SMSU RETURNS HOME TO PLAY UPPER IOWA, WINONA STATE - The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team will return to the R/A Facility this weekend and host Upper Iowa on Friday with a 6 p.m., before playing No. 12 Winona State on Saturday at 5 p.m.

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 UPPER IOWA - The Peacocks are 3-11 overall, 2-6 in the NSIC and currently on a three-game losing streak after a pair of home losses last week to MSU Moorhead and Northern State. Upper Iowa was picked to finished 14th overall and seventh in the South Division. UIU is led by senior guard Aleesha Cleaver who is averaging 13.2 ppg with 19 3-pointers made while shooting 26.8 percent from behind the arc. She also is shooting 74 percent from the free-throw line and leads in assists with 27. Senior guard Whitney Kieffer is averaging 11.9 ppg, while recording a team-high 5.6 rpg and leads the team with 22 steals.
Upper Iowa is averaging 58 ppg, shooting 35.5 percent from the field, 30.4 percent from 3-point range, 69.7 percent from the free-throw line and is a negative-3.5 in rebound margin. Upper Iowa opponents are averaging 71.3 ppg and shooting 44.9 percent from the field. Upper Iowa head coach Carol Russell is in her 6th season with an overall record of 23-113. She was head coach at Nebraska-Kearney for eight seasons prior to taking over at UIU in 2010.

MUSTANGS AGAINST THE PEACOCKS - Southwest Minnesota State will meet with Upper Iowa for the second time this season and 20th time in a series dating back to 2004-05. Upper Iowa defeated SMSU 59-54, earlier this season on Dec. 5, 2015. Upper Iowa leads the series 11-8, while SMSU holds a 5-4 advantage in games played in Marshall. SMSU's last win against Upper Iowa was a 75-59 victory on Dec. 17, 2011 in Marshall. SMSU is on an eight-game losing streak dating back to Jan. 27, 2012. See page 14 in game notes for full series.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE PEACOCKS - Southwest Minnesota State played Upper Iowa earlier this season on Dec. 5, 2015 and lost 59-54 in the Dorman Gymnasium. Hope Bonlander scored a career-high 26 points on 11 of 20 shooting and added 4 of 7 from the charity stripe. Lauren Hedlund scored eight points, while Sarah Buysse added six. UIU's Aleesha Cleaver paced the Peacocks with 20 points on 7 of 15 attempts and pulled down nine rebounds. Whitney Kieffer scored 17 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the floor. SMSU dominated the paint as it held a 40-26 point advantage and shot 37.3 percent from the field, while UIU finished shooting 36.4 percent. See page 15 in game notes for box score.

ABOUT WINONA STATE - The Warriors-who are ranked No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches Poll-are 14-1 overall, 7-1 in the NSIC and suffered its first loss of the season to Northern State, 60-55 last Saturday. Winona State was picked to finish first overall and first in the South Division. WSU is led by junior guard Tara Roelofs, who is averaging 14.5 ppg while shooting 44 percent from the field. She also is shooting a team-best 97 percent from the free-throw line and 43.3 percent from 3-point range. Senior guard Alexis Foley is averaging 14 ppg, while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 90.6 percent from the charity stripe-which ranks 19th in the nation. Kayla Timmerman averages 12.4 ppg while shooting 52.8 from the floor and leads the team in rebounds with 6.2 rpg. She also ranks third in the nation in blocks with 37 rejections and seventh in bpg with a 2.85 mark. Senior guard Connor Nagle averages 9.9 ppg with 80 3-pointers made this season and is shooting 43.8 percent from downtown. She leads the team in steals with 31, which ranks 42nd in the nation.
Winona State is averaging 76.67 percent from the field-ninth in the nation, 40.7 percent from 3-point range-seventh in the nation, 82.3 from the free-throw line-first in the nation and is plus-5.0 in rebound margin. WSU opponents are averaging 52.2 ppg-sixth in the nation and shooting 33.5 percent from the field-12th in the nation. WSU head coach Scott Ballard is in his 12th season with an overall record of 193-138. He was head coach at Missouri Southern State and Central Missouri prior to taking over at WSU in 2004.

MUSTANGS AGAINST THE WARRIORS - Southwest Minnesota State will meet with Winona State for the second time this season and 77th time in a series dating back to 1973-74. Winona State defeated SMSU 81-46, earlier this season on Dec. 4, 2015. Winona State leads the series 44-32, while SMSU holds a 28-9 advantage in games played in Marshall. SMSU has suffered a loss in the last three matchups, with its last win coming on Jan. 17, 2014 in Marshall. SMSU has suffered a loss in 16 of the last 18 games with the wins coming in 2013 and 2014 in Marshall. See page 14 in game notes for full series.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE WARRIORS - Southwest Minnesota State met with Winona State earlier this season on Dec. 4, 2015 and suffered an 81-46 loss in the McCown Gymnasium. WSU was ranked No. 10 at the time. Taylor Holicky led the Mustangs offense-that shot 28.3 percent-with 10 points on 4 of 10 from the floor. Sarah Buysse added eight points while pulling down six rebounds. WSU's Alexis Foley led the Warriors with 20 points on 7 of 8 shooting and went 3 for 3 from behind the arc. Tara Roelofs scored 16 points, while Kayla Timmerman added 12 points and nine rebounds. The Warriors finished shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 47.6 percent from 3-point range. See page 15 in game notes for box score.

CATCHING UP WITH THE MUSTANGS - The Mustangs started the 2016 year playing at Wayne State College and Augustana University. The Mustangs suffered an 88-59 loss to the Wildcats. Lauren Hedlund led the Mustangs with 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Hope Bonlander and Annessa Rosch scored 15 and 10 points, respectfully. Against Augustana, SMSU rallied to trail by nine points early in the fourth quarter, but fell short in a 74-62 loss last Sunday. Lauren Hedlund recorded her third career double-double and second of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Hope Bonlander earned her first career double-double in the loss, with a team-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. Hedlund has scored double-digit points in the last six games.
For the season, SMSU is averaging 60.4 ppg, shooting 38.6 percent from the field, 27.5 percent from 3-point range, 69 percent from the free-throw line and have a negative-4.1 rebound margin. SMSU opponents are averaging 75.9 ppg and shooting 43.9 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 27-122, including 19-99 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.).