MARSHALL, Minn.- The Southwest Minnesota State University ­women's basketball team (1-11, 1-7 NSIC) will be hoping to snap its current six game losing skid as it hosts No. 14 Winona State (12-2, 7-1 NSIC) on Friday at 6 p.m. The Mustangs then play another home game against Upper Iowa (1-11, 1-7 NSIC) on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
            BROADCAST INFO
•This weekend's games will broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik handling the play-by-play for SMSU basketball for the fourth straight season
•The game can also be viewed online at SMSUmustangs.com.
           
            SERIES HISTORY (Winona State)
•No. 14 Winona State defeated SMSU 60-36 back on Dec. 3, Full box score on page 19
•SMSU suffered its lowest point total and lowest shooting percentage (.182) of the year in its loss to WSU
•No Mustang player reached double-figures in points scored but Lauren Hedlund pulled in 10 rebounds for SMSU
•WSU leads the all-time matchup 44-34 and has won five straight
•Complete game-by-game listing of the series is located on page 18
 
            SERIES HISTORY (Upper Iowa)
•SMSU defeated Upper Iowa 79-70 for Tom Webb's first win as the Mustangs' head coach back on Dec. 2, Full box score on page 21
•The Mustangs scored their highest point total  (79) and highest rebounding total (41) in the first matchup back in December
•Lauren Hedlund scored 17 with 16 boards in the first game vs UIU
•The win for SMSU snapped a streak of nine straight wins for UIU but Upper Iowa still leads the all-time series 12-9
•Complete game-by-game listing of the series is located on page 20
 
            GAME DAY STORYLINES
•The Mustangs scored 70 plus points in back to back games for the first time this season in its road trip to Wayne State and Augustana last weekend
•SMSU connected on a season high 27 field goal attempts against Augustana
•SMSU shot a season high 45 percent (8-of-14) on three point attempts against Augie
•SMSU shot a season high 51 percent (24-of-47) at Wayne State
•SMSU tied a season high 18 assists versus Augie
•Wayne State's 24 rebounds were the fewest of any SMSU opponent this year
 
            SMSU HEAD COACH TOM WEBB
•Tom Webb is in his first season as the head coach with a 1-11 overall record thus far
•Webb is the eighth head coach in the program's history
• Prior to SMSU, coach Webb spent eight seasons (2008-16) as the head coach at Cameron University (Okla.) compiling a record of 91-123.
• Webb was recognized as the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year in 2014-15
 
            NSIC RANKINGS (Conference games only)
•Hedlund ranks second in the NSIC in rebounding (9.9 rpg)
•Taylor Holicky ranks ninth (8.0 rpg) in rebounds
•Taylor Silva ranks sixth in assists (4.13 apg)
•Caleigh Rodning is second in the conference in field goal percentage (.604)
 
            ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 1-11 on the season following last Saturday's loss at Wayne State
•SMSU averages more than eight more free throw attempts per game than its opponents
•Lauren Hedlund leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 12.4 ppg and 9.3 rpg
•Taylor Holicky is averaging 8.7 ppg and 7.8 rpg 
•Taylor Silva has dished out a team-high 48 assists (4.0 apg)
•Abby Connell has connected on a team-leading 25 3-pointers
 
            ABOUT WINONA STATE
•Winona State (12-2, 7-1 NSIC) currently sits alone atop the NSIC South Division
•WSU is in the midst of a three game win streak after victories over Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State last weekend
•As of Jan. 2, WSU has the fourth best scoring offense (71.2 ppg) in the conference and second best scoring margin (+12.9 ppg)
•Jenny Tuttle was named last week's NSIC South Player of the Week after scoring a combined 42 points and 70.8 percent shooting effort in two games last week
•Head coach Scott Ballard is in his 13th season as the Warriors' head coach with a 222-119 overall record at WSU
           
            ABOUT UPPER IOWA
•Upper Iowa (1-11, 1-8 NSIC) currently sits in last place in the NSIC South Division after earning its first win of the season last week against Bemidji State
•Blair Klostermann leads the conference in scoring with 20.5 ppg (NSIC games only)
•Upper Iowa boasts the ninth best scoring defense (69.8 ppg) and is 11th in the NSIC in scoring margin (-7.2)
•UIU has forced the seventh best opponent field goal percentage (.407) and sixth best opponent three point field goal percentage (.325)
 
            LAURIE BOHLER NOTES
•Has appeared in all 12 games
•Pulled in three rebounds versus Augie
•Has appeared in 45 career games
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            EMILY BUYSSE NOTES
•Scored career high six points vs UMD with two made three pointers
•Made her Mustangs' debut versus Sioux Falls on 11/26/16
•Has appeared in six games averaging 19.5 minutes per game
•Younger sister of teammate Sarah Buysse
 
            SARAH BUYSSE NOTES
•Had career high 5 assists against UIU (12/2/16)
•Led team in scoring with 14 points in season debut vs USF
•Started all 29 games as a true freshman in 2015-16
•Averaging 8.9 ppg and 3.1 rpg
•Older sister of teammate Emily Buysse
 
            ABBY CONNELL NOTES
•Has started all 12 games
•Scored career high 14 points at WSC (12/31/16)
•Career highs in three pointers made (4) and attempted (8) vs UIU (12/2/16)
•Averaging 7.3 ppg and 1.5 rpg
 
