GAME NOTES (PDF)

THIS WEEK:  The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team (15-11, 9-10 NSIC) will travel to Northern State (14-12, 10-9 NSIC) on Saturday in its last regular season game of the 2009-10 season.  A win could secure a spot in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament for the Mustangs.

THE SERIES:  Saturday will be the 56th meeting between SMSU and NSU in a series that dates back to the 1969-70 season.  The Mustangs are 16-39 (6-19 on the road) against the Wolves all-time,  while head coach Mike Jewett is 4-3 (1-2 on the road) against NSU.  SMSU has lost three of its last four games in Aberdeen, S.D.; the Mustangs last won at NSU in 2007-08.  The Mustangs defeated the Wolves 66-64 earlier this season when the two teams met in Marshall.

THE SCENARIO:  The Mustangs need a win to stay alive, but a victory does not necessarily guarantee them a spot in postseason play.  SMSU currently sits in a tie with Minnesota State, Mankato for eighth place in the NSIC standings.  If SMSU defeats NSU and MSU loses to Mary on Saturday, the Mustangs are in.  However, if the both Mustang and Mavericks win on Saturday, SMSU, MSU and NSU would be in a three-way tie for seventh place with identical 10-10 NSIC records. In that scenario, strength of schedule, which would be calculated on Saturday after all the games are complete, would determine who gets the seventh and eighth spots.

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.

EARLIER THIS WEEK:  Wayne State had four players score in double figures en route to topping SMSU 62-55 Wednesday night in Marshall.  Ashley Arlen finished with a game-high 17 points for the Wildcats. Mara Hjelle registered a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Kati Jo Christensen and Alyssa Fischback rounded out the quartet of double-figure scorers for WSC, netting 11 and 10 points, respectively.  Tori Fink paced the Mustangs with 16 points; she hit three 3-pointers in the loss. Abby Kenealy and Taylor Voss each had 10 points for SMSU.  The loss came in SMSU's final home game of the 2009-10 season.

THE COACHES:  Mike Jewett is in his fourth year at the helm of the SMSU women's basketball program.  Jewett owns a 48-64 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.   He again notched an improved campaign in 2009-10 as the Mustangs currently have 15 wins--one more than last season.  Jewett is in seventh overall season as a head coach at the collegiate level, where he has an overall record of 110-84.  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.).
    Curt Fredrickson is in his 31st season as the head coach of Northern State in 2009-10 and currently has a career record of 670-231. With 670 wins, Fredrickson is the second winningest active NCAA II women's basketball coach. He is also one of just four DII women's coaches to surpass 600 wins.  During Fredrickson's tenure, the Wolves have played in five NAIA national tournaments, winning the NAIA II national title in 1991-92 and 1993-94.

MUSTANG NOTES:
• The last two SMSU-NSU tilts, both of which the Mustangs won,  have been decided by a total of three points.
• The Mustangs are 1-1 on the road during the month of February.
• SMSU has lost three of its last four games on the road.

RECORD WATCH:  Senior Megan Stadler has put together a record-breaking season from her point guard spot this season, and it does not look like she is quite done yet.   Stadler set the single-game assists record when she handed out 14 against Minnesota, Crookston on Feb. 6.  Two weeks ago, she set the single-season assists record, passing Michelle Bruns' mark of 145 she amassed during the 2004-05 season.  Stadler will continue to build on her 162 assists she has so far this season.
    Career Assists
    1. 493    Michelle Bruns - 2001-05
    2. 469    Megan Stadler - 2005-10
    Single-Season Assists
    1. 162    Megan Stadler - 2009-10
    2. 145    Michelle Bruns - 2004-05
   
ABOUT SMSU:  The Mustangs enter Wednesday's contest with a 15-11 overall record and 9-10 in NSIC play.  Abby Kenealy continues to lead SMSU, which is tied for eighth in the NSIC standings, in the scoring column, averaging 13.1 points per contest.  Tori Fink is also in double figures with 11.2 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 7.2 rebounds per game.  The quarterback of the SMSU offense is Megan Stadler, who has handed out 162 assists in 2009-10.

ABOUT NORTHERN STATE:  The Wolves head into Saturday's game with a 14-2 record and 10-9 mark in conference play.  NSU holds down the No. 7 spot in the the NSIC standings.  The Wolves sport a pair of players averaging more than 13 points as Emily Becken and Mikayla Barondeau score 13.7 and 13.5 points per game, respectively.  Barondeau, in fact, is nearly averaging a double-double, grabbing 9.6 rebounds per contest.  NSU also own the conferences top shot blocker in Krista Rabenberg, who swats 3.0 balls per outing.  As a team, the Wolves block a conference-best 5.0 shot per game.

ROAD WOES:  The Mustangs have struggled a bit on the road in 2009-10, posting a 3-6 record as the visiting team.   The stat line looks like this:  SMSU, on average, has been outscored (64.8 to 68.9), outshot (38.4 percent to 41.3 percent) and outrebounded (38.3 to 40.7) by its opponents when on the road this season

FAMILIAR FACE:  The Mustang coaching staff will see a familiar face on the opposing team's bench on Saturday as former player Abby Oakland (2005-2009) is on staff with the NSU as a graduate assistant.  Oakland, who was a four-year letterwinner, holds the SMSU record for career free throw percentage (85.6 percent).


NATIONAL NEWS:  Senior Megan Stadler is ranked 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 fifth in assist-to-turnover ration, checking in with a 2.51 average in the category.  As a team, SMSU is 12th in the same category with a 1.16.

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 (6.50 apg) and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.37).  Laura Kramer is 10th in total rebounds (6.9 rpg) and sixth in offensive rebounds (2.95 rpg).  As a team, the Mustangs lead the conference in turnover margin with a +3.32.

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.

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 1,013 games, compiling an all time record of 545-468.  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.

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 112-68.
    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    10-5    6-3    4-1   
       Totals:    112-68    66-44    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.