Midwestern State at Western New Mexico
Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 | 6:30 p.m. (CST)
Drag's Court | Silver City, N.M.
Records: Midwestern State (3-9, 0-6 LSC); Western New Mexico (4-9, 0-6 LSC)
Live Stats: WNMUMustangs.com
Video: WNMUMustangs.com
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 

Midwestern State at Eastern New Mexico
Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 | 3 p.m. (CST)
Greyhound Arena | Portales, N.M.
Records: Midwestern State (3-9, 0-6 LSC); Eastern New Mexico (10-3, 6-0 LSC)
Live Stats: GoEasternAthletics.com
Video: GoEasternAthletics.com
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 


THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State takes on its second road trip of the season and first in over a month when the Mustangs face Western New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico in Lone Star Conference action this weekend. 
 
Midwestern State first squares off against Western New Mexico for the team's first meeting as conference foes Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (CST) at Drag's Court in Silver City. The Mustangs conclude their New Mexico road swing Saturday at 3 p.m. against league leader Eastern New Mexico at Greyhound Arena in Portales.

LAST TIME ON THE COURT
- Midwestern State dropped both of its games last weekend in Wichita Falls with a 79-53 defeat to West Texas A&M and an 82-78 overtime loss to UT Permian Basin
- West Texas A&M outscored MSU 50-31 in the second half while shooting 53.6 percent for the game to earn its sixth-straight win over the Mustangs
- Kristin Rydell paced MSU in scoring with 15 points while Whitney Taylor also reached double figures with 10 points
- UT Permian Basin erased a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime before prevailing in the extra period for its first-ever win over Midwestern State
- Whitney Taylor led the Mustangs with 19 points while Micheline Mercelita notched her second double-double of the season with a career-high 17 points and 14 rebounds
- Avery Queen added 13 points while Kristin Rydell totaled 11 for the MSU offense

 A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Midwestern State comes into the week with a 3-9 record and 0-6 mark in LSC action
- The Mustangs are averaging 63.4 points per game, shooting at a 38.2 percent clip this season
- MSU ranks second in the LSC and 43rd nationally with a 35.6 three-point shooting percentage with 80 triples while also ranking second in the league with 15.2 assists
- Turnovers have doomed Midwestern State through the first half of the season with an average of 19.3 per game, committing more than 20 five times and at least 18 in eight of nine losses
- Junior guard Whitney Taylor leads the Mustangs with 13.3 points per game for seventh in the conference, shooting 37.5 percent from the floor
- Taylor ranks fourth in the LSC with a 38.3 percentage from behind the arc with 31 triples this season for an average of 2.6 per game
- Junior guard Kristin Rydell is also averaging double digits with 10.8 points per game, shooting 38.8 percent from the field
- Rydell is also second for MSU in three-pointers, firing at a 34.9 percent clip with 22 treys 
- Junior post Avery Queen is third for the Mustangs in scoring with 7.0 points while ranking third in the LSC with 1.2 blocks per game
- Leanna James ranks second in the LSC with 4.2 assists per game, having dished out at least six assists in her last three games including a career-best 11 vs. Texas Wesleyan on Dec. 31
- Micheline Mercelita comes off the bench to lead the Mustangs with 5.0 rebounds per game, recording two double-doubles this season including a career-best 17-point, 14-rebound performance against UT Permian Basin on Jan. 7

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 121-115 career mark (.513) in her time at MSU, moving into second on the program's all-time coaching wins list following the victory over Texas Wesleyan on Dec. 31, 2016 to surpass Kim Griffee (1984-92)
- Johnson now just sits behind Shannon Burks, who compiled 132 wins in nine seasons at MSU 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 LADY MUSTANGS
- Western New Mexico currently joins Midwestern State at the bottom of the Lone Star Conference standings with a 4-9 overall record and 0-6 mark in league play
- The Lady Mustangs have lost their last eight contests going back to a 69-59 win over Western State (Colo.) on Nov. 25, 2016
- WNMU leads the LSC and ranks 31st nationally with a 75.2 free-throw percentage this season, shooting 158-of-210 from the charity stripe
- The Lady Mustangs are also committing the fewest turnovers per game in the league with 13.6
- Senior guard Jordan Gutierrez leads WNMU and is second in the LSC with 17.3 points per game, shooting a league-best 83.3 percent from the charity stripe
- The Albuquerque, N.M. native also paces WNMU with 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game
- Gutierrez leads the conference and ranks 10th in the country playing 36.8 minutes per game
- Junior forward Jade Botelho also averages double figures for the Lady Mustangs with 10.8 points, making starts in all 13 games alongside Gutierrez
- Sophomore forward Megan Looney leads the team in rebounding with 6.9 per game for seventh in the LSC, averaging 14.5 rebounds over the last two games following a career-best 16 against Eastern New Mexico last weekend
- Lauren Unger is in her first season at WNMU following three seasons as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith

INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State and Western New Mexico will square off on the hardwood for the first time in 21 years Thursday with MSU carrying a 5-2 lead in the all-time series
- Western New Mexico has won the last two meetings with WNMU last posting a 94-74 victory back on Feb. 28, 1996 in Silver City, N.M.
- MSU is 2-1 in the series in games played in Silver City, last earning a win on Jan. 8, 1994 with an 80-72 victory
 
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
- Eastern New Mexico enters the week riding a three-game win streak, sitting at 10-3 on the season and 6-0 in LSC play to tie for first in the conference with Angelo State
- ENMU is receiving votes in the D2 Media Poll and currently ranks fifth in the South Central Region rankings
- The Greyhounds are 6-0 in league action for the first time since the 1998-99 season
- ENMU leads the LSC and ranks 16th nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding the opposition to 34.5 percent shooting this season
- The Greyhounds also lead the league and rank 27th in the nation with 56 blocks, averaging 4.5 per game
- Senior post Kassandra Harris comes off the bench to lead ENMU in scoring with 11.2 points per game, shooting a team-high 51 percent from the floor this season
- Junior guard Mikaehla Connor also averages double figures with 10.1 points per game while leading the Greyhounds and ranking sixth in the LSC with 3.5 assists 
- Junior post Daeshi McCants is the leading rebounder for ENMU with 6.8 boards a game
- Josh Prock is in his fourth season leading the ENMU women's basketball program, carrying a 34-59 mark

INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State and Eastern New Mexico meet for the 46th time Saturday with the Mustangs leading the all-time series 27-18
- Eastern New Mexico snapped MSU's eight-game win streak in the series in the last meeting on Feb. 13, 2016, using a 25-4 run in the third quarter to record a 76-72 win in Portales
- The Mustangs have won 12 of the last 14 meetings going back to Jan. 2011 with both of ENMU's wins coming at home
- The Greyhounds hold a narrow 11-10 advantage with games played in Portales while teams are 5-5 in the last 10 matchups played there dating back to Feb. 2007
- ENMU has not won back-to-back games over the Mustangs since the 2009-10 season
 
UP NEXT
- Midwestern State returns to D.L. Ligon Coliseum for a midweek Red River Rivalry matchup against Cameron on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.