TIPOFF
Midwestern State travels west to Odessa to face the Falcons of Texas-Permian Basin. Tip off is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Falcon Dome on the UTPB campus.

Midwestern State vs. Texas-Permian Basin
Wednesday, Dec. 18 | 5:30 p.m.
The Falcon Dome | Odessa, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (6-3); UTPB (2-7)
Live Video: UTPBFalcons.com Pay-Per-View
Live Audio: MSUMustangs.com
Live Stats: UTPBFalcons.com

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
UTPB sports a 2-7 overall record, 1-4 in the Heartland Conference after suffering a 93-66 loss at Oklahoma Christian on Monday night. Head coach Jerome Wills' Falcons are led by junior guard/forward Valerie Barriga of El Paso, Texas/Franklin who's averaging 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds a game to go with her 3.2 assists and team-leading 1.6 steals a contest. Junior guard Katreese Locket of Flagstaff, Ariz./Sinagua adds 12.8 points and 2.9 rebounds a game, with 1.8 assists. Junior guard Giselle Loya of Seminole, Texas adds 10.1 points with 2.8 rebounds, while connecting on 2.7 3-point field goals an outing to go with her 1.1 steals. UTPB is averaging 69.7 points a contest, while allowing opponents 74.2 points a game.

ABOUT THE SERIES
This is the fifth meeting between Midwestern State and Texas-Permian Basin, with MSU holding a 4-0 series lead. However, this is the first time the Mustangs have face UTPB away from Ligon Coliseum. MSU won the first meeting between the schools on Nov. 17, 2006 with an 81-62 triumph. The last time the teams met was on Dec. 15, 2012 when MSU posted a 76-61 victory.

LAST TIME OUT VS. UTPB
Midwestern State overcame an early seven-point deficit to grab a 10-point first half lead and never look back as the Mustangs downed the Falcons 76-61 on Dec. 15, 2012. Shatoia Gover led MSU with 18 points, going 8-of-12 from the floor. Andrea Carter scored 16 points with 12 rebounds, blocked three shots and snagged a steal in the win, while Kirsti Degelia added 12 points with five assists. UTPB got 20 points from Taniqua Ards, while Teisha King added 16 points and Brianna Matthews collected 12 points with eight rebounds.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Midwestern State is at 6-3 on the season. Coach Noel Johnson's Mustangs started the season at number 10, but early season troubles have scuttled the ranking. The Mustangs are led by All-America junior forward Andrea Carter who is averaging 14.9 points and 8.0 rebounds with 1.9 steals and 0.8 assists per game. Junior guard Dianna Jones adds 11.1 points a game to go with her 4.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.78 assist-turnover ratio. Senior guard Kirsti Degelia adds 10.1 points with 1.3 3-pointers a game, to go with 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals. Junior guard Shatoia Gober chalks up 9.1 points a contest, as she pulls down 5.4 rebounds with 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals, while junior guard Lisa Hampton chips in 6.3 points, hitting 1.3 treys a contest. MSU averages 73.3 points a contest, while allowing 69.7.

LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs shook off two weeks of rust while taking down East Central (Okla.) 73-60 at Ligon Coliseum last Saturday. Andrea Carter paced Midwestern on both sides of the ball with her third double-double of the season as she collected 15 points with 10 rebounds on her way to being named Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Carter hit 6-of-7 from the floor and 3-3 from the foul line and added a steal in the win. Kirsti Degeila racked up 12 points, nailing 3-of-4 from the 3-point arc and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to go with her five rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and a steal. Shatoia Gober also had 12 points with four rebounds, four assists and four steals. MSU connected on 51.0 percent of its field goal attempts (26-of-51), the second straight game of better than 50 percent shooting. The Mustangs outrebounded ECU 36-28, bettering by eight the team that entered the game outrebounding its opponents by 10.

MSU UNDER NOEL JOHNSON
Noel Johnson is 78-68 in her sixth year as the head coach of the Mustangs. She was the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year in 2012 after turning the program around with a 19-8 season, then earned the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Small College Coach of the Year award for leading MSU to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 with a 26-6 record and the Lone Star Conference Championship.

MSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Midwestern State started the season at number 10 in the WBCA's USA Today Sports Division II Top 25, but early losses dropped them to the first team receiving votes for three weeks. This week's poll marks the second time they didn't receive a vote this year.

THREE...DOT...THOUGHTS...
This game is the second of three contests for Midwestern State before taking a break for the holidays. MSU takes on Cedarville (Ohio) on Friday at Ligon Coliseum ... The Mustangs won their third straight game with a 73-60 victory over East Central (Okla.) … The win over East Central gives MSU a 4-0 record against teams from the Great American Conference … The action was the first for the Mustangs since an 84-74 win at Ouachita Baptist on Dec. 1, 13 days earlier … Midwestern's Lone Star Conference opener against Texas Woman's that was postponed on Dec. 5 by an ice storm has been rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 2 at Ligon Coliseum with a 7 p.m. tipoff. The MSU vs. Texas Wesleyan game scheduled for that date and time has been indefinitely postponed … The 60 points allowed to East Central was the third-fewest given up by MSU this season and was the third-lowest output by the Tigers this year … Junior Andrea Carter of Angleton, Texas, ranks third in the LSC with her 14.9 points and 8.0 rebounds a game. She is also fifth in the conference with 1.9 steals per contest … Junior guard Dianna Jones of Hewitt, Texas/Midway, ranks 12th in the LSC in scoring with 11.1 points a game, while ranking second in the league with 4.6 assists each outing … Senior guard Kirsti Degelia of Denton, Texas/Krum, is averaging 10.1 points a contest (22nd in the LSC) and is sixth in assists (3.6 per game) ...
  

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