GAME NOTES (PDF)

THIS WEEK: The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team (14-8, 8-7 NSIC) is on the road this weekend, traveling to St. Cloud State (8-14, 3-12 NSIC) on Friday and No. 22 Concordia University, St. Paul (18-4, 12-3 NSIC) on Saturday.  Both tip-offs are set for 6 p.m.

THE SERIES:  Friday will be the 43rd contest between SMSU and SCSU in a series that dates back to the 1969-70 season.  The Mustangs are 15-27 (6-13 at St. Cloud) against the Huskies all-time, while head coach Mike Jewett, a former assistant at SCSU, is 2-1.  SMSU defeated SCSU 59-47 in Marshall on Jan. 16.  Saturday marks the 39th meeting between SMSU and CU; the series began in 1974-75.  The Mustangs are 16-22 (8-13 at St. Paul) against the Golden Bears all-time, while Jewett is 0-9.  SMSU fell to CU 100-78 in Marshall on Jan. 15.

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 at home, falling to Minnesota State Moorhead on Friday and defeating, Minnesota, Crookston on Saturday.  On Friday, MSUM got a double-double from Meghan Rettke and outrebounded SMSU 51-29 to hand the Mustangs a 67-55 loss.  Abby Kenealy finished with a team-high 16 points for SMSU. She scored 14 of those points in the first half. Tori Fink also reached double figures, scoring 10 points. The junior also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.  On Saturday, Megan Stadler set a SMSU single-game record with 14 assists to lead her Mustangs to a 93-67 win over UMC.  Fink led the Mustangs with a game-high 21 points. Kenealy also reached double figures with 19 points, while Taylor Voss poured in 14 and hit four 3-pointers.

THE COACHES:  Mike Jewett is in his fourth year at the helm of the SMSU women's basketball program.  Jewett owns a 47-61 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 109-81.  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 30-23 record at SCSU and 92-76 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 217-82 at CU and has a record of 318-100 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 in 2002-03.

MUSTANG NOTES:
• SMSU is 2-5 on the road this season and has not won a game as a visitor since Jan. 2 at Minnesota State Moorhead.
• SMSU has won its last two games against SCSU.
• The Mustangs have lost 12 straight games to CU.
• A win by SMSU in either of this weekend's games would give the Mustangs their most victories since the 2004-05 season when they went 19-10.  A win would also mark another improved campaign by Mike Jewett, who has bettered his team's record in each of his seasons at SMSU.

BREAKING RECORDS, TAKING NAMES:  Senior Megan Stadler put together a record-breaking performance last Saturday against Minnesota, Crookston.  The point guard handed out 14 assists, setting a new SMSU single-game record.  Stadler broke the previous record of 12 assists, which was set by Darcy Peterka on Feb. 17, 1992, against Minnesota Duluth.  The performance is indicative of Stadler's play this year.  She began the season ranked ninth in career assists at SMSU, but the guard moved into the No. 2 spot last weekend, passing Mary Roddel's career-assists mark of 425.  She is also just 13 assists away from breaking the single-season record and topping Michelle Bruns' 145-assists season she put together during the 2004-05 campaign.
    Career Assists
    1. 493    Michelle Bruns - 2001-05
    2. 440    Megan Stadler - 2005-10
    Single-Season Assists
    1. 145    Michelle Bruns - 2004-05
    6. 133    Megan Stadler - 2009-10

ABOUT SMSU:  The Mustangs enter this weekend's contests sporting a 14-8 record and 8-7 in NSIC play.  Abby Kenealy continues to lead SMSU in the scoring column, averaging 13.0 points per contest.  Tori Fink is also in double figures with 11.3 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 7.5 rebounds per game.  The quarterback of the SMSU offense is Megan Stadler, who has handed out 133 assists in 2009-10.

ABOUT ST. CLOUD STATE:  The Huskies head into Friday's game with SMSU with an 8-14 record and 3-12 in NSIC games.  SCSU gets 15.6 points per game from Talisha Barlow and 13.8 points per game from Becca Friestleben.  Aaryn Booker pulls down a Husky-best 4.8 rebounds per contest.  The Huskies have lost six straight games and are 5-4 at home.

ABOUT CONCORDIA:  The No. 22-ranked Golden Bears enter the weekend first in the NSIC standings with an 18-4 overall record and 12-3 campaign in conference action.  CU is led by a quartet of double-figure scorers, headlined by Maurika Hickman's 14.0 points per game.  The Golden Bears also have a trio of players who average at least six rebounds per outing, led by Gillian Bjerke and her 6.4 rebounds per tilt average.  CU leads the NSIC in scoring, scoring margin and field-goal percentage.
NATIONAL NEWS:  Senior Megan Stadler currently sits at No. 5 in the nation in assists with a 6.0 per game average.  The point guard has the highest ranking of any Mustang in the latest national statistics.  Stadler is also 13th in assist-to-turnover ration, checking in with a 2.22 average in the category.  As a team, SMSU is seventh in the same category with a 1.19.
   
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 (6.13 apg) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.24).  Tori Fink is ninth in steals (1.79 spg), while Laura Kramer is 10th in rebounds (7.3 rpg). 

A NOSTALGIC TRIP:  Head coach Mike Jewett returns to a school where he spent two years as an assistant coach this weekend.  The fourth-year head coach was at SCSU from 2004 to 2006, working under Dr. Lori Ulferts.  During his time on staff, the Huskies went 52-12.

AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS:  SMSU has faced three ranked opponents this season, winning one of those match-ups.  The Mustangs ushered in the season by defeating then No. 23-ranked Hillsdale (Mich.) in their second game of 2009-10.  SMSU fell in its next two games against nationally ranked opponents (No. 12 Minnesota State, Mankato and No. 20 Concordia).  A win this weekend against CU would put SMSU at .500 against nationally ranked teams.

MUSTANGS ON THE ROAD:  Winning in enemy waters has not been easy for SMSU in 2009-10 as the Mustangs are 2-5 on the road.  As visitors, SMSU has been outscored by an average of 5.2 points per game and outrebounded by an average of 2.9 rebounds per contest.

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 1,009 games, compiling an all time record of 544-465.  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.