Midwestern State vs. West Texas A&M
Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017 | 5:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (3-7, 0-4 LSC); West Texas A&M (9-4, 2-2 LSC)
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Video: Mustangs Digital Network
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 

Midwestern State vs. UT Permian Basin
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017 | 2 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (3-7, 0-4 LSC); UT Permian Basin (4-6, 1-3 LSC)
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Video: Mustangs Digital Network
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 


THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State begins the 2017 calendar year by closing out a five-game homestand this weekend as the Mustangs return to Lone Star Conference action hosting West Texas A&M and UT Permian Basin.
 
MSU begins the week against West Texas A&M in a Highway 287 Challenge matchup Thursday at 5:30 p.m. inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs then square off against UTPB in a 2 p.m. tipoff Saturday under the dome for the first meeting against the Falcons in LSC play.

LAST TIME ON THE COURT
- Midwestern State closed out 2016 in winning fashion with an 81-59 victory over NAIA Texas Wesleyan on New Year's Eve
- The Mustangs tied an 18-year-old school record with 14 three-pointers with junior guard Kristin Rydell also matching a program record with seven triples en route to a career-best 26 points to lead the Mustangs
- Junior guard Whitney Taylor matched a career-high five treys while freshman guard Leanna James added a pair of triples on the afternoon
- MSU's three-point shooting performance matched the school record of 14 set on Jan. 30, 1999 at Tarleton State and was the most for the team inside Ligon Coliseum, surpassing the mark of 13 set on Jan. 15, 2004 against Cameron
- Rydell's seven triples tied the program record set three times previously by Trish Young (1/30/92), Heather O'Neal (1/30/99) and Andrea Buben (1/14/09)
- The Mustangs also racked up 27 assists on 29 made field goals, tying for the seventh highest in program history and most since Feb. 27, 2001
- James paced the Mustangs with a career-best 11 helpers to tie for the fifth most in a single game in school history
- Midwestern State shot a season-best 50 percent (29-of-58) from the floor and 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from three-point range

 A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Midwestern State enters the first weekend of action in 2017 with a 3-7 overall record and 0-4 mark in LSC play
- The Mustangs are averaging 63.0 points per game while shooting 38.4 percent from the field
- MSU leads the LSC and ranks 26th nationally with a 36.9 percentage from behind the arc, going 66-of-179 from deep on the season
- Turnovers have doomed Midwestern State through the first 10 games with an average of 20 miscues per contest, committing more than 20 five times and at least 18 in all seven losses
- Whitney Taylor leads the Mustangs offense with 13.1 points per game for eighth in the conference, shooting at a 38.2 percentage from the field
- Taylor ranks third in the LSC with 2.4 three-pointers per game with 24 this season while firing at a 37.5 percent clip
- Kristin Rydell is also averaging double figures with 10.3 points per game after scoring a career-high 26 points against Texas Wesleyan on Dec. 31
- Rydell is shooting a team-best 39.1 percent from three-point range with 18 triples this season
- Avery Queen ranks third for the Mustangs in scoring with 6.7 points while ranking third in the LSC with 1.1 blocks per game
- Leanna James leads the Mustangs with 3.8 assists per game to rank third in the LSC, dishing out at least three assists in six games this season
- Micheline Mercelita comes off the bench to lead MSU with 4.5 rebounds per game, recording MSU's first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Newman on Nov. 20
 
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 121-113 career mark (.517) in her time at MSU, moving into second on the program's all-time coaching wins list following the victory over Texas Wesleyan 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 BUFFS
- West Texas A&M enters with a 9-4 record on the year and a 2-2 mark in LSC play for fifth in the conference standings
- The Lady Buffs have been ranked as high as No. 3 in the WBCA poll and ranked in the top 25 for five weeks before dropping out of the rankings in the Dec. 21 poll
- The Lady Buffs lead the LSC and rank fourth nationally with a 48.8 shooting percentage to average 71.8 points per game
- West Texas A&M is holding opponents to just 56.0 points per game for first in the LSC and 30th in the country
- WT has also shot well from behind the arc and from the free-throw line, ranking second in the league and in the top 30 in the nation with a 36.6 percentage from long range and 76.0 shooting clip from the charity stripe, making 212 free throws on the season for 14th nationally
- Senior guard Sasha Watson leads the Lady Buffs with 15.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game
- Watson leads the league in assists and ranks 52nd in the nation with a total of 55 this season
- The Amarillo native has made 64-of-84 from the free-throw line on the year for 15th nationally in made free throws 
- Senior guard Alie Decker is adding 11.6 points for the Lady Buffs while ranking fourth in the LSC in three-point (37.3) and free-throw (78.0) percentage
- Senior post Maddison Wild is also averaging double figures for WT with 10.5 points while leading the squad with 6.4 rebounds per game
- Kristen Mattio is 37-9 in her second season at West Texas A&M 

INSIDE THE SERIES
- Thursday's meeting will be the 66th between Midwestern State and West Texas A&M with the Lady Buffs holding a 48-17 advantage dating back to 1976
- West Texas A&M has won the last five meetings and eight of the last nine over the last three seasons
- The Lady Buffs have come away with victories in 23 of the last 29 matchups with a 13-game win streak occurring from Feb. 14, 2004 until Jan. 29, 2011
- Midwestern State is 11-19 against WT inside Ligon Coliseum and is 4-2 in the last six meetings at home
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
- UT Permian Basin comes into the weekend with a 4-6 overall record and 1-3 mark in LSC play to tie for eighth in the league standings
- The Falcons have dropped their last two contests with setbacks to West Texas A&M (78-50) and Texas Woman's (84-80)
- UTPB will square off against Cameron Thursday night before traveling down to Wichita Falls for Saturday's game
- Junior guard Briana Caro and senior guard Niva Taito pace the Falcons offense with 12.2 and 11.9 points, respectively
- Caro leads the team with 20 three-pointers while shooting 85.7 percent from the free-throw line
- Taito is adding 19 triples this season and firing 81.5 percent from the charity stripe while averaging a team-best 1.8 assists per game
- In the paint, junior post Heather Crittenden leads the Falcons with a 54.9 shooting clip with 9.1 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds per contest
- UTPB ranks last in the LSC in scoring with 60.1 points per game but are holding teams to just 64.8 points per game
- The Falcons lead the LSC and are 21st nationally with a 77.0 shooting percentage from the free-throw line
- UTPB ranks second in the conference in turnovers, committing just 14.4 each game while opponents are averaging 17.5
- The Falcons are also second in the league in steals, averaging 9.7 per outing
- Jerome Willis is in his fifth season leading the UTPB women's basketball program with a 54-67 career record

INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State and UT Permian Basin will square off for the first time as conference opponents Saturday with MSU holding a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series
- The Mustangs are 4-0 against the Falcons inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum with wins in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2012
- The two teams last met on Dec. 18, 2013 with Midwestern Sate recording a 77-67 victory in Odessa
 
UP NEXT
- Midwestern State will make its first road trip in over a month next weekend with Lone Star Conference contests at Western New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico. The Mustangs begin their road trip Thursday with a 6:30 p.m. (CST) tipoff against WNMU at Drag's Court in Silver City, N.M., before facing ENMU in a 3 p.m. (CST) matchup Saturday at Greyhound Arena in Portales, N.M.