THE LOOK AHEAD
• The Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball team (19-10) Heads into the NSIC semifinals, matching up with the Minnesota State Mavericks at 1:30 p.m., on Monday, Feb. 27. 
• This is the fourth time in program history that the Mustangs will compete in the final four of the NSIC, and first since 2002.
• The winner will move on to face the winner of Minnesota Duluth/Augustana in the NSIC Championship on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m.
•The teams split a pair of meetings earlier this season, as SMSU defeated MSU 88-85 in the R/A Facility on Dec. 17, 2022, and the Mavericks avenging the loss with an 81-70 victory in Mankato on Feb. 3 
• The game will be broadcast on Midco, 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik and streamed on the NSIC Network.


     LAST TIME OUT
• The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team outscored the St. Cloud State Huskies 48-35 in the second half, leading to an emotional 76-68 victory on Sunday afternoon in the NSIC Quarterfinals inside the Sanford Pentagon.
• It is SMSU's first victory over the Huskies since 2010, and first time defeating SCSU in the NSIC Tournament. 
•  The Mustangs shot 48.3 percent (28 of 58) from the field while tying a season-low with four three-pointers on 12 attempts and shooting 16 of 22 from the free throw line. The Huskies finished shooting 41.5 percent (22 of 53) from the field, 3 of 10 from three, and 21 of 24 from the free throw line.
•SMSU dominated the paint in the win, continuously driving to the basket and finishing layups. They outscored SCSU 46-32 inside and out-rebounded the Huskies 34-30. 
•Sam Wall scored 19 points to lead the Mustangs in scoring, and made a pair of three pointers, bringing her to 72 makes on the season, one away of tying the program record for single season three pointers. 
•Bri Stoltzman, who played nearly the entire game in foul trouble, finished with 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting, adding six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Jenna Borchers scored 13 points, while Hannah Parsley tallied 13 points and seven rebounds. Madison Gehloff rounded out the starting lineup with 11 points and five rebounds of her own.

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT  
•Since the NSIC Tournament started in 2000, SMSU is 11-17 all-time with one championship title in 2002.
• After losing 14 consecutive NSIC Tournament games since 2003, the Mustangs have one three in the last two seasons, snapping the streak with a victory over MSUM in the first round last year before defeating Minnesota Crookston on Tuesday, and taking down St. Cloud State on Sunday.
•SMSU has advanced to the semifinals four times and played in the first three championship games (2000, 2001, 2002).
•The Mustangs are 6-1 at home, 0-11 on the road and 4-5 in neutral site tournament games.


    MUSTANGS CONTINUE BEST SEASON IN NEARLY 20 YEARS
• SMSU has earned 19 wins this season, tied for the most wins since the 2002-03 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 are the most since the 2001-02 season, and its .636 conference win percentage is the highest mark since the 2004-05 season.
• SMSU won 11 home games this season, tied for the second most in program history.
• The Mustangs also 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.
• This season's Mustangs hold the program record for most threes in a single season with 254. They have made at least 10 three-pointers 13 different games this season.

    FAST BREAK
• SMSU has shot at least 50 percent in seven games this season and are shooting 44.1 from the field and 35.5 percent from three-point range on the season.
• Their three-point percentage does not come with a lack of trying, as SMSU has made 8.8 three-pointers per game on 25.1 attempts per game. 
• The Mustangs made 192 three-pointers in conference play, 36 more than the next closest team, and made them at a 34.6 percent clip, second in the NSIC.
• Sam Wall has made 72 three-pointers this season, shooting 41.1 percent from deep. 
• Wall and Jenna Borchers (62) were one of only three sets of teammates in DII to have at least 60 made three-pointers this season entering the weekend.
• Wall's 72 three pointers are tied for the second most in a single season in program history, and Borchers' 63 is tied for fourth.

