GAME NOTES (PDF)
THIS WEEK: The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team (11-7, 5-6 NSIC) opens a four-game homestand this weekend, hosting Minnesota Duluth (13-5, 8-3 NSIC) on Friday and Bemidji State (10-8, 4-7 NSIC) on Saturday. Both tip-offs are at 6 p.m.
THE SERIES: Friday will be the 64th contest between SMSU and UMD in a series that dates back to the 1976-77 season. The Mustangs are 15-48 (6-20 at home) against the Bulldogs all-time, while head coach Mike Jewett is 0-2. Saturday marks the 65th meeting between SMSU and BSU; the series began in 1977-78. The Mustangs are 36-28 (19-11 at home) against the Beavers all-time, while Jewett is 2-3.
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 MAYHEM RETURNS: Saturday's game against BSU features SMSU's “Hawaiian Night” celebration. The annual event typically accounts for a packed R/A Facility with fans decked out in their favorite Hawaiian-themed gear. Opponents have come to fear playing the Mustangs on “Hawaiian Night” because of its large and loud crowd.
LAST WEEKEND: SMSU dropped two conference road games, falling to Augustana on Friday and Wayne State on Saturday. Augie shot 46.3 percent from the floor and had four score in double figures en route to charting a 78-58 victory over the Mustangs. SMSU was led by
Tori Fink's game-high 17 points.
Megan Stadler added 16 points. WSC held SMSU to a season-low 47 points and season-low 26.6 percent shooting performance to hand the Mustangs a 73-47 loss.
Abby Kenealy paced SMSU with 10 points; she was the only Mustang in double-figures.
THE COACHES: Mike Jewett is in his fourth year at the helm of the SMSU women's basketball program. Jewett owns a 44-60 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 106-80. 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.).
Annette Wiles enters her second season as the leader Minnesota Duluth women's basketball, owning a record of 29-17 at the school. Prior to taking over at UMD, Wiles served as the head coach at her alma mater, Fort Hays State (Kan.) for eight seasons after coaching at Bethany College (Kan.) the previous seven years. During her tenure as a head coach, Wiles has compiled an overall record of 329-158.
Mike Curfman is in his fifth year as head women's basketball coach for the Bemidji State. Curfman has directed the Beavers to a 53-76 overall record. Prior to taking over at BSU, Curfman served as the head coach at Minnesota, Crookston for six years. He also had stops as an assistant at Minnesota State Moorhead and St. Cloud State
MUSTANG NOTES:
•
Megan Stadler has led SMSU in assists every game this season.
• SMSU is looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
• SMSU has lost nine straight games to UMD.
• The Mustangs have won their last two games against BSU.
• SMSU has won seven of its last eight games at home.
I FINK SHE'S O.K.: Junior
Tori Fink has been battling an injury the past few weekends, even sitting out for a contest to weeks ago. Despite the hang up, Fink has shown little sign of it affecting her. Last weekend--nagging injury and all--Fink proceeded to score 17 points against Augustana on Friday. She also grabbed seven rebounds against Wayne State on Saturday.
STADLER IN THE RECORD BOOK: Senior
Megan Stadler began the season ranked ninth in career assists at SMSU, but the guard has quickly jumped a few spots throughout 2009-10. Stadler moved into sole possession of the No. 3 spot last weekend, passing Dani Coleman's mark of 401 career assists.
1. 493 Michelle Bruns - 2001-05
2. 425 Mary Roddel - 2000-04
3. 410
Megan Stadler - 2005-10
4. 401 Dani Coleman - 1996-00
ABOUT SMSU: The Mustangs enter this weekend's contests sporting an 11-7 record and 5-6 in NSIC play.
Abby Kenealy continues to lead SMSU in the scoring column, averaging 12.4 points per contest.
Tori Fink is also in double figures with 10.3 points per game.
Heather Smith, who averaged 11.2 points per game, has been lost for the remainder of the season with an injury.
Laura Kramer pulls down a Mustang-best 7.3 rebounds per game. The quarterback of the SMSU offense is
Megan Stadler, who passed the 100-assists mark for the season last weekend.
ABOUT MINNESOTA DULUTH: The Bulldogs head into Friday's game with SMSU with a 13-5 record and 8-3 in NSIC games. UMD owns the conference's top scorer in Jheri Booker; the senior averages more than 21 points per game and is nearly averaging a double-double with a 9.1 rebounds per tilt statistic. The Bulldogs are the conference's top team when it comes to steals, averaging 12.1 per game.
ABOUT BEMIDJI STATE: The Beavers enter the weekend with a 10-8 overall record and 4-7 campaign in conference action. Sydney Epema leads BSU's offensive effort with an 11.7 points per game average. The Beavers also get solid scoring from Katie Pettit, who is in double-figures with 10.9 points per game. Emily Kaus is BSU's top rebounder, checking in with 6.7 rebounds per game. Kaus also presents problems as a defender as she is averaging more than two blocked shots per contest.
SHOOTING WOES: SMSU experienced a couple of its worst shooting performances last weekend against Augustana and Wayne State. The Mustangs shot 28.4 percent on Friday against the Vikings and followed it with a 26.6 percent outing on Saturday against the Wildcats. The latter statistic was a season low, while Friday's was the third worst of the season. SMSU has only been victorious in one game this season when shooting 30 percent or less. That 60-51 victory came against Chadron State (Neb.) on Nov. 27.
SECOND-HALF STATISTICS: The Mustangs have statistically been a more productive team offensively in the second half of games in 2009. SMSU averages 36.7 points in the second half of games and 30.9 points in the first half of games. The Mustangs also outscore opponents by an average of 3.4 points in the second half--compared to just 0.3 points in the first half.
NATIONAL NEWS: Senior
Megan Stadler currently sits at No. 7 in the nation in assists with a 5.7 per game average. The point guard has the highest ranking of any Mustang in the latest national statistics. Stadler is also 27th in assist-to-turnover ration, checking in with a 1.91 average in the category. As a team, SMSU is 14th in the same category with a 1.1.
SMSU IN NSIC STATISTICS: The Mustangs have a few players in the top 10 in the latest NSIC statistics.
Megan Stadler is first in assists (5.64 apg), ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.77) and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.452).
Tori Fink is fifth in steals (1.90 spg), while
Laura Kramer is sixth in offensive rebounds (3.09 rpg). As a team, the Mustangs' best statistic is grabbing 13.45 offensive rebounds per game--good for second in the conference.
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 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 1,005 games, compiling an all time record of 541-464. 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.
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 110-66.
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 7-2 3-1 4-1
Totals: 110-66 63-42 47-22
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.
