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This week:  The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team will travel to the Nebraska-Omaha Classic this weekend for a pair of contests with Chadron State (Neb.) and Oklahoma Panhandle State.  SMSU and CSC are scheduled for a 3 p.m. tilt on Friday, while SMSU and OPSU will play at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

SMSU basketball online:  Live statistics for home games and live audio and video streaming for all women's basketball games are available at www.smsumustangs.com.

Tune it in:  SMSU women's basketball can be heard all season long on 105.1 KARL FM.  Aaron Ziemer, the voice of the Mustangs, will again handle play-by-play.

The series:  Friday marks the sixth meeting between SMSU and CSC in a series that dates back to the 1996-97 season.  The Mustangs are 5-0 against the Eagles all-time.  Saturday will be the first meeting between SMSU and OPSU.

Last weekend:  The Mustangs' season opening weekend resulted in a split for the hosts of the SMSU Classic.  The Mustangs fell to Truman State (Mo.) 71-59 on Friday but rebounded with a 63-58 win over No. 23 Hillsdale (Mich.) on Saturday.

The coaches:  Mike Jewett enters his fourth year at the helm of the SMSU women's basketball program.  Jewett owns a 34-54 record at SMSU.  Under his direction, the Mustangs have charted improved records in each of his seasons, going from seven wins in 2006-07 to twice that in 2008-09. The sixth head coach in the program's 40-year history, Jewett is in seventh overall season as a head coach at the collegiate level, where he has an overall record of 95-73.
    Tim Connealy is in his second season as CSC's head coach.   He came to CSC after a stint as an assistant coach at Nebraska-Kearney. In 2008-09, the Eagles led all of NCAA Division II in 3-pointers made with 9.7 per game.  Connealy has an 11-17 record as the head coach of the Eagles.
    Brad Vanden Boogaard has led OPSU to a 2-2 record so far this season, picking up wins against University of the South (Tenn.) and Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

Mustang Notes:
• Abby Kenealy recorded her first career doube-double over the weekend, scoring 16 points and
    grabbing 11 rebounds in SMSU's win over Hillsdale on Saturday.
• Tori Fink connected on three three-pointers en route to a career-high 25 points on Saturday.
• SMSU forced Truman State (Mo.) to make 21 turnovers in Friday's loss to the Bulldogs.
• The Mustangs' loss last Thursday against TSU was just its second season-opening defeat in the         last 13 seasons.
• SMSU's 25 offensive rebounds last against TSU was a total that wasn't matched last season.

About SMSU:  The Mustangs are off to a 1-1 start in 2009 after dropping their season opener to Truman State (Mo.) 71-59 and picking up a 63-58 win over Hillsdale (Mich.).  Sophomore center Abby Kenealy (Farmington, Minn.) is averaging a team-best 16.5 points per game and is just shy of averaging a double-double as she is pulling down 9.5 rebounds per game.  Kenealy is also shooting a precise 50 percent from the field.   Junior guard Tori Fink (North Fond du Lac, Wis.) has also been a threat to score as she is averaging 14.5 points per contest through two games.  She has also connected on a team-high three three-pointers. Junior forward Laura Kramer (Fulda, Minn.) is averaging 10.0 rebounds per game and has blocked four shots in SMSU's two games.  The Mustangs have struggled from the line so far, shooting just under 60 percent in that category.

About Chadron State:  The Eagles are members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and are located in Chadron, Neb.  The Eagles have played just one game in 2009-10, falling 74-63 to Montana State-Billings on Nov. 21.  In the loss, Kaitlin Petri played all 40 minutes, scored 20 points and had four blocks.  Lexi Smidt also reached double-figures with 10 points; she also had a team-high nine rebounds.  CSC played a pair of exhibition game against Division I programs Utah and Bringham Young, losing by a combined 93 points.

About Oklahoma Panhandle State:  The Aggies are members of the Heartland Conference and are located in Goodwell, Okla.  OPSU currently owns a 2-2 record after picking up wins against the University of the South (Tenn.) and Southwestern Oklahoma State University and falling to Colorado-Colorado Springs and Adams State (Colo.).  Kariz Bioni and Camille Washington are both averaging 15.7 points per game, while Callie Schafer pulls down a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game.

Exhibition to open:  SMSU hosted Bethel in exhibition action on Nov. 14, having little trouble with the Division III Royals.  Taylor Voss poured in a game-high 17 points to help lead the Mustangs to an 81-45 win.  SMSU had four score in double figures as Tori Fink had 13 points, Miley Hunziker finished with 12 and Lucia Puchelova added 11.

