Midwestern State at Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 
Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 | 2 p.m.
Sawyer Center | Bethany, Okla.
Live Stats: SNUAthletics.com
Video: SNUAthletics.com
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 

THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State returns to action Saturday as the Mustangs continue their road swing with a non-conference matchup against Southern Nazarene at the Sawyer Center in Bethany, Okla. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.

LAST TIME ON THE COURT
- Midwestern State dropped a pair of games at the Best Western Premiere Pioneer Classic in Denton last weekend with setbacks to UC-Colorado Springs (61-55) and Newman (67-52) to fall to 2-2 after the second week of play
- Junior post Avery Queen led the Mustangs with 17 points in the loss to UCCS as the Mountain Lions put together a 14-4 run in the second half to come out on top
- Newman used a 20-9 run in the third quarter to extend upon a two-point halftime lead before taking as much as a 20-point advantage in the fourth quarter in the win over MSU
- Junior guard Whitney Taylor led Midwestern with 16 points to earn a spot on the all-tournament team after tallying 11 points against UCCS

 A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Junior guards Kristin Rydell (10.5 ppg) and Whitney Taylor (10.3 ppg) have paced the Midwestern State offense through the first four games of the season while junior post Avery Queen (8.5 ppg) has been a contributor for the Mustangs down low
- Rydell (37.5%) and Taylor (38.1%) have combined for 17 of MSU's 30 three-pointers with Rydell connecting on a team-high nine triples
- Junior forward Micheline Mercelita has come off the bench to lead the Mustangs on the glass with an average of 5.5 boards per game
- Junior point guard Jasmine Richardson is leading the team with 2.3 steals per game while adding 3.0 assists behind freshman guard Leanna James' 3.5 assists per game
- Midwestern State is shooting 36.8 percent from the field, 39.0 percent from behind the arc and 69.0 percent from the free-throw line
- Defensively, the Mustangs are holding teams to just a 26.6 percent clip from three-point range while averaging 8.0 steals per game
 
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 120-108 career mark (.526) at MSU and is tied for second in career wins at Midwestern State with Kim Griffee (1984-92), trailing only Shannon Burks, who compiled 132 victories from 1999-2008
- 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 CRIMSON STORM
- Southern Nazarene enters Saturday's matchup with the Mustangs with a 1-2 record on the season, defeating Rogers State (Okla.) earlier this week for its first win of the season
- The Crimson Storm dropped their first two contests of the season to Henderson State (Ark.) and Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) in Great American Conference action
- Senior guard Abby Boyd leads three players in double figures for the Crimson Storm with an average of 16.0 points while adding a team-high 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals in 35.3 minutes per game
- Sophomore forward Rachel Doerneman is averaging 14.0 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 51.6 percent from the floor
- Sophomore guard Adrienne Berry is also averaging double digits with 11.3 points per game
- SNU is being outscored by 5.7 points with an average of 68.3 points per game on a 37.7 shooting clip with the opposition holding a +10.3 advantage in rebounding
- The Crimson Storm have forced opponents to commit an average of 24 turnovers per game 
- Derek Dorris is in his fifth season at SNU, compiling a 48-63 record
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State holds a narrow 9-8 lead in the all-time series against Southern Nazarene
- The Mustangs have won two of the last three against the Crimson Storm since the series was renewed in 2013 after a 13-year hiatus
- SNU came away with a 68-56 win against MSU last season in Wichita Falls
- The Mustangs won the last meeting in Bethany in 2014 with a 75-60 victory

UP NEXT
- Midwestern State begins Lone Star Conference play on the road next week with a two-game road slate beginning Thursday against rival Tarleton State in Stephenville