Midwestern State at Angelo State
Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016 | 2 p.m.
Junell Center | San Angelo, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (4-12, 3-3 LSC); Angelo State (10-5, 3-2 LSC)
Live Stats: AngeloSports.com
Video: AngeloSports.com (PPV)
Streaming Audio: Mustangs Digital Network (Free)
Radio: 95.5 ESPN Wichita Falls
 

FOR STARTERS
Coming off its third-straight home win Wednesday over Texas A&M-Kingsville, Midwestern State will look to earn its first road win of the season Saturday with a trip to San Angelo to take on Angelo State in a 2 p.m. tipoff at the Junell Center.

LAST TIME OUT
– Senior forward Katie Brown (10 pts, 17 reb) and junior forward Jennifer Sissel (16 pts, 11 reb) both recorded double-doubles to lead Midwestern State to a 55-44 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville as the Mustangs posted their third-straight conference home win
– Brown finished with her first career double-double with a career-high 10 points and17 rebounds, tying for the 19th-best rebounding performance in program history
– Sissel led the Mustangs with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting while adding 11 boards for her third double-double in the last four outings
– Brown and Sissel helped the Mustangs to a 49-36 rebounding edge with Brown totaling nine offensive boards among her 17 rebounds
– Sophomore guard Whitney Taylor notched her fifth-straight game scoring in double figures with 12 points
– The Mustangs also matched a season-high 15 assists on 20 made baskets with freshman guard Anni Scholl leading the way with three dimes
– While committing 20-plus turnovers for the third-straight game with 24, the Mustangs were able to turn 25 TAMUK turnovers into 26 points
– MSU shot 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the floor while holding the Javelinas to 30.2 percent shooting (16-of-53)
 
SCOUTING THE RAMBELLES
– Angelo State comes in with a 10-5 overall record and sits in third place in the LSC with a 3-2 mark after an overtime road loss Wednesday to Cameron
– Prior to their loss to the Aggies, the Rambelles had won three straight which included a 69-64 win over then-No. 1 West Texas A&M at home
– ASU holds a 7-1 record inside the Junell Center this season with the lone defeat coming to NAIA Wayland Baptist (Texas), 91-71
– The Rambelles rank in the top in the nation this season with 81.9 points (6th) and 17.9 assists per game (9th)
– ASU sports three players scoring in double figures with junior guard Taylor Dorsey (17.7 ppg), senior guard Brea Mitchell (11.7 ppg) and junior post Jasmine Prophet (10.7 ppg), all ranking in the top 10 in the LSC
– Dorsey leads the league in scoring and ranks second in field goal percentage (46.5) and assists (3.9) and fifth in steals (1.8)
– Prophet paces the conference in free-throw percentage (80.4) and is tied for second in blocked shots (1.7)
– Mitchell is eighth in the league in rebounding (5.5) while leading the Rambelles on the boards
– Kevin Baker is in his first season leading the ASU women's basketball program following three seasons at NCAA Division III UT Tyler
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State will look to even the all-time series Saturday against Angelo State with the Rambelles holding a 30-29 advantage
– The Mustangs are winners of six of the last eight meetings with their two losses coming by three- and six-point margins
– The two teams split last season with MSU coming away with a 69-61 victory in Wichita Falls while ASU escaped with a 55-53 win in San Angelo
– The series has favored the home team with each team recording wins at home more than 70 percent of the time
– ASU holds a 21-6 record at home over MSU but the Mustangs have won two of the last three over the Rambelles in San Angelo
– Head coach Noel Johnson and the Mustangs will be ready for a close battle Saturday as the teams have played within single digits in 11 of 15 meetings with Johnson at the helm of the program
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State is 4-12 overall and 3-3 in the LSC to tie for fourth place in the conference standings
– Junior forward Jennifer Sissel (13.2 ppg) and sophomore guard Whitney Taylor (10.7 ppg) have led the Mustangs in league play, both averaging double figures in more than 30 minutes on the court
– In LSC action, Sissel has scored in double figures four times with three double-doubles to her name, ranking eighth in scoring in six league contests
– The Wichita Falls native ranks near the top of the LSC with 33.0 minutes per game (3rd), 48.6 shooting (4th) and 7.8 rebounds per game (5th) in conference play
– Taylor has notched double-digit scoring in five-straight games and has eight double-figure outings to lead the Mustangs on the season
– In LSC play, the Melissa native is ninth in free-throw percentage (75.0), 13th in assists (2.5) and 17th in scoring (10.7)
– Following her 17-rebound performance in the win over Texas A&M-Kingsville, senior forward Katie Brown propelled herself to ninth in the LSC with 6.7 rebounds per game in conference play
– On the season, Taylor leads MSU with 9.2 points per game, shooting 76.7 percent from the free-throw line for third in the LSC while leading the Mustangs with 14 triples on a 33.3 percent clip
– Sissel ranks 10th in the LSC with a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game while ranking second for the Mustangs with 8.1 points
 
MSU SCHEDULE AMONG TOUGHEST IN NCAA DIVISION II
– Midwestern knew it faced an early season challenge with a young squad and a competitive non-conference schedule that featured four teams that were coming off NCAA Tournament appearances in 2015
– MSU's 10 non-conference opponents have not disappointed with a combined record of 104-51 (.671) as of Jan. 21
– The always competitive Lone Star Conference has added to the strength of MSU's schedule this season with nationally-ranked West Texas A&M and Texas Woman's, who has received votes in the national poll
– MSU's schedule is currently ranked the second-toughest in NCAA Division II behind California State, Dominguez Hills with opponents combining for a 160-81 mark (.664)

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 is in her eighth season at the helm of the Mustangs women's basketball program in 2015-16
– Johnson has led MSU to a 117-96 record (.549) 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 returns home Saturday, Jan. 30 for a 4 p.m. tip against Cameron at D.L. Ligon Coliseum