THE WEEKEND - The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team (5-19, 3-15 NSIC) will close its regular season home schedule this weekend with games against Augustana University (18-6, 12-6 NSIC) and Wayne State College (14-9, 11-7 NSIC). The Mustangs will face the Vikings on Friday night at 6 p.m., before playing the Wildcats on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Southwest Minnesota State University Athletics Department along with Affiliated Community Medical Center (ACMC) will host the annual "Pink Zone" Friday night at the R/A Facility, followed by "It's a Slam Dunk – Don't Drive Drunk" on Saturday, Feb. 13, when the Mustangs play their final regular season home games of the 2015-16 season versus Wayne State.

    SENIOR NIGHT - Southwest Minnesota State will honor its four seniors on the roster at halftime of the men's game Saturday night: Brianna VonWahlde, Megan DeRuyter, Hope Bonlander and Annessa Rosch.

    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 AUGUSTANA - The Vikings are 18-6 overall, 12-6 in the NSIC and went 1-1 last weekend suffering a 60-57 loss to Northern State before rebounding with a 74-69 win over MSU Moorhead. Augustana is led by senior forward Nicole Kerkhoff who is averaging 11.7 ppg, shooting 40.7 percent from the floor and is averaging a team-high 6.9 rpg. Sophomore guard Logan O'Farrell is averaging 11.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg and shooting 84.5 percent from the free-throw line. Senior guard Sophie Kenney adds 10.5 ppg to the Viking offense and dishes out 4.5 apg.
    Augustana is averaging 75.2 ppg, shooting 38.3 percent from the field, 29.6 percent from 3-point range, 77.9 percent from the free-throw line and is a plus-0.9 rebound margin. Augustana opponents are averaging 65.2 ppg and shooting 36.3 percent from the field. Augustana head coach Dave Krauth is in his 27th season with a 548-244 overall record.

    MUSTANGS AGAINST THE VIKINGS - Southwest Minnesota State will meet with Augustana University for the second time this season and the 38th time in a series that started during the 1969-70 season. SMSU suffered a 74-62 loss to the Vikings earlier this season on Jan. 3, in Sioux Falls. Augustana leads the series 25-12, including a 12-2 advantage in NSIC games since joining the conference in 2008-09 and a 15-3 lead in games played in Marshall. SMSU won 77-71 the last time playing Augustana in Marshall on Jan. 3, 2015, which snapped a seven game skid in the series.  See page 14 for full series.

    LAST TIME AGAINST THE VIKINGS - Southwest Minnesota State played Augustana University earlier this season on Jan. 3, and lost 74-62 in the Sioux Falls Arena. SMSU finished shooting 36.1 percent (22 of 61) from the field, including scoring on 12 of 17 from the free-throw line. Augustana shot 36.8 percent from the floor, including 32.4 percent (11 of 34) from 3-point range and 86.7 percent (13 of 15) from the charity stripe. 
    Hope Bonlander led all scorers with 21 total points on 8 of 12 shooting for her third time this season scoring over 20 points and grabbed double-digit rebounds to record her first double-double of her career. Lauren Hedlund scored 10 points (3 of 12) and 4 of 7 from the foul line and also grabbed double-digit rebounds to earn her third double-double of her career. Taylor Silva added to the offense scoring nine points. Bonlander and Hedlund both lead SMSU with 11 rebounds, as it held a 42-40 rebound advantage. Augustana capitalized on 25 Mustang turnovers scoring 29 points on takeaways. Augustana also played a fast-paced game, as it scored 29 fast-break points. See page 15 for box score.

    ABOUT WAYNE STATE - The Wildcats will enter the weekend 14-9, 11-7 in the NSIC and will play Sioux Falls on Friday night. WSC split games last week with a 67-59 loss over MSUM, before defeating NSU, 66-51. Sophomore forward Paige Ballinger leads Wayne State averaging 15 ppg, shooting 53.4 percent from the floor and has 41 blocks. Sophomore forward Maggie Schulte averages 14.4 ppg, is shooting 45.6 from the field, 39.4 percent from 3-point range and pulls down 6.3 rpg. Senior guard Sadie Murren adds nine ppg and dishes out five apg, while junior forward Anna Martensen propels the defense with 6.6 rpg and shooting 50 percent from the floor.
    Wayne State is averaging 71.3 ppg, shooting 42.5 percent from the field, 33.2 percent from 3-point range, 71.9 percent from the free-throw line and has a plus-2.3 rebound margin. WSC opponents are averaging 63.4 ppg and shooting 37.6 percent from the field. Wayne State head coach Chris Kielsmeier is in his eighth season with an overall record of 186-55. He was head coach at Division III Howard Payne University (Texas) for eight seasons prior to taking over at WSC in 2008.

    MUSTANGS AGAINST THE WILDCATS - Southwest Minnesota State will meet with Wayne State for the 50th time in a series that started during the 1991-92 season. WSC leads the series 31-18, including holding a 13-12 advantage in games played in Marshall. SMSU has suffered a loss in the last 13 matchups, with its last win coming on Feb. 25, 2009, in Wayne. SMSU has lost the last 11 games played in Marshall, with its last win coming in the 2004-05 season. See page 14 for full series.

    LAST TIME AGAINST THE WILDCATS - Southwest Minnesota State played Wayne State College earlier this season on Jan. 2, and suffered a 88-58 loss in Rice Auditorium. SMSU finished shooting 36.4 percent (24 of 66) from the floor and added 9 of 16 from the free throw line. WSC shot 50.8 percent (32 of 63)—its second-highest finish of the season. 
    Lauren Hedlund led the Mustang offense, scoring 22 points (9 of 19) and added 4 of 6 from the charity stripe. Hope Bonlander contributed 15 points (6 of 13 attempts), while Annessa Rosch scored 10. The WIldcats held a 42-36 rebound advantage, included a 12-7 advantage in second-chance points. Hedlund was a rebound shy of her second double-double of the season, as she paced the Mustangs with nine rebounds, while Bonlander pulled down six. See page 15 for box score.

    CATCHING UP WITH THE MUSTANGS - The Mustangs split last weekend with Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston last weekend. The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team held Bemidji State to 28 percentage shooting en route to a 73-52 victory last Friday night. The win was the first back-to-back conference victories for the Mustangs since the 2011-12 season. SMSU finished shooing 43.1 percent (28 of 65) from the field and 41.2 percent (7 of 17) from downtown. BSU shot 28.1 percent (16 of 57) in the loss and 21.7 percent (5 of 23) from 3-point range. SMSU forced BSU into 12 turnovers, which they turned in 17 points, and gave up the ball just nine times—season low. SMSU dominated the box holding a 34-16 advantaged in points in the paint. Annessa Rosch paced the Mustangs scoring 22 points, while dishing out four assists. Lauren Hedlund poured in 16 points, while Hope Bonlander added 12 points and handed out five assists. Taylor Holicky led the SMSU defense, pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds.
    Against UMC, the University of Minnesota, Crookston recorded four players in double-digit points to defeat Southwest Minnesota State, 85-65 last Saturday night. SMSU finished shooting 36.7 percent (22 of 60) and 72 percent (18 of 25) from the charity stripe. UMC shot 51.6 percent (32 of 62) from the floor and 75 percent from the line. Hope Bonlander led SMSU with 16 points while pulling down five rebounds. Lauren Hedlund added 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to record her fourth double-double of the season-fifth of her career. Annessa Rosch added to the Mustang defense tallying seven rebounds.
 
    HEAD COACH - Allison Kruger is in her sixth season as head coach at Southwest Minnesota State University and has compiled a record of 29-130, including 21-107 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.).