THE LOOK AHEAD
• The Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball team (1-4, 1-0 NSIC) returns to non-conference action on Monday, Nov. 27, hosting Bethany Lutheran College (0-5) inside the R/A Facility with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.
• SMSU opened NSIC play this past Tuesday earning a big 75-68 road victory over Wayne State College.
• BLC is a Division III school and is a member of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). Monday's game is an exhibition for the Vikings and will not count on their overall record. The Vikings last played on Nov. 18, suffering a 107-54 loss at Wisconsin-Stout.
• The SMSU versus BLC game on Monday will be the second college basketball game played that day inside the R/A Facility. Northern State and Wisconsin-Parkside will play a neutral site non-conference game starting at 4 p.m. Fans can purchase one ticket and attend both games.  
• A preview for BLC can be found on page 3.

    GAME COVERAGE
•Monday's game will be broadcast on 107.5 FM The Fan with Ryan Rohlik providing play-by-play.
•Live stats, radio and video broadcasts of all games can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

    BETHANY LUTHERAN SERIES HISTORY
• SMSU and Bethany Lutheran are meeting for the first time in program history.
• SMSU has played four of the current eight members of the UMAC in program history, including defeating Crown College last season, 97-31, in Marshall.
• SMSU is 43-19 all-time versus Minnesota Morris with most of the games occuring when UMM was a member of the NSIC from 1979-2003. SMSU is 2-0 versus Crown, 2-0 versus North Central and 17-9 versus Martin Luther.
• SMSU will host Martin Luther on Jan. 2.

    LAST TIME OUT
• SMSU earned its first victory of the season defeating Wayne State College, 75-68, in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener for both teams on Tuesday night.
• SMSU was led by Bri Stoltzman's 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting, while also adding five rebounds and three steals. Sam Wall scored a season-high 18 points with a pair of 3-pointers, while Hannah Parsley also scored a season-high with 15 points.
• Kenzie Jones and Madison Gehloff both finished the night with eight points, while Gehloff and Peyton Blandin both secured a team-high six rebounds.
• SMSU finished the game shooting 44 percent (27 of 62) from the field and connecting on 8 of 20 from 3-point range. The Mustangs held a 36-30 rebound advantage and forced the Wildcats into 18 turnovers.
 
    MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS
• For the season, SMSU has three players averaging double figures in scoring with junior Bri Stoltzman leading the way at 20 ppg while leading the team in rebounding at 7.8 per game.
• Junior Peyton Blandin is scoring 10.8 ppg and has made a team-high 12 3-pointers.
• Senior Sam Wall is averaging 12.4 ppg and shooting 88.9 percent from the foul line.
• Junior Kenzie Jones and senior Hannah Parsley round out the SMSU top scorers, averaging 9.2 ppg and .8.5 ppg, respectively.
• SMSU is shooting 38 percent from the field, 32 percent from 3-point range, 70 percent from the free throw line and is minus-6.6 in rebound margin. The Mustangs are averaging 70 points per game, while opponents are averaging 78 ppg.

    STONE COLD STOLTZMAN
• Bri Stoltzman recorded a career-high 36 points on 13 of 23 shooting earlier this season in a loss to Northwest Missouri State on Nov. 10.
• Stoltzman is leading the team in scoring, rebounding and assists and is tied for the team lead in steals. She also has made a team-high 20 free throws on 25 attempts.

    KEEP THE WALL ROLLING
• Sam Wall set the program record for 3-pointers made in a single-season last season with 77.
• Wall ranks fifth all-time in 3-pointers made in program history with 173 in 103 games. She is five away from moving into fourth place all-time and passing Dani Coleman (1996-2000).
• The senior guard also ranks fifth in free throw percentage at .821 (138 of 168) and is 10th in 3-point field goal percentage at .377 (173 of 459).
• More info on the SMSU women's basketball record book can be found on page 3.

    SMSU HEAD COACH TOM WEBB
• Tom Webb is in his seventh season as head coach with a 78-106 record, including 58-85 in NSIC play.
• Webb is 169-229 overall in his 15th season as head coach at the Division II level after compiling a record of 91-123 in eight seasons (2008-16) as head coach at Cameron University (Okla.).
• Last season, Webb guided the Mustangs to a 11-4 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.

    SMSU COMING OFF BEST SEASON IN NEARLY 20 YEARS
• SMSU finished the 2022-23 season with 19 wins, the most single-season victories since the 2004-05 season.
• The Mustangs closed conference action third in the NSIC South, its best finish in the NSIC division era, and tied for fourth in the NSIC overall, the highest finish since the 2004-05 season.
• SMSU's 14 NSIC victories were the most since the 2001-02 season, and its .636 conference win percentage is the highest mark since the 2004-05 season.
• The Mustangs developed into road warriors during the season, winning seven of its final nine road games, the best stretch since winning 11 consecutive games across two seasons from Dec. 16, 2000 to Dec. 8, 2001.

    PEYTON BLANDIN NOTES
• Started all five games and is averaging 10.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and is tied for the team lead with 10 steals.
• Scored a career-high 17 points vs. Northwest Missouri State (11/10/23).

