THE LOOK AHEAD

• The Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball team (14-9, 11-7 NSIC) continues its NSIC South stretch run hosting Upper Iowa and Winona State.

• The Mustangs will take on the Peacocks (9-14, 5-13 NSIC) on Friday night with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m., before facing the Warriors (10-14, 4-14 NSIC) on Saturday for Tropical Night, with game time scheduled for 5:30 p.m. 

• SMSU has now won 14 of its last 20 games and is currently in third place in the NSIC South Division standings, three games ahead of fourth place Concordia-St. Paul and four games behind Minnesota State and Augustana, who are tied for first. 

• The top six teams in the South and North division qualify for the 12-team NSIC Tournament with the top two seeds in each division earning a bye into the quarterfinals. The third and fourth seeds will host first round games on Feb. 22. 

• After its weekend split, SMSU is 11-7 in conference action, its best conference start since going 9-5 in 2004-05. 

•SMSU defeated both UIU (83-47) and WSU (66-59) on the road earlier this season. Box scores from both games this season can be found on pages 19-20.

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

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

• Both games will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with Ryan Rohlik and streamed on the NSIC Network.

     LAST TIME OUT

• The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team fell to the No. 17-ranked Minnesota State Mavericks 81-70 on Friday night inside the Taylor Center.

• The Mustangs turned the ball over 30 times while forcing MSU into 25 turnovers of their own. The Mavericks turned that into a 29-16 advantage in points off turnovers, while owning the paint to the tune of a 48-30 advantage. 

•  The Mustangs used a trio of scorers and perimeter defense to defeat the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears 67-59 on Saturday night inside the Gangelhoff Center.

• Bri Stoltzman led the Mustangs with 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting, holding team-highs with eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Jenna Borchers scored 16 points, knocking down 4 of 6 from deep, and Madison Gehloff scored 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting while grabbing five rebounds. Hannah Parsley scored six points, adding four rebounds and two steals, while Sam Wall added six points, knocking down all four free-throws.

    FAST BREAK 

• The 14-9 start to open the season is the Mustangs' best start since opening the 2009-10 season with a 15-8 record.

• The Mustangs have shot at least 50 percent in six  games this season and are 28th in the nation with a 44.2 field goal percentage, also slotting 14th with a 36.8 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 9.0 three-pointers per game and shoot the 34th most three-pointers with 24.4 attempts per game.

• The Mustangs have made 164 three-pointers in conference play, 31 more than the next closest team, and are making them at a 36.4 percent clip, tops in the NSIC. 

• Sam Wall has made 56 three-pointers this season, the 25th most in the country, and is one of 14 players in the country to made more than 55 three pointers while shooting over 41.0 percent from beyond the arc. 

• Wall and Jenna Borchers (50) are one of only five sets of teammates in DII to have at least 50 made three-pointers this season.

• Borchers holds the program record for career three-pointers made with 235 makes after breaking the previous record of 199 on Dec. 1. She also ranks 10th among all DII players in career three-pointers made.

• SMSU has touted a high-octane offense, ranking 26th in the nation scoring 74.3 points per game and have shot 74.6 percent from the free throw line, ranking 50th in the NCAA.

• Bri Stoltzman leads the Mustangs with 13.3 ppg on a 52.7 field goal percentage, 6.6 rpg, and 46 steals, and is second with 57 assists.

• Wall is second on the Mustangs with 12.9 ppg, shooting 41.0 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three. 

• Hannah Parsley is scoring 12.0 ppg, adding 5.4 rpg, 46 steals, 35 assists, and 10 blocks while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from three as an all-around threat for the Mustangs.

• Borchers is fourth on the team with 11.7 ppg and leads the team with 61 assists while shooting 38.2 percent from deep. 

• Madison Gehloff  is scoring 8.8 ppg and grabbing 4.9 rpg to round out the starting lineup, shooting 44.6 percent from the field.

• Peyton Blandin has provided a spark off the bench this season, scoring 8.1 points per game, grabbing 3.5 rebounds per game, and shooting 35.7 percent from behind the arc. 

• 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 .799 career free throw percentage and 13th in program history with 1,204 career points

• Also moving up the career rankings is Wall, who is now fifth in program history in three point percentage (38.1 percent) and sixth in three pointers made (142) in 91 career games. 

•SMSU is averaging 74.3 ppg while opponents are averaging 67.3 ppg. SMSU has a plus-0.5 rebounding margin.

•SMSU is shooting 44.2 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from the 3-point line, and 74.6 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 72-100 record, including 54-84 in NSIC play. 

• Webb is 163-223 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.

    UPPER IOWA SERIES HISTORY

• SMSU and UIU will meet for the 34th time with the Mustangs leading 19-14 since its inception in 2004.

• SMSU defeated UIU 83-47 earlier this season.

• Each team won its home game last season, with SMSU winning 75-51 Dec. 11, 2021 before a 68-51 UIU win on Feb. 11, 2022.

• SMSU is 11-6 all-time at home in the series.

• SMSU has won the last six meetings in Marshall.

• SMSU head coach Tom Webb is 11-2 all-time versus Upper Iowa 

•Full series history can be found on page 18.

    WINONA STATE SERIES HISTORY

• SMSU and Winona State will meet for the 89th time with the Mustangs holding a 46-42 edge in a series that started in 1973.

• SMSU won in Winona earlier this season.

• Each team won their home game last season

• SMSU is 29-14 all-time against WSU in Marshall. 

• SMSU has won two of the last three meetings after losing 12 consecutive games

• SMSU head coach Tom Webb is 1-9 all-time versus the Warriors.

•Full series history can be found on page 19.

    UPPER IOWA NOTES  

2022-23 Record: 9-14 overall, 5-13 NSIC

Head Coach: Justin Maass, 1st season, 9-14 at UIU

• UIU is 5-13 in the NSIC on the season after defeating Wayne State and falling to Augustana at home last weekend. 

• The Peacocks were picked to finish 15th in the NSIC and eighth in the NSIC South in the NSIC Preseason Poll.

• Lydia Haack leads UIU with 17.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 98 assists, and 40 steals.

• Katie Tornstrom adds 13.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and 32 steals, and Mia Huberty averages 9.5 ppg and 3.0 rpg.

• Upper Iowa is shooting 39.0 percent from the field, 33.1 percent from 3-point range, and 71.5 percent from the free throw line.

• The Peacocks average 66.9 points per game, while opponents average 72.4 points per game.

    WINONA STATE NOTES  

2022-23 Record: 10-14 overall, 4-14 NSIC

Head Coach: Ana Wurtz, 1st season, 10-14 at WSU

• WSU is 4-14 in the NSIC on the season after getting swept by Augustana and Wayne State at home.

• The Warriors were picked to finish 11th in the NSIC and fifth in the NSIC South in the NSIC Preseason Poll

• Lauren Fech is leading the team with 11.4 points per game and 54 assists while adding 4.8 rebounds per game. 

• Alex Dornfeld is second on the team with 10.7 ppg and leads the team with 8.3 rpg.

• The Warriors are shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 33.5 percent from 3-point range, and 68.0 percent from the free throw line.

•WSU averages 61.5 points per game, while opponents average 63.0 points per game.