THE LOOK AHEAD

• The Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball team (13-8, 10-6 NSIC) opens its NSIC South stretch run at Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul.

• SMSU will take on the Mavericks (17-3, 13-3 NSIC) on Friday night with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m. before facing the Golden Bears (10-10, 7-9 NSIC) on Saturday with game time slated for 5:30 p.m. 

• SMSU has now won 13 of its last 19 games and is currently in third place in the NSIC South Division standings, three games ahead of fourth place Concordia-St. Paul and three games behind Minnesota State and Augustana, who are tied for first. 

• After its weekend sweep, SMSU is 10-6 in conference action, its best conference start since going 9-5 in 2004-05. 

• SMSU has won six of its last seven road games, the best stretch since winning 11 consecutive games across two seasons from Dec. 16, 2000 to Dec. 8, 2001.

• The Mustangs are also 7-4 at home and have finished over .500 at home in each of their last four seasons. 

    BROADCAST INFO 

• The games will be streamed on the NSIC Network.

• Both games will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik. 

• Live stats, radio broadcast and video broadcast can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

     LAST TIME OUT

• The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak Friday night with a hard-fought 69-64 victory over Bemidji State inside the BSU Gymnasium.

• After trailing 18-16 after the first quarter, the Mustangs finished the night shooting 48 percent (24 of 50) from the field while making 6 of 13 on 3-pointers. SMSU held a 34-31 rebound advantage with Bri Stoltzman grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.

•  The Mustangs completed a weekend road sweep on Saturday night with a 75-58 victory over Minnesota Crookston inside Lysaker Gymnasium.

• Sam Wall poured in a game-high 22 points with a career-high six 3-pointers, while Madison Gehloff added 18 points on 8 of 13 shooting. Payton Blandin also reached double figures in scoring with 15 points, while connecting on three 3-pointers.

    FAST BREAK 

• The 13-8 start to open the season is the Mustangs' best start since starting 13-8 in the 2009-10 season.

• The Mustangs have shot at least 50 percent in six  games this season and are 30th in the nation with a 44.1 field goal percentage, also slotting 10th with a 37.2 percentage from three-point range on the season.

• Their three-point percentage does not come with a lack of trying, as SMSU has made the 10th most three pointers per game in the nation, making 9.3 three-pointers per game and shoot the 27th most three-pointers with 25.0 attempts per game.

• The Mustangs have made 152 three-pointers in conference play, 42 more than the next closest team, and are making them at a 36.9 percent clip, second best in the NSIC. 

• SMSU has touted a high-octane offense, ranking 23rd in the nation scoring 74.9 points per game, and have turned it over 13.9 times per game, the 39th fewest total in DII.

• Sam Wall leads the Mustangs with 13.4 ppg, shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three. 

• Wall has made 53 three-pointers this season, the 21st most in the country, and is one of 15 players in the country to made at least 50 three pointers while shooting over 41.5 percent from beyond the arc. 

• Bri Stoltzman is second on the Mustangs with 13.1 ppg, leading the team with a 52.7 field goal percentage and 6.6 rpg, and is second with 39 steals and 51 assists.

• Hannah Parsley is scoring 12.5 ppg, adding 5.5 rpg, 42 steals, 32 assists, and 10 blocks while shooting 48.7 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three as an all-around threat for the Mustangs.

• Jenna Borchers is fourth on the team with 11.6 ppg and leads the team with 56 assists. She has also sunk 44 threes on 36.1 percent shooting from deep. 

• Madison Gehloff  is scoring 8.2 ppg and grabbing 5.1 rpg to round out the starting lineup, shooting 42.6 percent from the field.

• Peyton Blandin has provided a spark off the bench this season, scoring 8.5 points per game, grabbing 3.7 rebounds per game, and shooting 36.6 percent from behind the arc. 

• Borchers holds the program record for career three-pointers made with 229 makes after breaking the previous record of 199 on Dec. 1. 

• Borchers became the 23rd member of the 1,000 point club on Saturday, Nov. 19 against Northern Michigan.

• She currently ranks ninth in program history with a .794 career free throw percentage and 13th in program history with 1,178 career points

• Also moving up the career rankings is Wall, who is now fifth in program history in three point percentage (38.2 percent) and 10th in three pointers made (139) in 89 career games. 

•SMSU is averaging 74.9 ppg while opponents are averaging 67.0 ppg. SMSU has a plus-1.1 rebounding margin.

•SMSU is shooting 44.1 percent from the field, 37.2 percent from the 3-point line, and 73.8 percent the free-throw line.

•Full team statistics can be found on page 5, individual career statistics can be found starting on page 9, and an NCAA Ranking summary can be found on page 16. 

    SMSU?HEAD COACH TOM?WEBB

• Tom Webb is in his seventh season as head coach with a 69-99 record, including 53-83 in NSIC play. 