    KENNADI BUCHHOLZ NOTES
• Has played in two games recording one field goal.
• Tallied 30 points, 26 rebounds, three steals, and five blocks in 16 games last year.
• Recorded her first double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds last season vs. Crown College (11/15/22)

    BRYNN BUSSE NOTES
• Has played in all five games.
• Drained her first collegiate bucket at Michigan Tech (11/16/23).
• Recorded and assist and steal vs. Nebraska-Kearney (11/11/23).

    ZOIE CENTERS NOTES
• Has played in two games and scored four points
• Tallied seven points, nine rebounds, and five assists in 18 games last season.

    MADISON GEHLOFF NOTES
• Has started every game this season and is averaging 5.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg.
• Scored season-high 10 points vs. Northwest Missouri State.  
• Last season, tied a career-high with 20 points against Northwest Missouri State (11/11/22).
• Career-high 13 rebounds and five assists against Sioux Falls (11/22/22).

    KENZIE JONES NOTES
• Has started all five games and is averaging 9.2 ppg and 3.0 rpg.
• Scored a career-high 14 points with four 3-pointers at Michigan Tech (11/16/23).

    HANNAH PARSLEY NOTES
• Has played in four games. Missed one game with an injury.
• Averaging 8.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg.
• Career-high five steals vs. Nebraska-Kearney (11/11/23).
• Scored career-high 19 points vs. Sioux Falls (11/22/22).
• Recorded a career-high nine rebounds vs. MSU Moorhead (1/13/23).

    BRI STOLTZMAN NOTES
• Has started all five games and is averaging 20 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and has dished out a team-high 14 assists.
• Scored a career-high 36 points on 13 of 23 shooting and tied a career-high five assists vs. Northwest Missouri State (11/10/23).
• Grabbed a career-high in rebounds (11) against Augustana (2/16/23).
• Named All-NSIC second team in 2022-23.

    AUDREY SWANSON NOTES
• Has played in four games and has recorded two steals and one assist.
• Scored six points in 14 minutes vs. Crown College (11/15/22) last season.

    MADDIE THORFINNSON NOTES
• Has played in all five games and is averaging 1.2 ppg and 0.8 rpg.
• Scored six points vs. Nebraska-Kearney (11/11/23).
• Scored career-high 10 points vs. Augustana (12/1/22) last season.

    CHRISTINA WAGNER NOTES
• Has played in one game.

    ELIZABETH WAGNER NOTES
• Has played in four games and is averaging 3.0 ppg.
• Scored a career-high six points and pulled down four rebounds at Northern Michigan (11/17/23).

    SAM WALL NOTES
• Has started all five games and is averaging 12.4 ppg and 3.2 rpg.
• Ranks fifth in team history with 173 3-pointers.
• Season-high 18 points at Wayne State (11/21/23).
• Scored a career-high 25 points on seven field goals and four 3-pointers last season at Minnesota State (12/17/22).
• Made a school single-season record 77 3-pointers last season.

    WORKING OVERTIME
• SMSU is 13-30 all-time in overtime games, including 1-1 last season after defeating MSU Moorhead 82-75 in overtime on Jan. 13, and suffering a loss to St. Cloud State 70-59 on Jan. 20.
• SMSU is 4-4 in double OT games.

    HOME AND AWAY    
• SMSU is 0-2 at home this season after finishing 11-4 at home in 2022-23 and 10-3 in 2021-22.
• The Mustangs are 1-2 in road/neutral site games this season after recording a 3-9 mark in road/neutral site games in 2022-23.
• The following is a statistical comparison of the Mustang team averages for home and away/neutral games in 2023-24:
    W-L    FG%    3-FG%    FT%    REB    PTS    TO
Home    0-2    37.3    30.6    70.4    33.5    78.5    11.0
Away    1-2    39.1    32.9    69.4    32.0    64.3    17.0

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC
• The 2023-24 campaign marks the 45th season SMSU has competed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
• SMSU has an all-time record of 280-419 in conference games and have won four regular season championships (1979-80, 1980-81, 2000-01, 2001-02) and one NSIC Tournament championship (2002).

    MUSTANG HISTORY
• Southwest Minnesota State is in its 55th season of women's basketball in 2023-24.
• SMSU has played 1,362 games compiling an all-time record of 652-710.
• SMSU has recorded 28 winning seasons, including the last three seasons. The 2019-20 squad that finished 16-12 was the program's first winning season since 2009-10.

    BETHANY LUTHERAN NOTES  
2023-24 Record: 0-5 overall, 0-0 UMAC
Head Coach: Emma Purfeerst, 1st season, 0-5
• Monday's game is an exhibition for the Vikings and will not count on their overall record.
• BLC is 0-5 on the season and last played on Nov. 18 suffering a 107-54 road loss to Wisconsin-Stout. The Vikings are 0-2 in true road games this season.
• Gianna Klarenbeek leads the team in scoring at 13 ppg with a team-high eight 3-pointers.
• Aubrea Kor is scoring 9 ppg ranking second on the club.
• Lexiss Trygg has recorded a team-high 11 blocked shots and is third on the team in scoring at 8.6 ppg.  
• BLC is shooting 37 percent from the field, 28 percent from 3-point range, 75 percent from the free throw line and is minus-6.8 in rebound margin. The Vikings are averaging 59 points per game, while opponents are averaging 85 ppg.