3-point field goals made
1.     73     Michelle Bruns (31 games) - 2002-03
2.     72    Jenna Borchers (28 games) - 2019-20
T2.     72      Sam Wall (29 games) - 2022-23
4.     63     Kelly Crimi (28 games) - 2005-06
T4.     63    Jenna Borchers (29 games) - 2022-23

• SMSU has touted a high-octane offense, scoring 74.0 points per game and have shot 74.7 percent from the free throw line.
• Bri Stoltzman leads the Mustangs with 13.6 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game, and a 54.7 field goal percentage, while ranking second on the team with 74 assists and 55 steals
• Stoltzman has elevated her game at the right time, collecting three double-doubles in her last seven games, and is averaging 15.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.6 steals per game on 60.0 percent shooting from the field.
• Wall is tied atop the scoring list on the Mustangs with 13.6 ppg, shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from three.
• Hannah Parsley is scoring 11.8 ppg, adding 5.5 rpg, 57 steals, 43 assists, and 12 blocks while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from three as an all-around threat for the Mustangs.
• Borchers is third on the team with 11.9 ppg and leads the team with 76 assists while shooting 38.4 percent from deep.
• Madison Gehloff  is scoring 8.6 ppg and grabbing 4.6 rpg to round out the starting lineup, shooting 41.9 percent from the field.
• Peyton Blandin has provided a spark off the bench this season, scoring 7.9 points per game, grabbing 3.8 rebounds per game, and is third on the team with 37 three-pointers.
• Moving up the career rankings is Wall, who is now fifth in program history in three point percentage (38.3 percent), sixth in 3-pointers made (158), and seventh in free throw percentage (81.1) in 97 career games
•SMSU is averaging 74.0 ppg while opponents are averaging 67.4 ppg. SMSU has a plus-0.6 rebounding margin. 

    BORCHERS REWRITES THE RECORD BOOKS
• Jenna Borchers holds the program record for career three-pointers made with 241 makes after breaking the previous record of 199 on Dec. 1. 
• Borchers also became the 23rd member of the 1,000 point club on Saturday, Nov. 19 against Northern Michigan.
• In her final game at the R/A Facility, Borchers dominated, scoring 27 points and tying a program-record with seven three-pointers to help SMSU win its second NSIC Tournament game in since 2003, and second in as many seasons.
• She currently ranks first in program history with 125 games played, ninth with a .803 career free throw percentage and 13th in program history with 1,280 career points

    MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
• SMSU and MSU will meet for the 70th time with the Mavericks leading 46-23 since its inception in 1970.
• The teams split a pair of meetings this season, both winning its respective home games.  
The Mustangs fell 89-65 in the last season's NSIC Quarterfinals, the only meeting between the two teams in the NSIC Tournament.
•The Mustangs are 2-2 all-time at neutral sites in the series.
•SMSU head coach Tom Webb is 7-9 all-time versus MSU.

    MINNESOTA STATE NOTES  
2022-23 Record: 24-3 overall
Head Coach: Emilee Thiesse, 11th season, 187-109 at MSU
• The Mavericks have won 10 straight games, including an 81-66 win over UMary in the NSIC Quarterfinals.
• The Mavericks were picked to finish first in the NSIC and the NSIC South in the NSIC Preseason Poll.
• MSU is ranked No. 11 in the WBCA Poll
• Joey Batt earned first team All-NSIC honors and NSIC Defensive Player of the Year honors after averaging 16.4 points per game and racking up 104 assists and 84 steals. 
• Natalie Bremer was named to the All-NSIC second team after averaging 15.4 points per game and grabbing 63 steals off the bench.
• Destinee Bursch was also named to the All-NSIC second team, averaging 12.3 points per game and finishing top three on the team with 75 assists and 61 steals. 
• The Mavericks swarm around defensively, forcing 26.7 turnovers per game, and average 28.4 points per game off turnovers. 
•Minnesota State is shooting 43.5 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from 3-point range, and 71.4 percent from the free throw line.
•The Mavericks average 84.0 points per game, while opponents average 64.1 points per game.

    SMSU HEAD COACH TOM WEBB
• Tom Webb is in his seventh season as head coach with a 77-101 record, including 58-85 in NSIC play.
• Webb is 168-225 overall in his 15th season as head coach at the Division II level after compiling a record of 91-125 in eight seasons (2008-16) as head coach at Cameron University (Okla.).
• Webb guided the Mustangs to a 10-3 home record last season, 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.