WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State's one-two punch of Kirsti Degelia and Andrea Carter keyed the Mustangs to their fifth consecutive win taking a comfortable 68-57 decision over Cedarville (Ohio) Friday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

MSU heads into the Christmas break with an 8-3 record having won seven of their last eight games.

The Mustangs open Lone Star Conference play on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014 against Texas Woman's University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

Degelia matched a season-high with 18 points while knocking three 3-pointers to go along with six assists in 32 minutes on the floor, while Carter notched her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and keyed a strong rebounding effort for the Mustangs by collecting 11 caroms.

MSU, which improved to 8-0 when controlling an edge on the glass this season, out-boarded the Yellowjackets 44-31 taking a 21-4 advantage in second-chance points.

Junior forward Taylor Dowd, junior guard Shatoia Gober and sophomore forward Katie Brown all chipped in four rebounds each.

The Mustangs extended a 5-point lead with a 9-0 run late in the first half keyed by back-to-back 3-pointers by Degelia and sophomore guard Nicole Smallwood while Carter capped the run with a jumper from the baseline to give MSU a 31-17 lead with 6:09 to play in the first half.

Cedarville would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way allowing the Mustangs to drift away and stretch the lead to 19 when junior guard Dianna Jones knocked down a transition trey for a 61-42 advantage with 4:02 to play.

Dowd chipped in nine points on 4-of-6 shooting for the Mustangs while Jones finished with six points, six assists and four steals and Smallwood added six pints on a pair of 3s in 10 minutes off of the bench.

Senior guard Kayla Jenerette paced the Yellowjackets with a game-high 20 points while sophomore forward Kayla Linkous had 12 points.

Cedarville, a member of the Mountain East Conference, fell to 3-6 on the season.