OPENING TIP
The Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball team (4-24, 2-20 NSIC) received the No. 8 seed and will travel to take on the No. 1 seed St. Cloud State (18-8, 14-8 NSIC) in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference / Sanford Health Tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. SMSU lost to St. Cloud State 77-70 earlier this season at the R/A Facility.
SERIES HISTORY - ST. CLOUD STATE | SCSU LEADS 32-16
Southwest Minnesota State and St. Cloud State will meet for the 49th time in series history and the first time in the NSIC tournament. SMSU has lost five straight to SCSU dating back to Dec. 10, 2010. SMSU is 7-14 all-time on the road versus St. Cloud State with the last Mustang road win over SCSU coming on Feb. 12, 2010.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES / FIRST GAME RECAP
St. Cloud State finished the 2012-13 season with an 18-8 overall record, including a 14-8 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The 14-8 record gave the Huskies the NSIC north crown and a no. 1 seed in the 2013 NSIC / Sanford Health Tournament. SCSU finished the season with the fifth highest scoring offense (68.7 ppg) and seventh best scoring defense (61.9 ppg allowed). Jessica Benson leads the Huskies and is ranked ninth in the NSIC with her average of 15.0 points per game. Benson also ranks 10th in the NSIC in rebounding with an average of 7.3 per game. The Mustangs and Huskies played earlier in the season at the R/A Facility on January 11, 2013. In the game, SMSU shot a then season-high 55.1 percent and highest since Jan. 4, 2011. The Mustangs would drop the game 77-70 but was tied at 70 with 2:43 remaining. The Huskies closed-out the game on a 7-0 run and held the Mustangs scoreless in the last 2:43. Benson scored a career-high 32 points as she was 12 of 21 from the floor, including 2 of 5 from behind the arc. For a full box score of SMSU's 77-70 loss to SCSU see page 7 of the game notes.
NORTHERN SUN INTERCOLLEGIATE CONFERENCE / SANFORD HEALTH TOURNAMENT
The 2012-13 NSIC/Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament has been released as the 22-game regular season ended Saturday night. Concordia-St. Paul won the NSIC Overall and South Division Championships and will be the top seed in the south. St. Cloud State earned the No. 1 seed in the north division. The top four teams in each division will host the 5-8 teams from the opposite division. The higher seed will host quarterfinal games on March 2 before the semifinals and championship on March 8-9 in Rochester, Minn. NSIC Women's Basketball Tournament Champion earns automatic qualification to the 2013 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Central Regional Tournament held March 15-16, 18 - site to be determined. The winner of the Central Region will advance to the Elite Eight to be held March 26-27 & 29, 2013 at Bill Greehey Arena - St. Mary's Univ. - San Antonio, Texas. The NCAA Regional Selection Show airs Sunday, March 10th at 9:00 p.m. at www.NCAA.com. For a bracket of the 2013 NSIC / Sanford Health Tournament see page 6 of the game notes.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Southwest Minnesota State owns an 8-8 all-time record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament and will be making its first appearance in the tournament since 2007-08 season. In the newly aligned 16-team conference, this season will be the first time that all teams in the conference will qualify for the NSIC tournament. In previous seasons, only the top eight teams in the conference qualified for the tournament. In the 14-team NSIC, SMSU failed to qualify for the tournament for four straight seasons from 2008-09 to 2011-12. SMSU has lost six straight NSIC Tournament games, with its last win coming in the 2002-03 season over Wayne State, 67-54.
GAME NOTES
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | BRACKET
