Midwestern State vs. #7 Angelo State
Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016 | 5:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (2-5, 0-2 LSC); Angelo State (6-0, 2-0 LSC)
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Video: Mustangs Digital Network
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 


THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – After a five-game road stretch, Midwestern State returns to the friendly confines of D.L. Ligon Coliseum for the first time in four weeks Thursday as the Mustangs play host to No. 7 Angelo State in their Lone Star Conference home opener. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.

LAST TIME ON THE COURT
- Midwestern State began Lone Star Conference action last weekend on the road, suffering a pair of setbacks to Tarleton State (72-58) and Texas A&M-Commerce (73-60)
- Against the TexAnns, junior guard Whitney Taylor notched her sixth career 20-point with a season-best 22 points with 19 coming in the second half
- However, a season-high 26 turnovers and a 15-2 Tarleton State run to begin the game allowed the TexAnns to hold a double-digit lead on MSU for more than 30 minutes
- Midwestern State shot 50 percent from the floor while holding Texas A&M-Commerce to just a 23.1 percentage in the first half to take a 34-30 halftime lead on the Lions
- The Mustangs committed 14 of their 25 turnovers in the second half with A&M-Commerce turning those miscues into 27 points on the other end to outscore MSU 43-16 in the second half
- The Lions put together an 18-4 run to end the third quarter and erase an eight-point deficit before taking as much as a 19-point lead late in the game
- Taylor and junior guard Kristin Rydell each recorded nine points in the loss

 A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Midwestern State comes into Thursday's contest against nationally-ranked Angelo State with a 2-5 record, having lost its last five games
- The Mustangs are undefeated inside Ligon Coliseum this season, defeating Adams State (Colo.) and Texas A&M International in the season-opening Ashbrook Classic on Nov. 11-12
- Midwestern State is averaging 65.0 points per game this season while opponents have put up 67.1 per contest
- The Mustangs are fifth in the LSC with a 39.3 field goal percentage while ranking second in the league and 37th nationally with a 37.0 percent clip from behind the arc
- Whitney Taylor leads the Mustangs with 13.0 points per game with five double-figure performances on the season to rank eighth in the conference in scoring  
- Taylor has connected on 34.1 of her shots (14-of-41) from three-point range for sixth in the LSC
- The Melissa native has also stood out from the free-throw line, ranking second in the league and 38th in the country with an 88.5 shooting clip (23-of-26)
- Kristin Rydell is second for the Mustangs in scoring with 9.4 points per game and shooting a 34.4 percentage (11-of-32) from long range
- Junior post Avery Queen is third in scoring for MSU with 7.1 points while ranking sixth in the LSC with 1.0 blocks per game
- Junior forward Micheline Mercelita comes off the bench to lead Midwestern with 4.6 rebounds per game, recording MSU's first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Newman on Nov. 20
- Freshman forward Liz Cathcart made her first collegiate start against Texas A&M-Commerce last weekend, having shot a team-best 50 percent from the field this season to average of 6.9 points per game 
- Freshman point guard Leanna James also moved into the starting role last weekend, appearing in the starting lineup in both contests after ranking 10th in the LSC with 3.1 assists per game 

THE JOHNSON ERA
- Noel Johnson is in 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 120-111 career mark (.519) 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 RAMBELLES
- Angelo State is out to a 6-0 start on the season including a win over NCAA Division I UTSA in the season opener
- The Rambelles have climbed to No. 7 in the WBCA national poll and No. 5 in the D2 Media poll, opening up LSC play with a pair of 20-point wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville (84-59) and Texas Woman's (74-53) last weekend at home
- Angelo State leads the LSC and ranks 19th in the nation with 81.2 points per game, outscoring opponents by 22 points this season for 13th in the country
- The Rambelles are firing a 45.6 percentage from the floor this season for second in the LSC and 21st nationally
- ASU is outrebounding the opposition by a +11.2 margin for 16th in the country with an average of 43.0 rebounds per game
- Senior guard Taylor Dorsey leads the league and ranks seventh in the nation with 21.8 points a game, shooting at a 56.8 percent clip which places her second in the conference and 26th nationally
- Dorsey is adding 3.2 assists and 2.8 steals per game, leading the league and ranking 38th in the country in steals
- Senior post Jasmine Prophet is putting up 12.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while leading the LSC and ranking 16th in the nation with a 59.5 field goal percentage
- Senior guard Lexi Murphy also averages double figures with 11.0 points while ranking fifth nationally with a 4.5 assist-to-turnover ratio with 3.0 assists per game

INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State will look to snap a three-game losing skid to Angelo State on Thursday with the Rambelles holding a 32-29 lead in the all-time series dating back to 1978
- Teams have won four-straight games in the series just three times with Angelo State winning four straight from 2002-04 and 2005-06 while MSU claimed four in a row from 2014-15
- The Mustangs are 21-10 against the Rambelles inside Ligon Coliseum, having won two of the last three contests at home
- Angelo State claimed both meetings last season with an 85-68 win in San Angelo and a narrow 83-77 victory in Wichita Falls
 
UP NEXT
- Midwestern State will take a break for final exams next week before hosting Texas A&M-Kingsville in LSC action Monday, Dec. 19 at 5:30 p.m. at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.