Midwestern State vs. Cameron
Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 | 5:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (4-10, 1-7 LSC); Cameron (5-9, 3-5 LSC)
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Video: Mustangs Digital Network
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 

Midwestern State at Texas Woman's
Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017 | 7 p.m.
Kitty Magee Arena | Denton, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (4-10, 1-7 LSC); Texas Woman's (11-5, 4-4 LSC)
Live Stats: TWUAthletics.com
Video: TWUAthletics.com
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 


THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State returns to D.L. Ligon Coliseum Tuesday to begin another busy week of Lone Star Conference action hosting Cameron in the Red River Rivalry before making a short trip down the road to Denton to take on Texas Woman's in a Thursday meeting.
 
The Mustangs first square off against the Aggies in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff Tuesday inside Ligon Coliseum. Midwestern State then faces the Pioneers in their final road game for the month of January Thursday at 7 p.m. at Kitty Magee Arena to round out the week's action. 

LAST TIME ON THE COURT
- Midwestern State picked up its first LSC win of the season Thursday to begin a two-game road stretch in New Mexico with a 71-46 victory over Western New Mexico before falling to league leader Eastern New Mexico, 78-64
- Whitney Taylor notched her third 20-point game of the season and eighth of her career with 21 points, matching a career-high five three-pointers, while Avery Queen also reached double figures with 14 points
- MSU finished with a 51-35 rebounding edge for a season-high on the boards, leading 16-4 in second chance points and 30-14 in points in the paint
- Midwestern held WNMU to an opponent-low 27 percent shooting this season
- A 20-4 first quarter run helped Eastern New Mexico remain undefeated in LSC play Saturday
- The Mustangs finished with a season-low three triples on the night while firing a 38.9 percentage from the floor compared to 44.4 percent for the Greyhounds
- Micheline Mercelita led MSU in scoring for the first time this season with 14 points while Jasmine Richardson (13), Avery Queen (13) and Whitney Taylor (10) also reached double digits, the third time MSU placed four players in double figures this season

 A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Midwestern State enters the week with a 4-10 overall record and 1-7 mark in LSC play approaching the midway point in its conference slate
- The Mustangs are averaging 64.0 points per game, shooting 38.5 percent from the floor 
- MSU ranks second in the LSC and 71st nationally with 14.9 assists per game and third in conference and 74th in the nation in three-point shooting with a 34.2 percentage
- Turnovers have doomed Midwestern State through the first half of the season with an average of 18.9 per game, committing more than 20 five times and at least 18 in nine of 10 losses
- Junior guard Whitney Taylor paces the MSU offense with 13.6 points per game for seventh in the LSC, shooting 37.4 percent from the field this season
- Taylor leads the conference and ranks 39th nationally with 2.7 three-pointers made per game while coming in fourth with a 38.0 percent shooting clip
- On the season, Taylor has connected for 38 triples and moved into 15th last weekend on the MSU career list for three-pointers made with her 85th trey
- Junior guard Kristin Rydell joins Taylor is creating a double threat behind the arc for the Mustangs this season with 24 three-pointers while averaging 9.8 points per game
- Junior post Avery Queen ranks third in scoring for MSU with 7.9 points while coming in fifth in the league with 1.0 blocks
- Freshman guard Leanna James moved into the starting point guard role two weeks ago, leading the Mustangs with 4.0 assists per game for third in the LSC
- James has dished out six or more assists in a game five times this season with a career-best 11 coming against Texas Wesleyan on Dec. 31
- Junior forward Micheline Mercelita comes off the bench to lead MSU with 5.0 rebounds per game while leading the team with a 50 percent shooting clip
- Mercelita has recorded both of MSU's double-doubles this season with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Newman on Nov. 20 and a career-high 17 points and 14 rebounds against UT Permian Basin on Jan. 7

