Midwestern State vs. No. 10/7 West Texas A&M
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016 | 5:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (4-17, 3-8 LSC); West Texas A&M (20-2, 9-2 LSC)
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Video: Mustangs Digital Network (PPV)
Streaming Audio: Mustangs Digital Network (Free)
Radio: ESPN 95.5

FOR STARTERS
Midwestern State closes out a two-game homestand Wednesday when the Mustangs play host to No. 10/7 West Texas A&M in a 5:30 p.m. matchup at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
PINK OUT GAME
Midwestern State will wear pink jerseys in its second Pink Out Game of the season Wednesday during the annual Play 4 Kay Week. The Mustangs will also auction off a signed ball and sell Pink Out shirts. All proceeds go to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and Susan G. Komen Foundation.  
 
MSU WINS, YOU WIN
With a Midwestern State win, redeem your ticket stub at Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers for a buy one, get one combo meal within 24 hours of the game.
 
HIGHWAY 287 CHALLENGE
– The Highway 287 Challenge is a competitive series between the Midwestern State and West Texas A&M athletic programs
– The competition is in its third season with WT claiming the first two challenge cups by a one-point margin each season
– The Challenge tracks head-to-head matchups and conference championship results in 10 sports with each school accumulating points toward the overall series championship
– Midwestern State currently leads the 2015-16 challenge, 8.5-4.5, earning two wins over WT in men's soccer and one in women's soccer and men's basketball. The Mustangs totaled two points each for a win in football and a higher finish at the LSC Cross Country Championships. WT took two wins in volleyball and one in women's soccer and women's basketball. MSU and WT also played to a draw in women's soccer, each earning half a point.

LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State suffered its fifth-straight loss in Lone Star Conference play Saturday with a 67-59 defeat to Texas A&M-Commerce at Ligon Coliseum
– MSU took a six-point lead, its largest of the game, in the first quarter before the teams battled to a 37-37 tie at the half
– A 10-minute field goal drought for the Mustangs in the second half allowed A&M-C to open up an eight-point advantage with less than five minutes to play
– A jumper by sophomore guard Whitney Taylor brought the Mustangs within four with 58 seconds to play, but the Lions were able to hold off a late MSU rally by going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to come out on top
– Sophomore guard Krishawn Crockett led the Mustangs with an all-around performance of 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block
– Junior forward Jennifer Sissel also reached double figures with 10 points while adding a team-high eight boards
 
SCOUTING THE LADY BUFFS
– West Texas A&M is currently ranked No. 10 in the USA TODAY Sports NCAA Division II Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the Division II Media Poll with a 20-2 record and 9-2 mark in the LSC for second in the league standings
– The Lady Buffs suffered just their second loss of the season last Wednesday with a 112-111 triple overtime home loss to Angelo State, who recorded the regular season sweep over WT
– Senior guard Michaela Neuhaus leads the Lady Buffs with 12.6 points per game, shooting 52.5 percent from the field, 47.3 percent from three-point range and 90.5 percent from the free-throw line
– Neuhaus ranks seventh in the nation in three-point percentage and is 53rd with 53 triples on the season
– Junior guard Sasha Watson is also averaging double figures with 11.1 points while leading the Lady Buffs with 5.0 assists per game for 30th in the country
– Watson also cracks the top 30 with 110 total assists for 28th nationally to help WT rank in the top 10 in assists (390, 9th) and assists per game (17.7, 8th)
– WT has been one of the top shooting teams in the country this year with a 46.2 percent clip (10th) from the floor and a 37.8 percentage (18th) from long range
– The Lady Buffs have also been strong on the defensive end, holding teams to 55.7 points per game (13th) while recording 11.5 steals per game (13th) and 253 total steals (15th) this season
– Senior guard Madison McLain leads the Lady Buffs with 50 steals for 54th in the country
– WT also holds an 8.9 rebound margin (10th) on opponents with junior post Maddison Wild pulling down a team-high 7.0 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
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State is 17-46 against West Texas A&M in the all-time series dating back to 1976-77
– Last month, then-No. 1 West Texas A&M earned an 85-68 win in the first meeting of the season on Jan. 6 in Canyon
– The Lady Buffs have won three straight and five of the last six in the series with the Mustangs' lone win coming in a 77-64 victory over No. 3 WT last season in Wichita Falls
– MSU is 10-18 against the Lady Buffs inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum, but has won four of the last five going back to the 2010-11 season
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– After dropping five-straight games, Midwestern State now sits at 4-17 and 3-8 in the LSC for eighth in the league standings
– Sophomore guard Whitney Taylor has been a consistent contributor for the Mustangs, having reached double figures in scoring in nine-straight games before having that streak snapped against Texas A&M-Commerce with a six-point outing
– It was the first single-digit performance for Taylor since scoring two points in the LSC opener at Texas Woman's on Jan. 2
– In those nine games, Taylor set a new career-high 21 points at Angelo State (Jan. 23) before matching that total against rival Tarleton State (Feb. 3)
– The Melissa native is averaging a team-high 10.7 points per game, shooting 38.0 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent from behind the arc
– Taylor currently ranks 14th in the LSC in scoring while coming in fifth in free-throw percentage (71.9) and sixth in minutes played (29.1)
– Junior forward Jennifer Sissel has helped create an inside-outside punch for the Mustangs alongside Taylor, ranking second in scoring with 7.7 points while leading MSU with 5.6 boards for 11th in the conference
– In league play, Sissel ranks fifth in rebounding with 7.1 rebounds per game while Taylor comes in at eighth with 12.5 points per game
– Senior point guard Kathryn Odom has also climbed into the top 10 in the LSC during conference action, ranking seventh with 3.1 assists per game
– Sophomore guard Krishawn Crockett has also stepped up lately for the Mustangs with four double-digit scoring performances in the last seven games for 7.6 points per game this season
– In that stretch, Crockett recorded a career-high 20 points at Angelo State (Jan. 23) and came close to breaking that record against Texas A&M-Commerce last week with her 19-point showing
 
MSU SCHEDULE 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 135-77 (.637) as of Feb. 8
– 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 the toughest in NCAA Division II with opponents combining for a 237-144 mark (.622) this season

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 117-101 record (.537) 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 begins a two-game road swing Saturday with a trip to Portales, N.M., to take on Eastern New Mexico in a 3 p.m. tipoff at Greyhound Arena