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THIS WEEK:  The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team (5-2, 2-1 NSIC) will battle a pair of non-conference opponents before the holiday break, hosting Minnesota-Morris (5-3) on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (5-8) on Friday at 7 p.m.

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:  Thursday will be the 61st meeting between SMSU and UMM in a series that began during the 1970-71 season.  The Mustangs are 41-19 all-time against the Cougars.  Friday will mark the 12th contest between SMSU and DWU in a series that began during the 1984-85 season and last saw action in 2000-2001.  The Mustangs are 8-3 all-time against the Tigers.

LAST WEEKEND:  SMSU picked up conference wins against Northern State and Mary, completing its first conference weekend sweep since February 2008 and its first home conference weekend sweep since February 2006.  Heather Smith led the Mustangs on the weekend, averaging  14.5 points per game.  Megan Stadler played a key role in both wins; on Friday against NSU, Stadler hit two free throws with 5.5 seconds remaining in regulation to break a 64-64 tie and lift her Mustangs to a 66-64 victory.  She had 11 points and five assists in the win.  On Saturday against U-Mary, the senior netted a game-high 15 points.  Stadler, who shot 50 percent from the floor in the win, scored SMSU's final six points of the contest and helped the Mustangs fend off a late push from the visiting Marauders.

THE COACHES:  Mike Jewett is in his fourth year at the helm of the SMSU women's basketball program.  Jewett owns a 38-55 record at SMSU.  Under his direction, the Mustangs have charted improved records each season, 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 100-75.  Prior to taking over at SMSU, Jewett had stints as an assistant coach at Augustana and St. Cloud State and also served as the head coach at Franklin (Ind.).
    Tim Grove is enters his fourth season as the head coach of Minnesota-Morris, owning a record of 49-38 at the school.  In his time at UMM, his teams have qualified for postseason play each year and advanced to the UMAC Tournament title game for the first time in 2007.  Prior to coming to UMM, Grove was the head boys' basketball coach at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School from 2002-2006. His head coaching career began with rebuilding a struggling Rainy River Community College men's basketball program. After inheriting a program that canceled its 1999-2000 season, he led the Voyageurs to the MCCC State Tournament in 2002. Grove also served as assistant coach of a very successful men's basketball program at Mayville State (N.D.), where he was also a standout with the basketball and football teams.
    Aaron Kahl enters his third season as the Dakota Wesleyan head women's basketball coach and has compiled a 35-41 career record.  Over his first two seasons with the Tigers, Kahl coached six All-GPAC players and four NAIA Scholar-Athletes. After just two years, Kahl is tied for the fifth-most wins in the program's history, and he sits just 12 wins away from moving into the top three.

WE LIKE MIKE:  Head coach Mike Jewett recorded his 100th career victory on Saturday when the Mustangs downed Mary 62-58.  The fourth-year head coach used 38 wins at SMSU and another 62 from his stint at Franklin (Ind.) to reach the milestone.

MUSTANG NOTES:
• Tori Fink drilled her 16th three-pointer of the season on Saturday against Mary--a total that is tops on the team. Fink has now hit a three-pointer in six consecutive games.
• Heather Smith continues to be on an offensive tear after breaking into the starting lineup against Minnesota State on Dec. 5.  Smith has yet to start a game where she has not scored in double figures.  She has led the Mustangs in scoring two of her three starts.
• SMSU's 52.9 percent (9-of-17) three-point shooting performance on Friday     against Northern State was a season high.

ABOUT SMSU:  The Mustangs enter this week's contests with a 5-2 record and 2-1 mark in the NSIC.  Tori Fink continues to lead SMSU's offensive attack; the junior guard is averaging a team-best 12.7 points per game--the only Mustang in double figures.  Laura Kramer leads SMSU in rebounds, grabbing 7.4 boards per contest.  Senior point guard Megan Stadler, who is just shy a 10 points per game average, leads the Mustangs with 32 assists through seven games.

ABOUT MINNESOTA-MORRIS:  The Cougars, members of NCAA Division III and the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, enter Thursday's tilt with a 5-3 record.  Steph Roggenbuck averages 10.4 points per game to lead UMM.  The Cougars also get 6.3 rebounds per contest from Kara Norris.  The Cougars' five wins have all been double-figure victories.  UMM's three losses have been at the hands of a pair of NAIA opponents and one Division II foe.

ABOUT DAKOTA WESLEYAN:  The Tigers, members of the NAIA Division II and the Great Plains Athletic Conference, enter the week with a 5-8 overall record.  The Tigers, who call Mitchell, S.D., home, have  had a full slate thus far, already having played 13 games--six of them conference affairs.  DWU is shooting 43.0 percent as a team and is led by Maggie Malloy's and Allison Johnson's 13.0 points per game.  Malloy also snags a squad-best 6.1 rebounds per game.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:  SMSU enters its 41st season of women's basketball this season.  SMSU has played 994 games, compiling an all time record of 535-459.  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.) began the season ranked ninth in career assists at SMSU, but the guard has quickly jumped a few spots throughout the beginning of the season.  She is just three assists away from passing Lillie Brown's mark of 341 and moving into the No. 5 spot in school history.
    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. 339    Megan Stadler - 2005-10
    7. 330    Abby Oakland - 2005-09

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 14 seasons of playing in the Mustang home arena, SMSU women's basketball has compiled a record of 106-65.
    Year    Overall    NSIC    Non-Conf.
    1996-97    6-5    2-4    4-1
    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    3-1    2-0    1-1   
       Totals:    106-65    62-41    44-22

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.