THE JOHNSON ERA
- Noel Johnson 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 122-116 career mark (.513) in her time at MSU, surpassing Kim Griffee (1984-92) for second on the program's all-time coaching wins list following her 121st victory on Dec. 31, 2016 against Texas Wesleyan
- Johnson now just sits behind Shannon Burks, who recorded 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 AGGIES
- Cameron snapped a two-game losing skid Saturday with a win at Western New Mexico to improve to 5-9 overall and 3-5 in the LSC for seventh in the league
- The Aggies are one of the top scoring teams in the nation, ranking second in the conference and 15th nationally with 79.2 points per game
- Cameron leads the LSC and is 35th in the country with 7.9 three-pointers per game while holding the opposition to a league-best 27.4 percent from behind the arc
- The Aggies also top the LSC with 10.5 steals per game, led by senior guard Brittany Hill who averages 2.2 per contest, and rank second on the glass with 42.3 rebounds per game
- Junior forward Savanna James leads the Aggies with 17.1 points and 8.1 rebounds this season to rank fourth and third in the league, respectively
- The Wasilla, Alaska native tops the LSC and is ninth nationally with a 58.5 shooting percentage and also leads the conference with an 80.8 free throw percentage
- Freshman guard Jamie Bonnarens is adding 12.4 points while shooting 42.5 percent from the field for Cameron this season
- Senior guard Charron Montgomery leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference with 3.8 assists while averaging 11.0 points per game
- Junior guard Natalie Halbleib also averages double figures with 10.9 points per game and ranks second for the Aggies with 28 three-pointers
- Freshman guard Ava Battese is second in the LSC with a 40.3 shooting percentage from three-point range while coming in third with 2.2 triples per game with 31 on the season
- Emma Andrews is in her first season leading the CU women's basketball program after two years as the top assistant coach for the Aggies

INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State and Cameron meet on the hardwood for the 70th time Tuesday with the Mustangs carrying a 45-24 advantage in the Red River Rivalry
- The Aggies swept the series last season with an 87-59 win in Wichita Falls and a 77-61 victory in Lawton, the first time Cameron had won back-to-back games in the series since 2005
- Prior to CU's two wins last season, the Mustangs had posted eight straight in the series and seven in a row inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum
- Since 1989, Midwestern State is 37-9 against Cameron and has just three losses at home
- Overall, the Mustangs hold a 26-7 record against the Aggies in Wichita Falls
 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
- Texas Woman's comes into Thursday's matchup with the Mustangs with an 11-5 record on the season and 4-4 mark in LSC play for sixth in the conference standings
- The Pioneers begin a four-game homestand Thursday having won four of their last six contests, breaking a two-game losing streak Saturday with a road win over Texas A&M-Commerce
- TWU is averaging 65.3 points per game while ranking third in the league in holding opponents to 62.4 points
- The Pioneers are third in the conference in shooting percentage, recording a 41.4 percentage
- Senior guard Kenesha Saygo leads the Pioneers with 17.2 points per game for third in the LSC, firing 41.9 percent from the floor for fifth in the league
- Senior forward Emily Spector adds 9.9 points on 46.8 percent shooting for TWU while leading the Pioneers with an 80.8 percentage at the free-throw line
- Junior forward Alexis Nezianya comes off the bench for 8.9 points and a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game, shooting a team-best 53.5 percent from the floor
- Head coach Beth Jillson carries a 149-122 career record in 10 seasons at Texas Woman's
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State holds a 34-23 lead in the all-time series against Texas Woman's dating back to 1975
- Texas Woman's has won the last three meetings and four of the last five with a 71-45 victory last season in Denton and a 64-58 win over MSU in Wichita Falls
- The Pioneers are 3-2 in the last five meetings in Denton
- Midwestern State was last victorious over TWU on Jan. 1, 2015 with a 61-47 win at Kitty Magee Arena
- The Mustangs have fared well inside Kitty Magee Arena, holding an 18-9 record
 
UP NEXT
- Midwestern State returns home for a pair of LSC matchups next weekend at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs square off against Texas A&M-Commerce in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff Thursday before taking on rival Tarleton State in a 2 p.m. contest Saturday.