Midwestern State at Texas A&M-Kingsville
Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017 | 5:15 p.m.
Steinke Center | Kingsville, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (5-13, 2-10 LSC); Texas A&M-Kingsville (9-9, 4-8 LSC)
Live Stats: JavelinaAthletics.com
Video: JavelinaAthletics.com
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 

Midwestern State at #13 Angelo State
Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017 | 2 p.m.
Junell Center | San Angelo, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (5-13, 2-10 LSC); Angelo State (16-2, 10-2 LSC)
Live Stats: AngeloSports.com
Video: AngeloSports.com
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 


THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – For the first time in program history, Midwestern State begins a four-game Lone Star Conference road stretch this week as the Mustangs trek south to take on Texas A&M-Kingsville and No. 13 Angelo State.
 
The Mustangs begin their road swing Thursday against the Javelinas with a 5:15 p.m. tip at the Steinke Center in Kingsville. MSU follows with a 2 p.m. contest against the 13th-ranked Rambelles Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Junell Center in San Angelo.

LAST TIME ON THE COURT
- Midwestern State dropped both of its LSC matchups last week to Texas A&M-Commerce (69-64) and rival Tarleton State (69-57) at D.L. Ligon Coliseum
- Texas A&M-Commerce took advantage of 24 MSU turnovers and 22 offensive rebounds, scoring 23 points off turnovers and tallying 17 second chance points to escape with a five-point victory Thursday
- On Saturday, Tarleton State put together a 23-5 run in the first half as the Mustangs went over 11 minutes without a field goal
- The TexAnns held a double-digit lead the entire second half before claiming a 69-57 win

 A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Midwestern State currently sits in 10th place in the LSC standings, two games out of eighth place with the top eight advancing to the conference tournament next month in Allen
- The Mustangs are 5-13 on the season with a 2-10 mark in conference play
- Midwestern State is averaging 64.4 points per game, shooting at a 39.9 percentage from the floor
- MSU ranks fourth in the LSC with a 33.1 percentage from three-point range and 14.9 assists per game
- Turnovers have been costly in several games for the Maroon and Gold this season with an average of 18.9 per contest
- The Mustangs have committed more than 20 turnovers seven times and have had at least 18 in 12 of 13 losses this season
- Junior guard Whitney Taylor leads MSU with 13.6 points for ninth in the LSC
- Taylor is averaging 2.5 triples per game for second in the league with 45 three-pointers on the year
- Junior guard Kristin Rydell joins Taylor in creating a dangerous duo behind the arc, knocking down 31 three-pointers and averaging 9.8 points per game
- Junior post Avery Queen is third in scoring for the Mustangs with 7.6 points and ranks ninth in the LSC with 0.9 blocks per game
- Freshman guard Leanna James is averaging 4.1 assists for fourth in the conference with seven games of five or more assists
- Also at the guard position is junior Jasmine Richardson, who is averaging 11 points per game over the last five outings for MSU with four double-figure scoring performances in that span
- Junior forward Micheline Mercelita provides a spark off the bench, leading the Mustangs with 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting a team-high 53 percent from the floor
- 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 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 123-119 career mark (.508) 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 JAVELINAS
- Texas A&M-Kingsville has dropped its last two games coming into the week with narrow defeats to No. 11 Angelo State (70-63) and Texas Woman's (65-64) last week
- The Javelinas sit at 9-9 on the season and 4-8 in league play for eighth in the LSC standings
- TAMUK is averaging 62.4 points on the season, shooting 36.6 percent from the floor and 35 percent from behind the arc
- The Javelinas rank second in the LSC and 49th nationally in three-point shooting percentage while also coming in second in the league in scoring defense, holding opponents to 62.3 points
- Senior guard Kaylin Roher is the lone Javelina averaging double figures this season with 12.4 points per game
- Roher leads the league with 2.6 three-pointers per game for 47 on the season, ranking 33rd in the country with a 41.2 percentage from long range
- Roher also ranks sixth in the LSC with a team-best 1.9 steals per game
- Senior guard Meesha Wade is second for the Javelinas in scoring with 8.7 points and ranks ninth in the league with 2.9 assists per game
- Senior forward Kaylee Kana is the top rebounder for TAMUK, averaging 7.7 boards for fourth in the conference
- Head coach Wade Scott carries a 14-56 record in his third season coaching the Javelinas

LAST TIME VERSUS TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE
- Texas A&M-Kingsville converted 25 MSU turnovers into 28 points while limiting the Mustangs to just a 32.7 shooting percentage in a 60-47 victory at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Dec. 19
- Whitney Taylor recorded her first career 20-point game inside Ligon Coliseum, shooting 8-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-9 from deep for 20 points
- The Javelinas snapped a four-game losing skid to the Mustangs and six-straight losses in Wichita Falls with just their second win over MSU in the last 12 meetings

INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Kingsville meet for the 43rd time on the hardwood Thursday with the Mustangs carrying a 25-17 lead in the all-time series since 1994
- The Mustangs are 10-2 against the Javelinas since Feb. 2011 including a 4-1 record inside the Steinke Center
- MSU holds a narrow 11-10 lead in games played in Kingsville
- The Mustangs have not lost back-to-back games to the Javelinas since the 2010 and 2011 seasons when TAMUK reeled off six-straight wins in the series from 2008-11

SCOUTING THE RAMBELLES
- Angelo State comes into the week ranked 13th in the WBCA Division II national poll and 17th in the D2 Media Poll
- The Rambelles are 16-2 on the year with a 10-2 record in LSC action for second place in the standings
- Angelo State is averaging a league-high 81.1 points per game to rank 10th in the nation while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor for second in the LSC and 21st in the country
- The Rambelles are committing just 13.6 turnovers per game for first in the conference and 16th in the nation while dishing out a league-best 15.4 assists per game
- Senior guard Taylor Dorsey ranks second in the LSC with 17.7 points per game to lead ASU
- Dorsey leads the league with 2.2 steals and ranks third with 4.3 assists per game while shooting a 46.7 percent clip from the field 
- Senior post Jasmine Prophet provides a strong inside presence for the Rambelles with 13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game
- Prophet leads the conference with 1.6 blocks per game along with a 57.7 field goal percentage (11th nationally) and 82.1 percentage from the charity stripe
- Kevin Baker is in his second season at Angelo State, leading the Rambelles to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015-16 and holding a 40-10 career record

LAST TIME VERSUS ANGELO STATE 
- Taylor Dorsey scored 21 points and added five assists and five steals to lead No. 7 Angelo State to an 84-47 win in Midwestern State's LSC home opener on Dec. 8 at Ligon Coliseum
- The Mustangs were held to a season-low 27.4 shooting clip while going just 20 percent from three and 50 percent from the line
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Angelo State leads the all-time series 33-29 over Midwestern State since first meeting back in 1978
- The Rambelles have won four straight in the series for just the third time (2002-04, 2005-06)
- MSU won a series-long four-straight games from 2014-15 before ASU went on its current four-game win streak
- The Rambelles are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings against the Mustangs at the Junell Center and carry a 22-6 record at home against MSU
- Midwestern State last earned a win in San Angelo on Jan. 22, 2014
 
UP NEXT
- Midwestern State continues its road stretch next week to face UT Permian Basin and West Texas A&M. The Mustangs open up the week Thursday against UTPB with a 5:30 p.m. matchup at the Falcon Dome in Odessa before facing off against WT in a 2 p.m. meeting Saturday at First United Back Center in Canyon.