The Mustangs begin play in the NCAA Division II Tournament as the No. 2 seed when they face seventh seed Tarleton State in the South Central Regional on Friday. 
 
Midwestern State (24-5, 16-4), the LSC champions, are coming off an 85-83 overtime win over West Texas A&M in the LSC Tournament Championship on Saturday.  Tarleton (19-9, 14-6) lost to Midwestern 100-83 in LSC Tournament semifinal action on Friday.
 
Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. (Central) Friday at Brownson Arena in Grand Junction, Colo.

WHERE TO FIND THE GAME

100.9 BOB-FM - The broadcast features the play-by-play voice of Trey Reed, filling in for two-time Lone Star Conference Broadcaster of the Year Bill Powers. The Taco Casa Pregame Show begins at 3:15 pm.

On the Web - BOB-FM's audio broadcast simulcasts on bobradio.fm.  LINK

Streaming Video Webcast - A free video webcast will be provided by the Colorado Mesa.  Access the link from CMU's Regional Website.  LINK

Live Stats - Live stats are available courtesy of the Colorado Mesa Sports Information Office.  LINK

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS

The Mustangs play in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 2003 when they meet Tarleton State for the fourth time this season.

MSU, champion of the Lone Star Conference with a 24-5 mark, 16-4 in league action have won six straight after edging West Texas A&M last Saturday.

The Mustangs are paced by the powerful duo of junior Kirsti Degelia and sophomore Andrea Carter.

Degelia, a second-team All-Lone Star Conference performer in 2012-13,  who leads the team and is third in the Lone Star Conference with 16.3 points a game (77th in Division II) to go with 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists (fourth in the LSC).  She is 17th on the career scoring list with 1012 career points.  The junior from Denton, Texas/Krum was named to the All-Lone Star Conference Tournament team and was the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 14 after chalking up a career-high 27 points against Tarleton State.

Carter is a first-team All-LSC selection and LSC tri-Defensive Player of the Year.  She picked up the LSC Defensive Player of the Week award five times this season to go with the LSC Offensive Player of the Week award she collected earlier in the year.  She has posted 15 double-doubles in 29 games this season (12th in Division II).  The sophomore from Angleton is second on the team and ninth in the LSC with a 13.0 scoring average, while standing fifth in the LSC with a 48.4 field goal percentage (135-of-279).  She leads the squad, is third in the LSC and is 26th nationally with 10.2 rebounds and is second in the conference with 2.6 steals a contest (54th in Division II).

Sophomore Dianna Jones of Hewitt, Texas/Midway was the Lone Star Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player after scoring 23 points in the championship game, including nine of MSU's 11 points in the last two minutes of regulation and overtime.  Her runner in the lane that went through the cords as the clock expired was the game winner for MSU.  She is averaging 9.3 points a game and is third in the LSC hitting 36.6 percent from 3-point range (26-of-71).  She is second in the LSC and 41st nationally with her 84.0 percent shooting from the free throw line (68-of-81).

Sophomore Shatoia Gober of Waco, Texas/Midway contributes 9.3 points a contest to go with her 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals an outing.  She is also shooting 47.4 percent from the floor (110-of-232).

MSU is averaging 70.2 points with 39.7 rebounds a game.  The Mustangs allow opponents 60.9 points a contest.

ABOUT THE TEXANNS

Tarleton State returns to the NCAA South Central Regional as the number seven seed, earning an at-large bid to the dance.

The TexAnns of coach Ronnie Hearne are 19-9 overall, 14-6 in the LSC.

Sophomore forward Kiara Wright of Pittsburg, Texas leads the Lone Star Conference with 18.1 points (41st D II) to go with her NCAA II leading 14.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game (third in LSC).
 
Senior guard Peyton Adamson of Rockwall, Texas is second on the team with 15.5 points a contest (fifth in LSC, 97th DII) to go with her LSC leading .449 3-point percentage (fourth in D II) and 2.5 3-pointers per game (31st DII), and 1.8 rebounds .
 
Junior guard Brianna Bledsoe of Stephenville, Texas adds 9.2 points a game.

The TexAnns average 73.5 points a game (second in the LSC), while allowing 65.4 ppg (seventh in the LSC).

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State faces Tarleton State for the 60th time, the fourth time this season and the first time in NCAA Division II Tournament play when they meet on Friday afternoon in the first round of the South Central Regional in Grand Junction.  It's the third time the teams have met in 21 days.
 
Midwestern State leads in the series 32-27 that dates back to the 1975-76 season.
 
It's the second known neutral site game between the schools with MSU holding the 1-0 lead. However there are four games that the location is unclear.  MSU leads the series 17-10 at Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, while Tarleton holds a 14-13 advantage in Stephenville.
 
This is the fourth meeting of the season for MSU and TSU with the Mustangs winning all three affairs, 78-71 in overtime in Wichita Falls on Jan. 12, 71-63 in Stephenville on Feb. 23 and 100-83 in Allen on March 7.
 
Those wins snapped a 14-game losing streak to the TexAnns.
 
It's not the first time MSU and Tarleton have played four times in a season, as it happened during the 1983-84 campaign.  That year, MSU won only at home with three losses in Stephenville.


ABOUT THE NCAA II TOURNAMENT AND SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL

The NCAA Division II Tournament boasts 64 of the top Division II teams in the country split into eight geographic regions for regional play.
 
The Mustangs are the No. 2 seed of the South Central Regional, hosted by No. 1 seed Colorado Mesa at Brownson Arena in Grand Junction, Colo.
 
Regional quarterfinal play is Friday with No. 3 seed St. Mary's facing No. 6 Metro State (Colo.) at 1 p.m. CDT, with No. 2 MSU and No. 7 Tarleton following at 3:30 p.m. CDT.  Top seed Colorado Mesa hosts No. 8 Fort Lewis (Colo.) at 7 p.m. CDT, with No. 4 Texas-Permian Basin meeting No. 5 Abilene Christian at 9:30 p.m. CDT.
 
Regional semifinal play is Saturday, with the STMU/Metro winner taking on the MSU/TSU winner at 6 p.m. CDT, with the CMU/FLC winner advancing against the UTPB/ACU winner.
 
The Regional Championship Game is Monday at 8 p.m. CDT.