OPENING TIP

The Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball team will kick off its 2013-14 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference home schedule this Friday and Saturday when the Mustangs welcome conference rivals No. 10 Augustana and Wayne State. SMSU will play its first NCAA ranked opponent of the season on Friday with a showdown versus No. 10 Augustana at 6 p .m. On Saturday, Wayne State will come to town for a 5 p.m. tip-off from the R/A facility. SMSU went 0-4 versus the two teams last season.

OPPONENT AT A GLANCE

No. 10 AUGUSTANA -- Augustana, the reigning Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season champions, enters the weekend as the No. 10 ranked team in the NCAA  as the Vikings carry with them a 4-1 overall record and a 0-1 record in the NSIC. The Vikings were tripped up by Wayne State (Neb.), 70-65, in their NSIC opener on Nov. 25, but are fresh off a 86-68 non-conference win over Midland University. The Vikings are averaging 85.8 points per game, which ranks 13th best in NCAA Division II, while allowing opponents to 65.6 points per game. Augustana relies heavily on the 3-point shot as Viking players combine to average 9.2 3-point field goals made per game, which ranks 13th in the NCAA. The Vikings drilled 15 3-pointers in their 108-46 win over Presentation College earlier this season. Emily Schulte fronts the attack as she averages a team-high 14.4 points per game, while three other Vikings average double-digit scoring -- Shaunteva Ashley (11.4), Riley Nordgaard (11.3), and Rhianna Gullickson (10.0). Dave Krauth is in his 24th year at the helm of the Augustana women's basketball team. Last season, Krauth guided Augie to its 13th NCAA tournament appearance in school history and a single-season record of 28 wins. The 2012-13 season also saw the Vikings claim their first NCAA Central Region title and Elite Eight appearance. Krauth owns a career mark of 497-217.

WAYNE STATE -- The Wildcats are a perfect 8-0 to begin the 2013-14 season, including winning their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener - a 70-65 home win versus No. 11 Augustana. The Wildcats boast the NCAA's 11th most potent offense that has tripped the 100-digit mark twice already and have scored 80+ points in five of the eight wins. The Wildcats average 86.9 points per game, while only allowing an average of 52.6, which ranks best in the NSIC and 8th best in NCAA Division II. The Wildcats are led by Omaha, Neb., native Jordan Spencer as the 5 foot 11 junior forward is averaging a team best 21.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Spencer is the reigning NSIC Player of the Week as she averaged 22.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game last week in WSC's four wins. It is already the second time this young season that she has been named to the honor.  Chris Kielsmeier enters his sixth season as head women's basketball coach at Wayne State College. In his five previous seasons with the Wildcats, Kielsmeier has guided the team to a 116-35 record, including a 82-24 mark in the Northern Sun Conference, along with two NSIC regular season titles, two NSIC Sanford Health Tournament titles and three trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.  

SERIES HISTORY 

No. 10 AUGUSTANA | AUGIE 21-11 -- SMSU and Augie will meet for the 33rd time in series history with the inaugural meeting coming in 1969.  The Vikings currently ride a 5-game winning streak over the Mustangs, which is the second longest winning streak in series history. Augie defeated SMSU in both meetings during the 2012-13 season - 79-44 on Dec. 7 at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., and 92-60 on Feb. 16 here in the R/A Facility. SMSU's last win versus Augie came on Dec. 3, 2010, Allison Kruger's first taste of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference as the first-year head coach guided SMSU to a 63-56 victory. The victory snapped the longest winning streak in series history - a  7-game winning streak put together by Augie dating back to the 2004-05 season. SMSU is 1-12 in the last 13 meetings dating back to the 2004-05 season. 

WAYNE STATE | WSC 25-18 -- SMSU and Wayne State College will meet for the 44th time in series history, but the series only dates back to the 1991-92 season. WSC currently rides the series' longest winning streak - a streak that has grown to seven straight dating back to the 2008-09 season. SMSU last defeated WSC on Feb. 25, 2009, 67-62, at Rice Auditorium in Wayne, Neb. SMSU's last two wins over WSC have come on the road as the last time SMSU defeated the Wildcats at home was during the 2004-05 season. SMSU gave WSC a scare last season on its home floor, but the Mustangs eventually fell 66-61 at Rice Auditorium. SMSU was held scoreless for the last 3:08 as WSC erased the deficit to win its 52 consecutive game at home.