OPENING TIP
The Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball team looks to end its five-game losing streak with Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games versus Upper Iowa on Friday and Winona State on Saturday. SMSU is still in search of its first NSIC win of the season as the Mustangs have been unsuccessful in their first three attempts.
OPPONENT AT A GLANCE
UPPER IOWA --Â The Peacocks are off to a 2-5, 1-2 NSIC start to the 2013-14 season and opened the conference schedule with a solid 66-58 win over Winona State at home. Since then, UIU has lost straight games to No. 13 Minnesota State (101-66) and Concordia-St Paul (80-63). Four Peacocks average double-digit scoring, led by Whitney Kieffer's 14.3 point average, she is followed by Sam Thrapp (10.7), Carly Pagel (10.3) and Lauren Buck (10.1). Kieffer, Thrapp and Buck are the only three Peacocks to start all seven games for UIU this season. Pagel is 32 of 54 from the floor (59.3%), while Emily Gustafson has missed just two of her 17 shots (88.2%). As a unit, UIU averages 65.3 points per game, while shooting at a 42.5 percent clip. The UIU defense is allowing opponents to score an average of 74.0 points per game and shoot 44 percent from the floor. The Peacocks have turned the ball over 134 times in seven games for an average of 19.1 times per game. Carol Russell enters her fourth season on the bench for UIU where she owns an 11-71 record. SMSU is 2-4 on the road all-time, 0-3 under head coach
Allison Kruger.
WINONA STATE -- Winona State tallied four straight non-conference wins to begin the 2013-14 campaign but since then has yet to record a victory in its last three contests. The Warriors have dropped three straight road games to begin the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule - 66-58 at Upper Iowa, 63-57 at No. 14 Concordia-St. Paul, and 67-59 at No. 13 Minnesota State. Abby Busch is the run-away leader for the Warriors as she leads them into battle with her 17.4 points per game, and 8.3 rebounds per game. She has scored 122 points this season and is shooting the ball at a 45.5 percent clip (35 of 77). The next closest Warrior - Kelsey Andrist - averages 7.3 points per game and is shooting 37.9 percent (11 of 29) from downtown. The Warriors are averaging 60.9 points per game, while the defense is allowing just 57.1 points per game. WSU is 4-0 at home this season coming into the weekend and has defeated SMSU 12 of the last 13 meetings, including seven straight at McCown Gymnasium. SMSU last defeated WSU at McCown Gymnasium was 81-45 during the 2004-05 season. Scott Ballard is in his 10th season as head coach of WSU and is 12-3 versus SMSU during his tenure.
SERIES HISTORY
UPPER IOWA | SMSU 8-6 -- SMSU and Upper Iowa will meet for the 15th time in series history. The series began during the 2004-05 season with SMSU taking the inaugural meeting 65-43 at the R/A Facility. Upper Iowa has taken the last three meetings including two coming in Fayette, Iowa. SMSU fell in both meetings to the Peacocks last season - 80-59 in Fayette and 71-58 in Marshall. See page 7 for full series results.
WINONA STATE | SMSU 43-28 -- SMSU is coming off a 66-64 defeat of Winona State on Hawaiian Night last season on Jan. 26. The win snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Warriors dating back to the 2004-05 season and snapped. It was fourth-year head coach
Allison Kruger's first win over Winona State in her career (1-5). The 12-game winning streak was the longest put together by either team in series history (SMSU - 8-game winning streak 1987-91). See page 7 for full series results.
