GAME NOTES (PDF)

THIS WEEK: The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team (15-9, 9-8 NSIC) hosts Minnesota State, Mankato (8-9, 13-11 NSIC) on Saturday at 6 p.m.  SMSU will honor its seniors immediately following the game.

THE SERIES:  Saturday will be the 41st meeting between SMSU and MSU in a series that dates back to the 1970-71 season.  The Mustangs are 17-23 (9-7 at home) against the Mavericks all-time,  while head coach Mike Jewett is 0-5 (0-2 at home) against MSU.  SMSU has five straight games to MSU, including a 72-64 loss earlier this season on Dec. 5.  The last time SMSU defeated was during the 2004-05 season when the Mustangs topped the Mavericks 74-61 at home.

PINK ZONE:  The SMSU athletics department will hold its annual Pink Zone event on Saturday to help raise awareness about breast cancer and generate funds to help find a cure for the disease. 

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 split a pair of conference games on the road, defeating St. Cloud State on Friday and falling to No. 22 Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday.  Abby Kenealy recorded her second double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to lead the Mustangs to a 66-44 victory over SCSU.  Tori Fink also finished with 13 points, while Lucia Puchelova added 12 for SMSU, which finished the night shooting 43.5 percent (27 of 62) from the field and held a 47-41 rebound advantage.  On Saturday, CU shot 55.7 percent from the field and had four players score in double figures to earn a 93-69 victory over SMSU.  Fink led four Mustangs in double figures with 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting.

THE COACHES:  Mike Jewett is in his fourth year at the helm of the SMSU women's basketball program.  Jewett owns a 48-62 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 110-82.  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.).
    Pam Gohl is in her second season as the head coach of Minnesota State and fourth on the Maverick coaching staff.  She has compiled a 45-13 career record at MSU.  Under Gohl in 2008-09, the Mavericks went 32-2 on the way to their first NCAA national championship. MSU was also named the No. 1 team in the nation for two weeks and earned its first conference championship since the 1985-86 season. Gohl was named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the of the Year and 2009 Molten/Women's Division II Bulletin Coach of the Year. MSU set several school records during the season including most wins in a season (32), longest winning streak (17), points scored in a season (2,763) and points per game (81.3). Minnesota State also set a new NSIC record for conference wins in a season with 19.

MUSTANG NOTES:
• This  is travel partner weekend for SMSU, meaning the Mustangs will have just one contest over the weekend.
• SMSU will warm-up in pink attire on Saturday in conjunction with the Pink Zone event.
• The Mustangs have won three of their last four games at home.

ANOTHER RECORD:  Senior Megan Stadler has firmly etched her name in the SMSU record book this season, and it sits near or at the top in a few assists categories.  Stadler set the single-game assists record two weeks ago when she handed out 14 against Minnesota, Crookston on Feb. 6.  This past weekend, she set the single-season assists record, passing Michelle Bruns' mark of 145 she amassed the 2004-05 season.  Stadler will continue to build on her 151 assists she has so far this season.  She is also 35 assists away from tying Bruns' career record of 493 assists.  With three games left in the regular season and at least one postseason contest likely for the Mustangs, it's not out of the realm of possibility for Stadler to break that record, too.
    Career Assists
    1. 493    Michelle Bruns - 2001-05
    2. 458    Megan Stadler - 2005-10
    Single-Season Assists
    1. 151    Megan Stadler - 2009-10
    1. 145    Michelle Bruns - 2004-05
   
ABOUT SMSU:  The Mustangs enter this weekend's contest with a 15-9 overall record and 9-8 in NSIC play.  Abby Kenealy continues to lead SMSU, which is tied for seventh in the NSIC standings, in the scoring column, averaging 13.0 points per contest.  Tori Fink is also in double figures with 11.6 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 7.5 rebounds per game.  The quarterback of the SMSU offense is Megan Stadler, who has handed out 151 assists in 2009-10.

ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE:  The Mavericks head into Saturday's game with a 13-11 record and 8-9 mark in conference play.  MSU sits at ninth in the NSIC standings.  Liz Trauger averages a team-best 14.7 points per game and is one of three Mavericks averaging in double-figures.  Trauger and Laura Weber provide the presence on the boards for MSU as each is averaging 6.3 rebounds per outing.  Tiffany Moe leads the team with 125 assists so far this season.  The Mavericks are losers of their last two games.

SENIOR NIGHT:  SMSU will honor its two seniors, Megan Stadler and Aimee Burmester, with a brief ceremony immediately following the game on Saturday.  Stadler has been with the program for five seasons and has been a mainstay in the SMSU backcourt.  Burmester has helped the program both as a player and student coach for the past four years.

NATIONAL NEWS:  Senior Megan Stadler currently sits at No. 4 in the nation in assists with a 6.3 per game average.  The point guard has the highest ranking of any Mustang in the latest national statistics.  Stadler is also sixth in assist-to-turnover ration, checking in with a 2.44 average in the category.  As a team, SMSU is 12th in the same category with a 1.15.
   
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 (6.47 apg) and in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.56).  Laura Kramer is 10th in total rebounds (7.4 rgp) and seventh in offensive rebounds (3.24 rpg).  As a team, the Mustangs lead the conference in turnover margin with a +3.29.

KRAMER EARNS ACADEMIC AWARD:  Junior Laura Kramer was named to the 2010 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V College Division second team earlier this month.  Kramer  has compiled a 4.00 grade point average as an elementary education major at SMSU.  This marks the second straight year SMSU has landed a player on the Academic All-District Team; Abby Oakland was named third team last season.

ANOTHER IMPROVED CAMPAIGN:  It's almost turning into an annual tradition for head coach Mike Jewett.  For the third consecutive season, Jewett has improved his team's record from the previous season.  SMSU's 15 wins this season is the most for Jewett and the most for a Mustang basketball squad since the 2003-04 season.  In Jewett's inaugural year in 2006-07, his team won seven games.  The following year the Mustangs upped that total to 12.  Last year, Jewett and SMSU picked up 14 wins.  His 15 victories this season has kept the trend going.

MUSTANGS AT HOME:  SMSU has fared extremely well at the R/A Facility this season, posting a 10-3 record at home.  Statistically speaking, the Mustangs better their opponents in a number of categories when playing at home.  SMSU outscores its opponents (72.1 to 64.2), outshoots them 49.7 percent to 38.0 percent), has fewer turnovers (13.5 to 19.0) and forces more steals (9.5 to 6.5).

GOIN' STREAKING:  SMSU's six-game winning streak earlier this season, 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 1,011 games, compiling an all time record of 545-466.  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 112-66.
    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    10-3    6-2    4-1   
       Totals:    112-66    66-43    46-22

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.