Midwestern State vs. Adams State (Colo.)
Friday, Nov. 11, 2016 | 7 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Video: Mustangs Digital Network
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 

Midwestern State vs. Texas A&M International
Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016 | 8 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Video: Mustangs Digital Network
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 

2016 ASHBROOK CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 11
Texas A&M International vs. Texas Woman's - 5 p.m.
Midwestern State vs. Adams State (Colo.) - 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 12
Adams State (Colo.) vs. Texas Woman's - 6 p.m.
Midwestern State vs. Texas A&M International - 8 p.m.

THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – For the third-straight season, the Midwestern State women's basketball team will tipoff the regular season inside the friendly confines of D.L. Ligon Coliseum, hosting the sixth annual Ashbrook Classic presented by Comfort Inn Friday and Saturday.

Midwestern State will play host to Adams State (Colo.) in the season opener Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on Texas A&M International in the tournament finale Saturday at 8 p.m. 

MUSTANGS PICKED SEVENTH IN LSC PRESEASON POLL
- Midwestern State was tabbed seventh in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll with 145 points following an eighth-place finish in the league in 2015-16
- LSC regular season champ West Texas A&M was picked to finish first in the conference, receiving 16 of 30 first-place votes while totaling 312 points
- Conference tournament champion Angelo State was picked a close second behind the Lady Buffs with 311 points and 13 first-place votes
- Texas Woman's (257), Tarleton State (238) and Texas A&M-Commerce (207) rounded out the top five in the poll
- Cameron was tabbed sixth, receiving the remaining first-place vote with 156 points
- MSU and Eastern New Mexico were deadlocked at 145 points to tie for seventh in the poll, finishing ahead of UT Permian Basin (77), Western New Mexico (71) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (61)
 
2015-16 RECAP
- Carrying a youthful squad with 10 underclassmen on the 16-player roster last season, Midwestern State also faced a challenging schedule with five NCAA Tournament-qualifying teams and eventual Division II national champion Lubbock Christian on its 2015-16 slate
- The Mustangs schedule ranked the fifth-toughest in NCAA Division II last season behind Grand Valley State (Mich.), California State Dominguez Hills, Lubbock Christian and Bentley (Mass.)
- MSU concluded with a 5-22 record and 4-12 slate in the LSC to claim eighth in the league standings and punch a ticket to the conference postseason tournament for the fifth-straight season before a 63-44 loss to top-seeded West Texas A&M
- Sophomore guard Whitney Taylor earned All-LSC Honorable Mention accolades after leading the Mustangs with 12.5 points per game and 38 three-pointers with a 37.3 shooting clip from long range
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Midwestern State returns its top-three scorers from last season in Taylor, junior guard Krishawn Crockett (8.4 ppg) and senior forward Jennifer Arbuckle (7.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
- Taylor (14.8 ppg) and Crockett (10.2 ppg) both averaged double figures in LSC play last season to lead the Mustangs
- Arbuckle, the lone senior on this year's squad, led the Mustangs on the glass last season while also ranking third on the team in scoring
- The Mustangs also return five letterwinners in junior guard Kristin Rydell (5.2 ppg, 37.7 3FG%) sophomore forward McKenna Villegas (2.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg) and sophomore guards Anni Scholl (1.8 ppg), Alyssa Jones (1.8 ppg) and Montoria Tripp (1.1 ppg)
- Midwestern will also look to receive contributions from redshirt freshmen Leanna James (Godley, Texas), Courtney Kerr (Paradise, Texas) and Liz Cathcart (Spring Branch, Texas)
- Rounding out the squad are five newcomers including four with collegiate experience
- Junior post Avery Queen (Boerne, Texas / Denver) and junior forward Micheline Mercelita (Edinburg, Texas / UT Rio Grande Valley) arrive in Wichita Falls after two seasons playing at the Division I level while junior guard Jasmine Richardson (Corpus Christi, Texas / Western Texas College) and junior forward Lauren Newman (El Paso, Texas / Odessa College) have two seasons of eligibility remaining after playing at the junior college level
- Guard Mica Schneider is the lone true freshman on this year's team, hailing from Boerne, Texas
 
THE JOHNSON ERA
- Noel Johnson begins her ninth season at the helm of the Midwestern State women's basketball program, leading the Mustangs to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2013-15
- Johnson has compiled a 118-106 career mark (.527) at MSU and is the third-winningest coach in program history behind Shannon Burks (132 wins, 1999-2008) and Kim Griffee (120 wins, 1984-92)
- In 2013, Johnson was named the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Small College Coach of the Year after guiding the Mustangs to their first Lone Star Conference title in 11 years while advancing to the NCAA South Central Region finals with a 26-6 record
- Johnson earned LSC Coach of the Year accolades in 2012 after leading MSU to its first trip to the league's postseason tournament since 2003 with a 19-8 record and third-place finish in the LSC

SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
- Adams State comes into the weekend with an 0-1 record on the season, dropping its season opener to Northern New Mexico College at home, 82-54
- The Grizzlies return 13 letterwinners including four starters from a 3-22 team in 2015-16
- Senior guard Cydney McHenry returns for ASU after averaging 11.1 points and 3.1 assists per game to earn All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Honorable Mention honors
- McHenry was joined in double figures by freshman guard Brianna Reyna against Northern New Mexico last week with Reyna tallying a team-high 14 points and McHenry adding 13
- The Grizzlies also return starters in junior forward Nicole Broyles-Mortensen, sophomore forward Lauren McDonald and sophomore forward Madison Merschel
- Larry Joe Hunt enters his third season as head coach at ASU with an 8-44 record
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State is 1-1 in the all-time series against Adams State, defeating the Grizzlies in the last meeting at the 2014 Ashbrook Classic, 77-62, on Nov. 14, 2014
- ASU claimed the first meeting with a 64-56 win in Alamosa on Nov. 9, 2013
 
SCOUTING THE DUSTDEVILS
- Texas A&M International will open the season Friday against Texas Woman's at 5 p.m. to tipoff the Ashbrook Classic
- The Dustdevils went 15-12 overall and 12-6 in the Heartland Conference to finish third in the league standings last season behind eventual national champion Lubbock Christian and Arkansas-Fort Smith
- TAMIU returns a pair of starters from last season's team in senior guard Hannah Beede and senior forward Rosebrooke Hunt
- The Dustdevils lost their top two offensive producers from last season in senior guard Keiona Mathews (20.6 ppg) and senior guard Jessica Prieto (19.7 ppg), who combined for over 60 percent of the team's scoring
- Beede enters her senior season as the top returner for the Dustdevils after averaging 9.4 points per game and knocking down 62 three-pointers for second on the team last season
- TAMIU sports a veteran squad this season with five seniors on the eight-player roster
- Jeff Caha begins his first season leading the TAMIU women's basketball program after two seasons as an associate head coach with fellow Lone Star Conference member Eastern New Mexico
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- The series between Midwestern State and Texas A&M International is deadlocked at 1-1
- The Mustangs won the first meeting, 98-76, in the 2011-12 season opener in Wichita Falls
- The Dustdevils came out on the winning end in the last matchup with an 84-75 victory on Nov. 12, 2013 inside Ligon Coliseum

UP NEXT
- Midwestern State travels to Texas Woman's Pioneer Premiere for the third-straight season next weekend at Kitty Magee Arena in Denton
- The Mustangs face UC-Colorado Springs in a 2 p.m. matchup Saturday while taking on Newman (Kan.) Sunday at 2 p.m.