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THIS WEEK: The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team (10-4, 4-3 NSIC) returns home after a four-game roadstand to face St. Cloud State (7-7, 2-5 NSIC) and No. 20 Concordia University, St. Paul (13-1, 7-0).  Friday's contest with SCSU begins at 6 p.m., while Saturday's tilt with CU is also a 6 p.m. start.

THE SERIES:  Friday's meeting with St. Cloud State marks the 42nd game between the two schools.  SMSU, which first played the Huskies in 1969-70, is 14-27 against SCSU all-time, while head coach Mike Jewett, a former assistant at SCSU, is 1-1 against the Huskies.  Saturday's contest with Concordia-St. Paul will be the 36th meeting in a series that dates back to 1974-75.  Jewett is 0-8 against the Golden Bears.

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.

LAST WEEKEND:  SMSU divided a pair of conference games on the road, falling to Winona State and topping Upper Iowa.  On Friday at WSU, the Warriors rallied from a seven-point half time deficit and held off a late push from the Mustangs to win 64-62.  SMSU had a chance to tie the game in its final possession, but Heather Smith's final shot with one second left was off the mark.  Abby Kenealy led SMSU with 14 points. Megan Stadler, who handed out a game-high six assists, also finished in double figures with 11 points, while Tori Fink and Smith each had 10.  On Saturday, Kenealy scored a career-high 24 points to lead SMSU to a 80-54 win over UIU.  It was also career night for Miley Hunziker as the true freshman dropped 18 points on the Peacocks. Smith added 13 points for the Mustangs in the win.  Laura Kramer grabbed a team high eight rebounds for SMSU, while Stadler tied a career best with a game-high 10 assists.

THE COACHES:  Mike Jewett is in his fourth year at the helm of the SMSU women's basketball program.  Jewett owns a 43-57 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.   Jewett is in seventh overall season as a head coach at the collegiate level, where he has an overall record of 105-77.  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.).
    Lori Fish is in her second season as head coach at St. Cloud State and her sixth overall as a collegiate coach, owning a record of 29-16 record at SCSU and 91-69 career record. She has 18 years of coaching experience, including 16 years at the collegiate level. During her career, she has coached teams that have made six NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances.
    Paul Fessler enters his 10th season as the leader of Concordia women's basketball.  The former head coach at Anoka-Ramsey Community College has compiled a record of 112-79 at CU and has a record of 313-97 between his time at the two schools.  Fessler has guided the Golden Bears to six straight NCAA Tournaments, reaching the dance from the first year in which they were eligible, 2002-03.

MUSTANG NOTES:
• SMSU's last two losses have come by a combined six points.
• It was SMSU's first loss of the season when shooting 40 percent or better against Winona State on Friday.
• Megan Stadler has led SMSU in assists every game this season.
• The Mustangs are riding a five-game home winning streak entering the weekend.

POST PRESENCE: Sophomore Abby Kenealy has emerged as SMSU's top scoring threat with a 13.3 points per game average.  The center put together another solid outing for the Mustangs last weekend, averaging 19 points per game and shooting 59.2 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from behind the arc.  Kenealy had a career performance in SMSU's victory over Upper Iowa on Saturday, scoring a career-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor and connecting on a career-best four three-pointers.  The night prior, Kenealy put up a team-high 14 points and grabbed five rebounds against Winona State.  Other weekend totals for her included nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal.

SMSU IN NSIC STATISTICS:  The Mustangs have a few players in the top 10 in the latest NSIC statistics  Megan Stadler is second in assists (5.57 apg) and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.44).  Tori Fink is third in steals (2.43 spg), while Abby Kenealy is sixth in blocked shots (1.14 bpg).  As a team, the Mustangs' best statistic is holding opponents to a 29.5 three-point field goal percentage--good for second in the conference.

ABOUT SMSU:  The Mustangs enter this weekend's contests sporting a 10-4 record and 4-3 in conference play.  Abby Kenealy leads SMSU in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game.  Heather Smith and Tori Fink also average in double figures with 11.6 and 10.6 points per game, respectively.  Laura Kramer continues to be the Mustangs' leading rebounder as she snags 6.9 rebound per outing.  The quarterback of the SMSU offense is Megan Stadler, who has led her team in assists every game this season.  The lone senior on the squad, Stadler has handed out 80 assists in 2009-10.

ABOUT ST. CLOUD STATE:  The Huskies head into the weekend with a 7-7 record and 2-5 mark in NSIC games.  Talisha Barlow leads the Husky offense, scoring 16.4 points per game.  Christine Steele is the squad's top rebounder, snagging 4.8 per outing.  Nicole Anderson has dished out 31 assists on the season.

ABOUT CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL:  The Golden Bears enter the weekend atop the NSIC with an overall record of 13-1 and 7-0 in conference play.  Four average in double figures for CU, but the Golden Bears are led by Jineen Williams' 14.0 points per game.  She is also the team's top rebounder, grabbing  6.9 boards per game, and leader in the assists column with 3.9 per contest.

GOIN' STREAKING:  SMSU's six-game winning streak, which was snapped by Minnesota, Crookston in early January, was the longest for a Mustang team since the 2004-05 squad opened the season with seven consecutive wins.  The winning streak began with a win over Northern State on Dec. 11 and was spoiled on Jan. 3 at UMC.

WE LIKE MIKE:  Head coach Mike Jewett recorded his 100th career victory on Saturday, Dec. 12, 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.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:  SMSU enters its 41st year of women's basketball this season.  SMSU has played 1,001 games, compiling an all time record of 540-461.  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.

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 season.  Stadler looks poised to jump into the No. 3 spot within the next few weekends as she is just 14 assists away from passing Dani Coleman's mark of 401 career assists.
    1. 493    Michelle Bruns - 2001-05
    2. 425    Mary Roddel - 2000-04
    3. 401    Dani Coleman - 1996-00
    4. 387    Megan Stadler - 2005-10
    5. 366    Erin Frye - 1997-01
    6. 341    Lillie Brown - 1992-96
    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 109-65.
    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    6-1    2-0    4-1   
       Totals:    109-65    62-41    47-22