Seeing double:  The Mustangs will have opponents seeing double this season as the squad has added twin sisters Landi and Miley Hunziker (Milford, Iowa) to the roster for 2009-10.  The siblings were both multi-sport athletes at Okoboji High School and opted to stay together in their college choice.  Can't tell them apart?  Landi wears No. 4, while Miley sports No. 24.

Historically speaking:  SMSU enters its 41st season of women's basketball this season.  SMSU has played 989 games, compiling an all time record of 531-458.  SMSU has racked up 25 winning seasons with 10 coming in the last 15 years.  The 2000-01 squad won a school record 25 games and made an appearance at the NCAA Tournament.

All by herself:  Guard Megan Stadler (Sioux Falls, S.D.) holds the distinction of being the lone senior on this year's squad.  Stadler is in her fifth year with the program and has been a mainstay in the SMSU backcourt. 

Preseason coaches' poll:  The NSIC's 14 head coaches tabbed SMSU 11th in their annual preseason poll.  The Mustangs received 66 points in the poll.  Defending NCAA Division II national champion Minnesota State, Mankato received nine first-place votes and 176 points to take the top spot in the poll.  Concordia- St. Paul, Augustana and Winona State also received first-place votes and checked in at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5, respectively.
    1.     Minnesota State (9)    176
    2.     Concordia-St. Paul (2)    154
    3.    Augustana (2)    145
    4.     MSU Moorhead    142
    5.     Winona State (1)    140
    6.     Minnesota Duluth    131
    7.     Wayne State    111
    8.     St. Cloud State    99
    9.     Mary    96
    10.     Northern State    73
    11.     Southwest Minnesota State    66
    12.     Minnesota, Crookston    55
    13.     Bemidji State    37
    14.     Upper Iowa    32
    ( ) First Place Votes

Stadler in the record book:  Senior Megan Stadler (Sioux Falls, S.D.) begins the season ranked ninth in career assists at SMSU.  The guard will likely jump a few spots quickly throughout the beginning of the season as she is just two assists away from moving into the eighth spot.
    1.     493    Michelle Bruns - 2001-05
    2.     425    Mary Roddel - 2000-04
    3.     401    Dani Coleman - 1996-00
    4.     366    Erin Frye - 1997-01
    5.     341    Lillie Brown - 1992-96
    6.     330    Abby Oakland - 2005-09
    7.     321    Shelli Schoeneck - 1999-03
    8.     317    Darcy Peterka - 1988-92
    9.     316    Megan Stadler - 2005-10

Home, sweet home:  The R/A Facility, the home of SMSU basketball, has been a tough place to play for opponents since opening its doors for the 1996-97 season.   In 13 seasons of playing in the Mustang home arena, SMSU women's basketball has compiled a record of 104-65.
    Year    Overall    NSIC    Non-Conf.
    1996-97    6-6    2-4    4-2
    1997-98    5-6    3-3    2-3
    1998-99    11-2    6-0    5-2     
    1999-00    11-3    7-2    4-1     
    2000-01    12-0    9-0    3-0
    2001-02    11-2    8-1    3-1
    2002-03    11-3    7-2    4-1
    2003-04    3-7    2-6    1-1     
    2004-05    10-4    5-2    5-2
    2005-06    5-9    3-4    2-5
    2006-07    5-8    3-6    2-2
    2007-08    4-8    2-5    2-2
    2008-09    9-6    3-6    5-0
    2009-10    1-1    -    1-1   
       Totals:    104-65    60-41    44-23

Mustangs add five during early signing period:  Head  coach Mike Jewett announced on Nov. 11 the signing of four student athletes for the 2010-11 season.  Breanna Holleman from Hancock, Minn., Hannah Beeler from Indianola, Iowa, Jessie Watts from Omaha, Neb., Ellen Degler from Chaska, Minn., and Samantha Abens from Knoxville, Iowa, have all signed letters of intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at SMSU.

2008-09 season wrap:  SMSU team finished the 2008-09 season with a 14-16 overall record and 6-14 in the NSIC.  The Mustangs' conference campaign earned them an 11th-place spot in the final  conference standings.  Senior forward Sara Leidall was named All-NSIC second team.  It was her third all-conference award of her career; she was also named All-NSIC honorable mention in 2007-08 and was the NSIC Newcomer of the Year in 2005-06.