• Webb is 162-222 overall in his 15th season as?head coach at the Division II level after compiling a record of 92-123 in eight seasons (2008-16) as head coach at Cameron University (Okla.). 

• Webb guided the Mustangs to a 10-3 home record, their best home record since the 2002-03 season and led SMSU to its first home NSIC tournament game since 2005, and first NSIC tournament victory since 2003, ending the season with their first ever tournament game inside the Pentagon.

• Webb's complete bio is found on page 17.

     LAST TIME AGAINST MSU

•The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team used hot three-point shooting and a career day from Sam Wall to defeat previously undefeated and No. 4-ranked Minnesota State 88-85 on Dec. 17 inside the R/A Facility.

• It was the Mustangs' second ranked victory of the season, and first win over a Top-5 opponent since defeating No. 4 Northern State on Jan. 16, 2015. 

• The Mustangs shot 50.9 percent (29 of 57) from the field and 46.4 percent (13 of 28) from three, while Minnesota State shot 46.3 percent (31 of 67) from the field and 43.8 percent (7 of 16) from three.  

•Wall scored a career-high 25 points, going 7 of 10 from the field, 4 of 7 from deep, and 7 of 8 from the free throw line, adding four rebounds. 

•Full Box Score can be found on page 20.

     LAST TIME AGAINST CSP

• The Mustangs dropped a heart-breaker on Dec. 16, losing 62-60 to the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears inside the R/A Facility. 

• Jenna Borchers led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 6 of 9 from the field, 5 of 6 from beyond the arc, and 4 of 4 from the free throw line. She also added five rebounds and a pair of assists. 

• CSP won the game on the glass (43-32 rebounding advantage), with its depth (29-14 in bench points), and in the paint (46-16 in points in the paint). 

•Full Box Score can be found on page 21.

    MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY

• SMSU and MSU will meet for the 69th time with the Mavericks leading 45-23 since its inception in 1977.

• SMSU defeated MSU 88-85 earlier this season.

• Each team won its home game last season, with MSU winning 96-74 on Dec. 18, 2021 before a 63-46 SMSU win on Feb. 4.

• SMSU is 8-27 all-time in Mankato.

•MSU has won three of the last five meetings in Mankato.

• SMSU head coach Tom Webb is 7-8 all-time versus Minnesota State, including 6-4 in the last ten match-ups. 

•Full series history can be found on page 18.
 

    CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL SERIES HISTORY

• SMSU and Concordia-St. Paul will meet for the 64th time with the Golden Bears holding a 45-18 edge in a series that started in 1974.

• CSP defeated SMSU in Marshall earlier this season.

• CSP won 67-65 on a buzzer beater, and SMSU won a 94-85 double OT thriller in two meetings last season.

• SMSU is 8-25 all-time against CSP in St. Paul. 

• CSP has won 20 of the last 22 meetings

•SMSU has not won in St. Paul since 2001-02.

• SMSU head coach Tom Webb is 2-11 all-time versus the Golden Bears.

•Full series history can be found on page 19.

    MINNESOTA STATE NOTES  

2022-23 Record: 17-3 overall, 13-3 NSIC

Head Coach: Emilee Thiesse, 11th season, 187-109 at MSU

Mascot: Mavericks

• The Mavericks are ranked No. 17 in the WBCA Poll.

• MSU is 11-3 in the NSIC on the season after sweeping UMary and Minot State at home last weekend. 

• The Mavericks were picked to finish first in the NSIC and the NSIC South in the NSIC Preseason Poll.

• Joey Batt leads MSU with 17.4 ppg on 56.6 percent shooting,  71 assists, and 69 steals.

• Destinee Bursch adds 14.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 60 assists, and 47 steals, and Natalie Bremer averages 13.9 ppg and 45 steals.

• Minnesota State is shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from 3-point range, and 73.9 percent from the free throw line.

• The Mavericks average 84.8 points per game, while opponents average 63.5 points per game.

    CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL NOTES  

2022-23 Record: 11-11 overall, 7-9 NSIC

Head Coach: Amanda Johnson, 8th season, 118-84 at CSP

Mascot: Golden Bears

• CSP is 7-9 in the NSIC on the season after sweeping Minot State and UMary at home last weekend. 

• The Golden Bears were picked to finish fifth in the NSIC and fourth in the NSIC South in the NSIC Preseason Poll

• Ally Gietzel is leading the team with 13.2 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, and 42 assists. 

• Lindsey Becher is second on the team with 9.3 ppg and 5.4 rpg, adding 31 blocks.

• Leah Kuma averages 7.3 points per game, leading CSP with 31 steals.

• The Golden Bears are shooting 37.8 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from 3-point range, and 72.5 percent from the free throw line.

•CSP averages 62.4 points per game, while opponents average 63.7 points per game.