Click here to view the PDF Southwest Minnesota State will look to remain perfect on the 2004-05 season as they compete in their third consecutive tournament this weekend
The Mustang womens basketball team will travel to Vermillion, S.D. to play in the Coyote Classic, hosted by the University of South Dakota. This will be the third straight tournament in which the Mustangs have played in after hosting the SMSU/US Bancorp Classic and playing in the Northwest Missouri State Classic.
SMSU will face two strong North Central Region opponents in the University of Nebraska-Omaha and the University of South Dakota. Both teams will enter this weekend with records of 4-1. Wayne State College (5-1) will also take part in the tournament, but will not face SMSU.
The Records: The Mustangs will head into the Coyote Classic with a perfect 5-0 record. Nebraska-Omaha, who the Mustangs play on Friday have a 4-1 record, while host South Dakota enters with a 4-1 record as well.
Opponent Info:
Since losing their season opener on the road at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, the University of Nebraska-Omaha has been on a roll. The Mavericks have reeled off four consecutive wins, including wins over North Central Region opponents Chadron State (NE) and Winona State. UNO is coming off of a 34 point win over William Penn (IA), 73-39 on Tuesday, November 30.
The Mavericks are led by J.J. Smith, who leads UNO in scoring with 14.8 points per game. Smith also leads the Mavericks in rebounding with 5.6 per game and is third on the team in assists with 2.8 per game. UNO had two other players averaging double-digits in scoring. Karen Theis is second on the team with 12.8 points per game and Lindsey Peterson averages 11.4 points per game. The UNO defense has been outstanding this season, holding opponents to 51.6 points per game and allowing opponents to shoot just 38.3 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from behind the three-point line. In all four wins, the Mavericks have won each game by 16 or more points.
Entering her first year as head coach of the Mavericks is Patty Patton Shearer. She is the sixth head coach in the history of Nebraska-Omaha and takes over after spending the last four seasons at Fort Lewis College (CO). In four years at Fort Lewis, Patton Shearer guided the Skyhawks to a 60-49 record, with 58 of her 60 wins coming in the last three seasons. Last season she guided Fort Lewis to a school record 23-8 season and was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. It was the second time she has won the award, as she was named coach of the year after the 2001-02 season. In 01-02, she took FLC to a 17-8 record, just one season after the team finished with a 2-24 season.
After a 25-8 season that included a trip to the NCAA Division II North Central Region playoffs, the University of South Dakota has started off on the right track to returning to the postseason. USD will enter this weekends play with a 4-1 record and are currently on a three-game winning streak. After a 83-50 loss to Regis University (CO), the Coyotes have strung together wins over Winona State University, Chadron State and Dakota Wesleyan University (SD).
With the departure of All-American Mandy Koupal, sophomore Vanessa Yanez has taken over as the scoring leader at USD. Yanez is averaging 15.6 points per game and leads a Coyote team that has two other players averaging double-digits. Jenni Flynn and Brittany Bessert both are averaging 10 points or more per game. USD has been outstanding shooting the ball, as they have posted a 47.4 field goal percentage and 41.0 percent on three-pointers in their first five games. Defensively they are holding opponents to 38.7 percent from the field and are plus 25 in turnovers. The Coyotes interior defense has been tremendous as they are currently averaging 4.4 blocks per game.
Head coach Chad Lavin has enjoyed tremendous success at South Dakota, taking the Coyotes to four North Central Conference championships. He has been a collegiate head coach for 23 seasons, seven of which have been at USD. In 2002-03 he was named the WBCA North Central Region Coach of the Year for taking the Coyotes to a school record 27-5 record. That season he was also named NCC Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. In well over 600 games, Lavin has compiled a 365-264 record (.579) overall. Lavin and his Coyotes have been nearly unbeatable at the DakotaDome, as he is currently 106-33 (.762).
The Series: When the Mustangs and Nebraska-Omaha lock horns on Friday, it will mark just the fourth time that the two schools have met. Southwest Minnesota State will be looking to remain perfect as they are currently 3-0 against the Mavericks. The last time the two teams met was in the Mustangs historical 2000-01 season, when SMSU defeated UNO 74-61 at the Northwest Missouri State Classic to open the season. SMSU and USD have a little more history between each other, as this will be the 20th meeting between each teams. South Dakota has a slight edge over SMSU 10-9. The last time the schools faced off was last season when the Coyotes handed the Mustangs a 75-61 loss. Southwest Minnesota States last win over USD was in the 2002-03 season when they defeated the Coyotes 75-69 in Vermillion, S.D.
Awards for the Mustangs: The Southwest Minnesota State players are seeing a nice amount of awards for their early success. Twice this season Michelle Bruns has been named NSIC Player of the Week, both weeks sharing the award with two players. Those same weeks have also been the weeks that followed Bruns earning an MVP for tournaments. She was named MVP of the Northwest Missouri State Classic and the SMSU/US Bancorp Classic. Bruns was also named to the all-tournament team, along with teammate Regan French, at the SMSU/US Bancorp Classic. Kelly Crimi was selected as an all-tournament member at the Northwest Missouri State Classic, after scoring a career-high 18 points on six three-pointers that tied a school record.
Bruns and the History Book: Senior guard Michelle Bruns, who last season joined the 1,000 point club, has a chance this season to climb the Mustangs career record book. Entering this season she ranked ninth on the career scoring chart with 1,136 career points. Jullie Thein (1987-91) owns the SMSU career scoring title with 1,800 career points. Bruns is also chasing Dani Colemans (1996-2000) school career record for three-point field goals made. Coleman holds the SMSU record with 177 and Bruns entered this season with 131. She has already made five three-point field goals this season, moving her 41 three-point baskets away from Colemans record.
Southwest Minnesota State at Home: Since the opening of the R/A Facility in 1996, the Mustangs have proved theres no place like home. SMSU has posted a 64-27 record in the previous eight seasons at home, for a winning percentage of .708.
Mustang Newcomers: Southwest Minnesota State will be displaying six new players to this season roster. Of the new players on the team, three are athletes who redshirted last season as freshman. Jen Nelson, Erin Oakland and Laura VanOverbeke will be making their debuts as redshirt freshman and will be joined by freshman Sara Leidall and Megan Mateer who will be redshirting this season. SMSU will have one junior college transfer joining the team. Forward Alaura Sharp, a junior college transfer from Fort Scott Community College, will provide immediate depth to the Mustangs lineup this season.
NSIC Preseason Poll: The Southwest Minnesota State University womens team was picked to finish fifth after compiling a 6-10 conference mark and 13-15 record overall. Concordia, who finished last season with a 15-1 NSIC record and 28-4 overall mark, was picked to finish first by the NSIC coaches. MSU Moorhead received 59 total votes and was the only other school to receive a first place vote. Northern State and Wayne State were picked to tie for third, with each team receiving 54 votes. Behind the Mustangs were Bemidji State and Minnesota -Crookston who tied for sixth after each receiving 39 votes. Winona State rounds out the conference, being picked last after gaining 28 votes.