            LAUREN HEDLUND NOTES
•Has started all 12 games
•Team high 12.4 ppg and 9.3 rpg
•First SMSU player since 2011 to record 15 plus rebounds (16 rebounds vs Upper Iowa, 12/2/16)
•Scored career-high 27 points vs. St. Cloud State
•Second all-time in offensive rebounds per game (2.9)
•Eighth all-time in rebounds per game (6.9)
 
            TAYLOR HOLICKY NOTES
•Has started all 12 games
•Averaging 8.7 ppg and 7.8 rpg
•Has recorded two double-doubles this season
•Scored a career-high 14 points vs. Missouri Western State (11/11/16), at USF (12/17/16), and at Wayne State (12/31/16)
 
            CALEIGH RODNING NOTES
•Recorded career high 20 points vs Augie (12/30/16)
•Started four games and is averaging 22.6  minutes a night on the court
•Averaging 10.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 1.2 apg as a true freshman
•Has led Mustangs in scoring on three occasions this season
 
            TAYLOR SILVA NOTES
•Has started all 12 games
•Leads team with 4.0 assists per game
•Had career high seven assists at Wayne State (12/31/16)
•Scored career high 21 points against UIU (12/2/16)
•Grabbed career high four steals against UIU (12/2/16)
•Became first SMSU player since '10 to hit at least 10 free throws (made 10 vs. UIU, 12/2/16)
 
            KENDRA SNAZA NOTES
•Has appeared in eight games
•Scored six points with two 3-pointers vs. Fort Hays State
 
            JAMIE SPICER NOTES
•Has appeared in 10 games
•Averaging 5.3 ppg
•Second on team with 14 made 3-pointers
•Scored career high nine points vs. Missouri Western State and South Dakota Mines
 
            BRIANNA VONWAHLDE NOTES
•Has appeared in nine games
•Scored field goals vs. Fort Hays State and South Dakota Mines
•Attempted career high five field goals vs. MWSU (11/11/16)
 
            ANGIE WENNING
•Has played in eight games
•Recorded a career high two assists against South Dakota Mines (11/19/16)

            OFF THE BENCH
•The SMSU bench is averaging 15.2 ppg this season, while its opponents are averaging 26.4 ppg
•SMSU averaged 14 bench points per game in 2015-16
 
            SHARING THE BALL
•The Mustangs will look to improve on their early assist numbers as they are averaging 11.2 assists per game
•SMSU tallied double-digit assists in 20 games last season and averaged 11.8 apg
•The Mustangs have hit double digit assists on seven occasions so far this year
 
            WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 10-24 all-time in overtime games and has not won an overtime game in 11 seasons as the Mustangs are 0-9 since the 2004-05 season •SMSU is 2-5 in seven double-overtime games
•The last overtime win for SMSU was on Feb. 11, 2005, versus Minnesota Crookston
           
            HOME AND AWAY
•SMSU finished 3-12 at home last season and is a combined 14-54 at home over the last five seasons
•The Mustangs are 1-8 in road/neutral site games this season after finishing 2-12 in road/neutral site games last season
•SMSU is 0-3 in home games this year
•The following is a statistical comparison of the Mustang team averages for home and away/neutral games in 2016-17:
                        W-L     FG%    3-FG% FT%     REB     PTS      TO      
Home  0-3       .392     .293     .651     35.0     55.0     20.3    
Away   1-8       .377     .333     .713     35.1     58.6     20.3      

            HOME SWEET HOME
•The 2016-17 season marks the 21st year the R/A Facility has been the home arena for SMSU women's basketball.
•SMSU has compiled a record of 134-131 (.506) in 265 games in the R/A Facility.
•SMSU is 314-228 (.579) in all home games in the program's history
 
SMSU in the R/A Facility
            Year             Overall    NSIC   Non-Conf.
            1996-97           6-5       2-3       4-2
            1997-98           5-6       3-3       2-3
            1998-99           11-2     6-0       5-2      
            1999-00           11-3     7-2       4-1      
            2000-01           12-0     9-0       3-0
            2001-02           11-2     8-1       3-1
            2002-03           11-3     7-2       4-1
            2003-04           4-8       2-7       2-1      
            2004-05           10-4     5-2       5-2
            2005-06           5-9       3-4       2-5
            2006-07           5-8       3-6       2-2
            2007-08           5-9       2-7       3-2
            2008-09           9-6       4-6       5-0
            2009-10           10-5     6-4       4-1
            2010-11           6-7       5-6       1-1
            2011-12           3-9       3-8       0-1      
            2012-13           2-10     1-10     1-0
            2013-14           3-9       2-9       1-0
            2014-15           3-11     3-8       0-3
            2015-16           3-12     2-9       1-3
            2016-17           0-3       0-3       0-0
   Totals:                  134-131   82-100  52-31

            2016-17 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 15th overall and eighth in the South Division in the annual 16-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll released in October.
•Winona State was chosen as the overall preseason favorite earning 201 points including seven first place votes and were also picked to win the South Division
 
            MUSTANG HISTORY
•SMSU is in its 48th year of women's basketball in 2016-17
•SMSU has played in 1,190 games all-time with a 575-615 (.483) all-time record overall
•SMSU is 223-341 (.395) in conference games