11 points at MSU last season (2/17)
- Teske Notes: Signed with SMSU during early signing period on Nov. 10, 2016
- S. Buysse Notes: Averaging a career best 8.3 ppg so far this season ... Led SMSU in scoring with 18 points against Waldorf (11/18) … has appeared in 54 career games with 45 starts ... averaged 7.3 ppg and 2.7 rpg in 2016-17
- Hutton Notes: Made her SMSU debut vs MWSU (11/10) … had five rebounds vs FHSU … signed with SMSU during early signing period on Nov. 10, 2016
- Baxter Notes: Made her SMSU debut vs MWSU (11/10) … reached double-figures for the first time vs FHSU with 10 points (11/11) … signed with SMSU during early signing period on Nov. 10, 2016
- Lother Notes: Made her SMSU debut vs FHSU (11/11) … joined the SMSU program during the summer of 2017 ... transfer from St. Olaf College
- Hedlund Notes: Just 6 points shy of 1,000 career points entering the weekend ... ranks tied for seventh in school history in rebounding average (6.9 rpg) ... ranked fourth in the NSIC in rebounding last season with 8.6 rpg (conf. only)
- Akoi Notes: Leads NSIC with 3.0 blks/gm so far this year ... made her SMSU debut vs MWSU (11/10) … had four blocks in her first career game vs MWSU (11/10) … Signed with SMSU during early signing period on Nov. 10, 2016
- Holicky Notes: Became first player since 2007 to have five or more blocks with six blocks at USF (11/25) ... Started all 27 games in 2016-17 … scored career high 22 points at UMC last year (1/13)

1,000 Point Club
- Lauren Hedlund enters the weekend just six points from becoming the 19th member of the 1,000 career point club in SMSU women's basketball history
- Hedlund averaged double-digit points per game in each of her first three seasons at SMSU
- The last player to reach 1,000 points was Abby Kenealy during the 2011-12 season
 
Record Watch
- Lauren Hedlund (9), Taylor Holicky (4), and Caleigh Rodning (7) each finished in the top-10 in school history for total defensive rebounds in a single season in 2016-17:   
Single Season Defense Rebounds
Rank    D Reb.             Name (min 20 games)
1.         182      Lillie Brown (100o-182d) - 1994-95
2.         181      Dawn Munson (102o-181d) - 1977-78
3.         174      Lillie Brown (85o-174d) - 1993-94
4.         170      Taylor Holicky (37o-170d) - 2016-17
5.         163      Julie Thein (98o-163d) - 1988-89
6.         159      Lillie Brown (96o-159d) - 1995-96
7.         144      Caleigh Rodning (58o-144d) - 2016-17
8.         142      Amy Boman (71o-142d) - 2001-02
9.         137      Lauren Hedlund (93o-137d) - 2016-17
10.       136      Michelle Bruns (27o-136d) - 2002-03
 - Hedlund began the 2017-18 season ranked in the top-10 in SMSU history in rebounding average, defensive rebounding, and offensive rebounding average
 - Holicky also entered the season ranked in the top-10 in SMSU defensive rebounding average for her career:
 Career Rebounding Avg.
Rank    RPG     Name (min 40 games)
1.         10.3     Mary Becker (71 games) - 1978-81
5.         8.2       Julie Thein (112 games) - 1987-91
6.         7.3       Kris Larson (42 games) - 1984-86
T-7.      6.9       Lauren Hedlund (87 games) - 2014-17
 Career Defensive Rebounding Avg.
Rank    DRPG Name (min 40 games)
1.         7.5       Cindy Olson (74 games) - 1976-80
8.         4.3       Taylor Holicky (76 games) - 2014-17
9.         4.2       Lori Nangle (46 games) - 1984-87
10.       4.0       Lauren Hedlund (87 games) - 2014-17
 Career Offensive Rebounding Avg.
Rank    ORPG Name (min 40 games)
1.         3.0       Lillie Brown (103 games) - 1992-96
2.         2.9       Lauren Hedlund (87 games) - 2014-17
3.         2.5       Julie Thein (112 games) - 1987-91