SMSU CONTINUES NSIC ACTION WITH A PAIR OF ROAD GAMES AT WSC, AUGUSTANA - The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team will resume Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action after a two-week break for the holidays. SMSU will face Wayne State College on Jan. 2, 2016, at Rice Auditorium starting at 3 p.m., before playing Augustana University on Sunday, Jan. 3, with tip-off slated for 3 p.m., at the Sioux Falls Arena.

MEDIA COVERAGE - Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball during the NSIC season can be heard all season long on 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik handling the play-by-play and Anthony Rohlik as color analyst. Games can be heard via live stream at marshallradio.net. All NSIC games can be viewed online at smsumustangs.com/watchnow.

ABOUT WAYNE STATE - The Wildcats are 5-6 overall, 2-4 in the NSIC and have suffered three-straight NSIC losses. WSC suffered a 59-58 loss to Augustana on Dec. 19 after a last second Viking putback. Wayne State was picked to finished second overall and second in the South Division. WSC is led by sophomore forward Paige Ballinger, who is averaging 16.5 ppg while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and grabbing a team-high 7.9 rpg and 20 blocks. Sophomore forward Maggie Schulte averages 14 ppg and has a team-high 16 3-pointers, while junior guard Haley Moore has 15 3-pointers and averages 7.9 ppg.
WSC is averaging 71.9 ppg, shooting 41.4 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from 3-point range, 68.5 from the free-throw line and is plus-five in rebound margin. WSC opponents are averaging 65.2 ppg and shooting 37.6 percent from the field. WSC head coach Chris Kelsmeier is in his eighth season with an overall record of 172-46. He was head coach at Division III Howard Payne University (Texas) for seven seasons prior to taking over at WSC in 2008.

MUSTANGS AGAINST THE WILDCATS - Southwest Minnesota State will meet with Wayne State College for the 49th time in a series dating back to 1991-92. WSC leads the series 30-18, including holding a 17-5 advantage in games played in Wayne. SMSU has suffered a loss in the last 12 matchups, with its last win coming on Feb. 25, 2009 in Wayne. SMSU has won just two games-both in Wayne-in its last 16 matchups with the Wildcats. See page 14 in game notes for full series.

ABOUT AUGUSTANA - The Vikings are 10-2 overall, 4-2 NSIC and currently on a two-game winning streak. Augustana defeated Midland on Tuesday, 89-57 and will host Sioux Falls on Jan. 2. Augustana is led by senior forward Nicole Kerkhoff, who is averaging 11.4 ppg, while recording a team-high 6.8 rpg. Senior guard Sophie Kenney averages 11.2 ppg and is shooting 31.6 percent from 3-point range with 12 3-pointers and a team-high 49 assists, while sophomore guard Logan O'Farrell is shooting a team-high 32.7 percent from behind the arc, while also grabbing 6.6 rpg and has a team-high 36 steals.
Augustana is averaging 76.5 ppg, shooting 39 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from 3-point range, 73.1 percent from the free-throw line and is a plus-2.8 in rebound margin. Augustana opponents are averaging 62 ppg and shooting 34.8 percent from the field. Augustana head coach Dave Krauth is in his 27th season with an overall record of 531-238.

MUSTANGS AGAINST THE VIKINGS - Southwest Minnesota State will meet with Augustana for the 37th time in a series dating back to 1967-70. Augustana leads the series 24-12, including holding a 14-3 advantage in games played in Sioux Falls. Augustana leads 11-2 in NSIC games since the Vikings joined the conference in 2008-09. SMSU's last win against Augustana was last season with a 77-71 win in Marshall. SMSU has not won in Sioux Falls since a 67-56 win in the 2003-04 season at the Augustana Classic. See page 14 in game notes for full series.

CATCHING UP WITH THE MUSTANGS - The Mustangs closed out the 2015 year playing a non-conference game against Culver-Stockton (Mo.) and its travel partner Sioux Falls. SMSU split the weekend matchups with a 78-66 win against Culver-Stockton, but suffered a 88-72 loss to Sioux Falls to close the year. Lauren Hedlund recorded her second career double-double against Culver-Stockton as she scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Against USF, SMSU cut the deficit to seven points with 3:40 left in the game but failed to score the rest of the game. Lauren Hedlund continued her scoring into Sioux Falls as she dropped 23 points in the loss.
For the season, SMSU is averaging 60.3 ppg, shooting 39.1 percent from the field, 28.7 percent from 3-point range, 69.9 percent from the free-throw line and have a negative-4.4 rebound margin. SMSU opponents are averaging 75.1 ppg and shooting 44 percent from the field.

HEAD COACH - Allison Kruger is in her sixth season as head coach at Southwest Minnesota State University and has compiled a record of 27-120, including 19-97 in NSIC play. Prior to SMSU, Kruger spent two seasons as assistant coach at NCAA Division I University of South Dakota and four years at Wayne State (Neb.).