TIPOFF
Midwestern State starts the new year under the Dome by opening Lone Star Conference play with Texas Woman's. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The game is the makeup for the postponed contest scheduled for Dec. 5 that was iced out. The Mustangs scheduled game with Texas Wesleyan has been canceled for this season.
Midwestern State vs. Texas Woman's
Thursday, Jan. 2 | 7:00 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (8-3, 0-0); Texas Woman's (4-5, 0-0)
Live Video: None
Live Audio: MSUMustangs.com
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Texas Woman's enters the game with a 4-5 overall record after falling dropping their last two games in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas to Montana State-Billings 78-58 on Dec. 19 and Western Washington 80-44 on Dec. 20. Coach Beth Jillson's Pioneers are led by senior guard Rebekah Cluely of Wichita Falls High who's averaging 11.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals a game. True freshman guard Kenesha Saygo of Killeen, Texas/Ellison adds 9.7 points and 4.1 rebounds a game. Junior forward Ria Pateraki of Athens, Greece adds 8.7 points, with 3.9 rebounds, while sophomore forward Danielle Westerfield of Frisco, Texas/Wakeland adds 6.7 points with 4.4 rebounds. Senior center Mary Kovtun of Lviv, Ukraine leads tallies 5.3 points and leads the team with 4.9 boards. TWU is averaging 62.9 points a contest, while allowing opponents 67.8 points a game.
ABOUT THE SERIES
This is the 52nd meeting between Midwestern State and Texas Woman's with MSU holding a 32-19 series lead. MSU sports a 14-8 advantage in the series at Ligon Coliseum, and a 15-7 advantage in Denton. MSU has a 3-4 record against TWU where the site was not recorded. MSU has won five of the last six meetings against the Pioneers, including a 73-63 win in Ligon Coliseum on Feb. 27, 2013.
LAST TIME OUT VS. TWU
The Mustangs used a 12-3 run five minutes into the first half to claim their first Lone Star Conference Championship in 12 years on Feb. 27, 2013 as MSU defeated TWU 73-63 at Ligon Coliseum. Andrea Carter recorded a double-double with a career-high 23 points to go with 12 rebounds, five steals and a blocked shot. Kirsti Degelia chalked up 17 points with three assists and a steal, as Dianna Jones tallied 14 points with four boards, five assists and a steal. Ria Pateraki led TWU with 16 points, with Rebekah Cluley adding 10 oints with eight rebounds and five assists.
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Midwestern State is at 8-3 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 15.3 points and 8.4 rebounds with 1.7 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. Junior guard Dianna Jones adds 10.8 points a game to go with her 4.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.71 assist-turnover ratio. Senior guard Kirsti Degelia adds 11.3 points with 1.5 three-pointers a game, to go with 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals. Junior guard Shatoia Gober chalks up 8.4 points a contest, as she pulls down 5.9 rebounds with 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals, while junior guard Lisa Hampton chips in 5.6 points, hitting 1.2 treys a contest. MSU averages 73.2 points a contest, while allowing 68.3.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs won their fifth straight by taking out Cedarville (Ohio) 68-57 on Dec. 20 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Senior Kirsti Degelia led the Mustangs with 18 points, hitting 53.8 percent from the floor (7-of-13), including 3-of-5 (60.0 percent) from the 3-point arc, while dising six assists and adding a blocked shot. Junior Andrea Carter collected her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds as she hit 7-of-10 from the floor (70.0 percent). MSU never trailed in the contest, shooting 40.0 percent from the floor (26-of-65) that included 9-of-22 from the 3-point arc (40.9 percent). The Mustangs outrebounded the Yellowjackest 44-31.
MSU UNDER NOEL JOHNSON
Noel Johnson is 80-68 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...
The Mustangs are on a five-game winning streak after handing Texas-Permian Basin a 77-67 loss in Odessa, then wrapping up the pre-holiday schedule with the 68-57 win over Cedarville (Ohio) … MSU held Cedarville to 57 points, its second-lowest point total this season … Junior Andrea Carter of Angleton, Texas, ranks third in the LSC with her 15.3 points and 8.4 rebounds a game. She is also eighth in the conference with 1.97steals per contest … Junior guard Dianna Jones of Hewitt, Texas/Midway, ranks 15th in the LSC in scoring with 10.8 points a game, while ranking third in the league with 4.4 assists each outing … Senior guard Kirsti Degelia of Denton, Texas/Krum, is averaging 11.3 points a contest (13th in the LSC) and is fifth in assists (3.5 per game) ...
-- MSUMustangs.com --
