Midwestern State vs. West Texas A&M
Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015 | 5:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (11-1, 2-0); West Texas A&M (9-1, 0-0)
Video: MSUMustangs.com 
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM
Audio: MSUMustangs.com 
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com 
 
ON THE COURT
Midwestern State and West Texas A&M renew the Highway 287 Challenge Cup series Wednesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE LADY BUFFS
- West Texas A&M has reeled of nine straight wins since taking a 77-73 loss at home in the season opener to Texas-Permian Basin.
- WT forces 20.4 turnovers per game while out-rebounding the opposition by 6.5 boards per game.
- The Lady Buffs will take the floor for the first time since defeating Northwest Nazarene (Wash.) 76-69 on Dec. 19 in Las Vegas -- a span of 19 days.
- Senior forward Chontiquah White paces the West Texas A&M attack averaging a Lone Star Conference best 18.7 points per game while pulling down 9.5 rebounds a game.
- White has scored at least 20 points in six games this season including in each of her last three outings with 26 against Texas A&M International, 25 against Western Washington and 23 against Northwest Nazarene.
- Sophomore Sasha Watson has stepped into a primary role for the Buffs this season after playing in 26 games as a reserve in 2013-14. The 5-7 guard out of Palo Duro High averaged 12.3 points per game connecting at a 58.2-percent clip from the field.
- Junior transfer Michaela Neuhaus averaged 10.6 points per game over the first seven games of the season for the Lady Buffs before missing the last three games prior the holidays. Neuhaus poured in a season-high 25 points against Adams State knocking in four 3-pointers.
- Mark Kellogg is in his second season at the helm at West Texas A&M leading the Lady Buffs to a 41-4 mark (.911) and a national finalist appearance last season. Kellogg spent seven seasons at Fort Lewis (173-46) and one campaign at Northwest Missouri (15-13) boasting a 229-63 overall mark (.784) as a collegiate head coach.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
- Midwestern State and West Texas A&M meet for the 60th time on the hardwood Wednesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
- The Lady Buffs own a 43-16 edge in the series which dates back to the 1976-77 season.
- The teams have alternated three-game season sweeps the last two seasons with Midwestern State rolling to three wins in 2012-13 before the Lady Buffs rallied to claim three victories in 2013-14.
- Three of the last four games have gone to overtime with the Mustangs winning 85-83 in the 2013 LSC Postseason Tournament Championship game, while West Texas A&M claimed an 87-77 regular season victory at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in OT before edging MSU 86-85 in overtime last season in the LSC semifinals.
- Midwestern claimed wins in five of seven games between the programs in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
- The Mustangs have won three of the last four games against WT in Wichita Falls.
 
MUSTANGS NOTEBOOK
- Midwestern State extended its winning streak to 10 games by claiming Lone Star Conference wins over Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Commerce.
- It's the sixth time in program history the Mustangs have won 10 consecutive games and ranks as the program's fourth longest winning streak.
- It is the longest streak since MSU won 11 straight games from Jan. 3-Feb. 9, 2013.
- Midwestern State coach Noel Johnson claimed her 100th win at MSU Thursday night at Texas Woman's.
- The Mustangs rank 16th in NCAA Division II in free throw percentage (76.3) and 18th in blocked shots per game (4.7).
- MSU boasts the top scoring defense in the LSC allowing 59.3 points per game and rate second in scoring offense at 70.6 points per game.
- Midwestern is also second in the league in scoring margin at +11.3.
- MSU has scored 55 points off of 50 turnovers in the last two games.
- Senior guard Dianna Jones (Hewitt, Texas / Midway HS) ranks third in the LSC in scoring at 14.9 points per game and is third in assists per game at 3.6.
- Jones has scored in double figures in each of her last 11 games.
- Senior forward Andrea Carter (Angleton, Texas / Angleton HS) bounced back from a season low outing of four points and one rebound against Texas Woman's to notch 13 points and eight rebounds against Texas A&M-Commerce.
- Senior guard Lisa Hampton (Kennedale, Texas / Nolan Catholic HS) knocked down three 3-pointers to score 13 points against Texas A&M-Commerce.
- Hampton has made 116 made 3-pointers for her career to move past Julie Lovett (115 3s from 1993-97) and trails only Andrea Buben (132 3s from 2006-10) and Kristin Ramsey (125 3s from 2000-04).
- Senior guard Shatoia Gober (Waco, Texas / Midway HS) had a season-high five steals against Texas Woman's.
- Senior forward Shambreka Jones (Mesquite, Texas / Poteet HS (Charleston Southern)) has scored in double figures in each of her last four games.
- Jones has blocked four shots in each of her last two games and leads the LSC with 2.2 blocks per game.
- Senior forward Taylor Dowd (Valley View, Texas / Valley View HS) scored eight points in the first half Saturday against Texas A&M-Commerce to raise her season scoring average to 5.4 points per game.
- Senior guard Janae McJunkins (Wagoner, Okla. / Wagoner HS (Murray State)) knocked down a season-best two 3-pointers against Texas Woman's.
 
THE JOHNSON ERA
- Noel Johnson is in her seventh season at the helm of the Midwestern State basketball program.
- Johnson boasts a 101-78 record (.564) while leading the Mustangs to the NCAA Division II postseason in each of the last two seasons including a trip to the South Central Region finals in 2013.
- Johnson reached milestone victory No. 100 with a 61-47 win over Texas Woman's University on Jan. 1, 2015 in Denton.
- Midwestern claimed its first NCAA postseason tournament wins taking down Tarleton State and Metro State (Colo.) in 2013 before falling to No. 4 Colorado Mesa in the regional final.
- Johnson led the Mustangs to its first Lone Star Conference championship in 12 seasons claiming the 2012-13 title.
- Johnson garnered Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2012 before earning Texas Association of Basketball Coaches' Small College Coach of the Year accolades in 2013.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State hits the road to take on Eastern New Mexico Sunday afternoon at Greyhound Arena in Portales. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (Central Time).