Midwestern State vs. No. 11/9 West Texas A&M
Lone Star Conference Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2016 | 6 p.m.
Allen Event Center | Allen, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (5-21, 4-12 LSC, No. 8 seed); West Texas A&M (24-3, 13-3 LSC, No. 1 seed)
Live Stats: LoneStarConference.org
Video: LoneStarConference.org
Streaming Audio: Mustangs Digital Network (Free)
Radio: ESPN 95.5

Lone Star Conference Tournament Central Page

FOR STARTERS
Midwestern State is set to make its fifth-straight Lone Star Conference Championship appearance Wednesday as the Mustangs face a stiff quarterfinal round test when they go up against top-seeded West Texas A&M in a 6 p.m. tipoff inside the Allen Event Center.

The 6 p.m. Wednesday matchup is one of two women's games taking place on the first day of the LSC Basketball Championships, set to run through Saturday. No. 2 seed Angelo State and No. 7 Eastern New Mexico will also take the court Wednesday with a noon tipoff to begin the championships.

The second day of action will feature No. 3 Texas Woman's vs. No. 6 Cameron at noon Thursday while No. 4 Tarleton State and No. 5 Texas A&M-Commerce will begin at 6 p.m. to conclude the quarterfinals.

The semifinals will take place Friday at noon and 6 p.m. while the championship game is set for 3 p.m. Saturday.

Live stats and video will be available for all LSC Tournament games throughout the week.

LAST TIME OUT
– Sophomore guard Whitney Taylor posted her fifth 20-point game of the season and third in the last four games with 23 points to lead Midwestern State, but Cameron connected on 13 three-pointers on a 61.9 shooting clip to earn a 77-61 win Saturday at Aggie Gym in Lawton
– Taylor knocked down 4-of-6 from behind the arc for her fourth-straight game hitting at least three triples
– Sophomore guard Krishawn Crockett chipped in 14 points while junior forward Jennifer Sissel tallied 12 for the Mustangs
– The Mustangs erased a double-digit deficit midway through the second quarter as junior guard Jacquar Westbrooks scored six-straight points to cut the Cameron lead down to 25-19
– The Aggies responded by closing out the half on an 11-2 run to grab a 36-21 advantage at the break
– MSU was only able to pull as close as 13 points midway through the third as Cameron claimed as much as a 32-point lead in the second half before holding on for the 77-61 victory

SCOUTING THE LADY BUFFS
– West Texas A&M is currently ranked No. 11 in the USA TODAY Sports NCAA Division II Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the Division II Media Poll with a 24-3 record this season
– The Lady Buffs went 13-3 to claim the No. 1 seed in the LSC Tournament, finishing one game ahead of Angelo State, a team that swept WT during the regular season
– Senior guard Michael Neuhaus leads the Lady Buffs with 12.7 points per game, shooting 51.8 percent from the field and firing an impressive 47.2 percent from behind the arc with 67 triples this season
– Neuhaus ranks fifth nationally in three-point field goal percentage while coming in 54th in three-pointers made
– The Lone Tree, Colorado native is also shooting 91.8 percent from the charity stripe to lead the Lady Buffs
– Junior guard Sasha Watson is also averaging double figures for WT with 10.7 points while ranking 29th in the country with 5.0 assists per game and 32nd with 134 assists on the year
– WT has been one of the top shooting teams in the country with a 45.8 percentage from the floor to rank 13th nationally while coming in 11th with a 38.5 percent clip from behind the arc
– The Lady Buffs rank 10th in the nation with 17.3 assists per game and 16th in total assists with 467
– WT has also been strong on the defensive end, holding the opposition to 56.0 points per game for 12th-best in the country
– The Lady Buffs are 13th in the nation with 11.4 steals per game and 17th with 309 on the season, led by senior guard Madison McLain who leads the team with 2.1 steals per game
– WT also holds an 8.0 rebound margin on opponents for 16th nationally with junior post Maddison Wild pulling down a team-best 6.8 boards per game
– Head coach Kristen Mattio is in her first season leading the Lady Buffs after spending the previous two seasons as an associated head coach

MSU VS. WT IN THE LSC CHAMPIONSHIPS
– Wednesday's postseason meeting with West Texas A&M will be nothing new for the Mustangs, having faced the Lady Buffs in the LSC Championships each of the last three seasons
– West Texas A&M denied the Mustangs their third LSC title last season, coming away with a narrow 73-70 victory in the LSC Championship
– The top-seeded Lady Buffs also recorded an 86-85 overtime win in the LSC semifinals over No. 4 seed MSU in 2014
– Midwestern State claimed the first meeting between the two teams in the LSC Tournament, taking an 85-83 overtime victory in the championship before making its run to the South Central Regional finals in 2013

INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State is 17-47 against West Texas A&M in the all-time series dating back to 1976-77
– West Texas A&M swept the regular season series with Midwestern State this season, recording an 85-68 win in Canyon before taking a 74-48 victory three weeks ago in Wichita Falls
– The Lady Buffs have won four straight and seven of the last eight in the series, sporting a top 10 ranking in all eight meetings, with the Mustangs' lone win coming in a 77-64 victory over No. 3 West Texas A&M last season in Wichita Falls

A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State concluded the regular season at 5-21 and 4-12 in the LSC
– Sophomore guard Whitney Taylor has reached double figures in 14 of the last 15 games with three 20-point games in the last four outings and five in the last 10, all coming on the road
– Taylor is averaging 21.0 points over the last four games with a career-high 26 points coming in a win at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Feb. 17
– The Melissa native currently ranks fifth in the LSC in scoring with 12.7 points per game while coming in first with a 75.0 free-throw percentage and fifth with 1.7 triples per game
– In LSC play, Taylor has climbed to fourth in scoring at 14.8 points and is fifth with a 39.7 three-point shooting percentage and 1.9 threes per game
– Sophomore guard Krishawn Crockett is second for the Mustangs in scoring with 8.5 points per game while averaging 10.2 points during league contests for 17th in the LSC
– Crockett has posted seven of her 10 double-digit scoring performances in conference play with a career-high 20 points coming at Angelo State on Jan. 23
– Senior guard Kathryn Odom is averaging a team-high 2.7 assists per game this season and has dished out at least four assists in six of the last seven games to propel herself to sixth in the conference with 3.5 assists per game during league play
– Junior forward Jennifer Sissel has been the leader on the glass for Midwestern, averaging 5.5 rebounds per game while pulling down 6.4 boards during league play for ninth in the conference
– Senior forward Katie Brown has also been a consistent contributor for the Mustangs on the boards, averaging 6.7 in league contests for seventh

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 coming off NCAA Tournament appearances in 2015
– MSU's 10 non-conference opponents have not disappointed with a combined record of 167-103 (.619) as of Feb. 29
– 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 WBCA poll
– MSU's schedule is currently the third-toughest in NCAA Division II behind California State, Dominguez Hills and Tampa with opponents combining for a 292-190 mark (.606) this 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 118-105 record (.529) and recorded four-straight winning seasons and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2012-15
– 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
– With a Midwestern State win over West Texas A&M Wednesday, the Mustangs will face the winner between No. 4 Tarleton State and No. 5 Texas A&M-Commerce in the LSC semifinals Friday at 6 p.m. at the Allen Event Center