Midwestern State vs. Western Washington
Friday, Dec. 18, 2015 | 10 p.m. (CT)
South Point Arena | Las Vegas, Nev.
Records: Midwestern State (1-7); Western Washington (5-3)
Live Stats: SportTours.net
Video: Streamup.com
Streaming Audio: MSUMustangs.tv
Radio: 95.5 ESPN Wichita Falls
 
Midwestern State vs. Stonehill College (Mass.)
Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015 | 10 p.m. (CT)
South Point Arena | Las Vegas, Nev.
Records: Midwestern State (1-7); Stonehill College (6-3)
Live Stats: SportTours.net
Video: Streamup.com
Streaming Audio: MSUMustangs.tv
Radio: 95.5 ESPN Wichita Falls
 

FOR STARTERS
After a two-week break for final exams, the Midwestern State women's basketball team returns to the hardwood Friday for the two-day South Point Holiday Hoops Classic at the South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State took on its first nationally-ranked opponent of the season Thursday, Dec. 3 in No. 14 Lubbock Christian at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock with LCU coming away with a 92-71 victory to hand the Mustangs their fifth-straight loss
– The Lady Chaps jumped out to a 28-8 advantage after the first period and eventually built as much as a 31-point advantage late in the second quarter
– The Mustangs trimmed their deficit to 23 at the half before pulling as close as 14 with just under eight minutes to play
– Junior guard Jacquar Westbrooks netted a career-high 18 points in her first start for the Mustangs, shooting 8-of-11 from the field including 2-of-2 from behind the arc to lead Midwestern
– Sophomore guard Whitney Taylor returned to the court after a three-game absence due to injury to also score a career best with 17 points off the bench, shooting 6-of-9 and 3-of-4 from long range
– Midwestern State shot a season-high 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the floor with 8-of-12 from three-point range for a season-high 71 points
 
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
– Western Washington is 5-3 on the young season with a 2-0 record in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) action that included a 71-62 home win over then-No. 3 Alaska-Anchorage on Dec. 5
– The Vikings have won four in a row with wins over Chaminade (HI) and Hawaii Pacific at the Oahu Thanksgiving Classic in Honolulu and a home win over Alaska Fairbanks to open GNAC play
– WWU has three players averaging double figures in scoring, led by junior guard Taylor Peacocke with 15.4 points in 36.5 minutes per game
– Junior forward Kiana Gandy is averaging 13.8 points while senior post Kayla Bernsen is scoring 13.5 points along with a team-high 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game
– Bernsen is shooting 60 percent (45-of-75) from the floor for 18th in the country while ranking 30th in blocked shots per game, 31st in offensive rebounds per game (4.0) and 41st in total blocks (16)
– Junior guard Aleisha Hathaway paces the Vikings with 5.0 assists, 36th nationally, and 2.4 steals per contest
– WWU has shot the ball well in the early season with a 48 percent (231-of-481) clip from the floor including a 38.2 percentage (29-of-76) from behind the arc and a 76.2 percentage (80-of-105) from the free-throw line
– The Vikings' shooting has placed them among the top in the nation, ranking eighth in field goal percentage, 21st in three-point percentage and 22nd in free-throw shooting
– Head coach Carmen Dolfo is the all-time winningest coach at WWU with a 520-195 (.727) record in 25 seasons
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Friday's game will be the first meeting between Midwestern State and Western Washington
 
SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS
– Stonehill College is 6-3 on the season after claiming wins in four of the last five games
– Last time out, the Skyhawks downed No. 13 (D2SIDA) Southern New Hampshire, 66-56, in Northeast-10 Conference play on the road
– Senior guard Paige Marshall is averaging a team-best 15.9 points while junior guard Kelly Martin is scoring 15.8 points per game for the Skyhawks
– Marshall is seventh nationally with a 3.09 assist-to-turnover ratio (34a, 11to) while sophomore guard Courtney Walsh is ninth with 3.0 (27a, 9to)
– The Skyhawks are 15th in the country with a 1.24 assist-to-turnover ratio (140a, 113to), ranking 17th with just 12.6 turnovers per game
– Sophomore forward Samantha Hyslip is also averaging in double figures with 10.1 points while leading Stonehill with 5.8 rebounds per game
– Stonehill also shoots the ball well from the free-throw line with a 76.3 percentage (129-of-169)
– Head coach Trisha Brown holds a 294-131 (.692) career mark in 15 seasons at Stonehill College
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Saturday's matchup will be the first meeting between Midwestern State and Stonehill College 

A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State fell to 1-7 after a 92-71 defeat to No. 14 Lubbock Christian two weeks ago on the road
– After a career-high 17 points against LCU, sophomore guard Whitney Taylor took over as the leading scorer for the Mustangs with 9.0 points per game on a 42.9 (15-of-35) shooting clip
– Sophomore guard Krishawn Crockett is adding 7.1 points per game, having scored in double figures in three of her last five games
– Freshman forward Kendriana Washington is leading the Mustangs in rebounding with 6.5 boards per game for fourth in the Lone Star Conference, posting a team high in five contests this season
– Midwestern State is averaging 51.4 points while opponents have put up an average of 69.6 points per game on the Mustangs, shooting 44.3 percent (207-of-467) from the field compared to the Mustangs' 33.1 (148-of-447) percentage
– Turnovers have doomed the youthful Mustangs team early this season with an average of 21.5 miscues per contest with the opposition recording 13.1 steals per game
 
LONG ROAD STRETCH
– Midwestern State is in the middle of a six-game road swing that will cover three states with matchups in Texas, Arkansas and Nevada through the remainder of 2015 and the opening week of 2016
– The Mustangs return to D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Jan. 9 with their Lone Star Conference home opener against Eastern New Mexico, a span of 46 days since their last home game against Southern Nazarene on Nov. 24
 
MUSTANGS THIRD IN LSC PRESEASON POLL
– Midwestern State was tabbed third in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll, voted on by the league's coaches, sports information directors and media representatives
– The Mustangs totaled 157 points behind preseason favorite West Texas A&M (220) and Texas Woman's (171)
– West Texas A&M collected 23 of the 25 first place votes while Texas Woman's and Cameron each tallied one vote
– The Mustangs went 12-4 to earn the No. 2 seed in the LSC postseason tournament last season
 
THE JOHNSON ERA
– Noel Johnson enters her eighth season at the helm of the Mustangs women's basketball program in 2015-16
– Johnson has led MSU to a 114-91 record (.556) with four-straight winning seasons and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances
– During Johnson's tenure, the Mustangs claimed their first NCAA Tournament wins in 2013 with victories over rival Tarleton State and Metro State (Colo.) before falling to No. 4 Colorado Mesa in the regional final
– That season, Johnson guided the Maroon and Gold to a 26-6 record, the second-most wins in school history, and a Lone Star Conference Championship, the first in 12 seasons
– 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
 
LOOKING AHEAD
– Midwestern State begins Lone Star Conference action Saturday, Jan. 2 at Texas Woman's with a 2 p.m. tipoff in Denton