Midwestern State vs. Eastern New Mexico
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017 | 5:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (7-15, 4-12 LSC); Eastern New Mexico (18-5, 14-2 LSC)
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Video: Mustangs Digital Network
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM 

Midwestern State vs. Western New Mexico
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017 | 2 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (7-15, 4-12 LSC); Western New Mexico (4-19, 0-16 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 makes its return to D.L. Ligon Coliseum this weekend for a crucial homestand as the Mustangs look to remain in contention for a Lone Star Conference Tournament spot against Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico.

The Mustangs begin the week against the league-leading Greyhounds in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff Thursday under the dome for Cram the Coliseum. The first 200 MSU students to Thursday night's basketball doubleheader will receive free pizza.

MSU follows with a 2 p.m. matchup against Western New Mexico Saturday for Senior Day where the women's basketball program will honor its lone senior Jennifer Arbuckle at the conclusion of the game.

LAST TIME ON THE COURT
- Midwestern State collected an 86-65 win over UT Permian Basin while falling 85-54 to West Texas A&M last week on the road
- The Mustangs scored a season-high 86 points on 51.8 percent shooting from the floor and 53.3 percent from three-point range in the win against UTPB
- Whitney Taylor shot 7-of-10 including 4-of-6 from long range to lead the Mustangs with 19 points
- Jennifer Arbuckle netted double figures for the fourth time in the last five games with 12 points while Leanna James posted a career-high 11 points and nine rebounds and Mica Schneider added a career-best 10 points
- West Texas A&M extended upon a nine-point halftime advantage, outscoring the Mustangs 26-2 in the third quarter as MSU went 1-of-10 with seven turnovers in the period
- Arbuckle led MSU with a season-high 14 points   

A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- With four games remaining in the regular season, Midwestern State sits two games behind Texas A&M-Kingsville for the eighth and final berth into the LSC Tournament, Mar. 2-5 in Allen
- The Javelinas currently hold the tiebreaker over MSU despite a season split between the two teams with the Javelinas posting wins over more higher-ranked teams in the conference in fourth place Texas A&M-Commerce, sixth place Texas Woman's and seventh place Cameron
- Midwestern State has recorded a win over Texas Woman's but could trump the Javelinas in the case of a tiebreaker with a win over league leader Eastern New Mexico Thursday
- MSU comes into the week at 7-15 on the season and 4-12 in conference play
- The Mustangs are averaging 63.2 points per game while shooting 39.9 percent from the field
- MSU's 32.6 shooting percent from behind the arc this season ranks fourth in the LSC while the Mustangs come in third in the LSC with 14.9 assists per game
- Junior guard Whitney Taylor is scoring a team-high 13.1 points per game for 12th in the league  
- Taylor averages 2.4 three-pointers per game for second in the LSC with 53 triples on a 36.8 shooting clip this season
- The Melissa native notched her 100th career three-pointer in her 67th game against West Texas A&M Saturday, becoming the 13th Mustang in program history to reach that plateau and the fourth-fastest to reach the century mark with Heather O'Neal (1998-2000) reaching 100 threes in 44 games and Trish Young (1990-92) and Lynn Buckmaster (1992-94) accomplishing the feat in 48 games
- Junior guard Kristin Rydell has also been hot from outside this season with 35 three-pointers -- matching the school record of seven against Texas Wesleyan – while ranking second for the Mustangs with 8.9 points
- Junior post Avery Queen ranks third in scoring for MSU with 7.0 points in all 22 starts this season
- Junior forward Micheline Mercelita provides a spark for the Mustangs off the bench with a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game while adding 6.7 points on a team-best 51.5 shooting clip
- Mercelita has recorded all three of MSU's double-doubles this season (13 pts, 10 reb. vs. Newman, 17 pts, 14 reb. vs. UT Permian Basin, 11 pts, 11 reb. vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville)
- Senior post Jennifer Arbuckle is averaging 11 points and 5.2 rebounds over the last six games for the Mustangs in her starting role, shooting 46.2 percent from the field this season
- Freshman guard Leanna James is averaging 3.9 assists for fourth in the conference with seven games of five or more assists

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 125-121 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 GREYHOUNDS
- Eastern New Mexico arrives in Wichita Falls with an 18-5 overall record and 14-2 mark in the LSC for first in the conference standings
- The Greyhounds are ranked second in the South Central Region and come in 21st in the D2 Media poll and are receiving votes in the WBCA national poll
- ENMU leads the LSC in shooting percentage defense, holding opponents to just 34.4 percent from the floor and 27.2 percent from behind the arc for 11th and 28th in the nation, respectively
- The Greyhounds also top the league with 4.7 blocks per game, coming in 19th in the country with 116 blocks on the season
- The Greyhounds rank second in the conference and 34th in the country with 42.9 rebounds per game, coming in 13th with 31.0 defensive rebounds per outing
- Senior post Kassandra Harris comes off the bench to lead ENMU with 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 48.4 percent from the field this season
- Junior guard Mikaehla Connor is also averaging double figures with 11.0 points while dishing out 3.4 assists, ranking first in the league with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio
- Junior post Daeshi McCants ties Harris for the team lead with 6.0 rebounds per game while adding 8.9 points for the Greyhounds and ranking third in the conference with 1.3 blocks
- Josh Prock carries a 42-61 career record in his fourth season leading the ENMU women's basketball program
 
LAST TIME AGAINST EASTERN NEW MEXICO
- Eastern New Mexico used a 20-4 first quarter run en route to a 78-64 victory over the Mustangs at Greyhound Arena on Jan. 14
- Midwestern State tied ENMU at 9-all with 5:59 to play in the opening period before the Greyhounds limited MSU to just four points the remainder of the frame during their spurt
- Micheline Mercelita led the Mustangs with 14 points off the bench while Jasmine Richardson recorded her first double-figure scoring performance of the season with 13 points
- Avery Queen added 13 points and Whitney Taylor chipped in 10 for MSU
- Midwestern matched a then season-low 3 three-pointers in the loss, going 3-of-15 from long range
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State leads the all-time series against Eastern New Mexico, 27-19
- The Greyhounds won back-to-back games against the Mustangs for the first time since 2010 following a 76-72 win in Portales on Feb. 13, 2016 and the 78-64 meeting last month
- ENMU snapped an eight-game MSU win streak in the series last season and have won just eight against the Mustangs since 2005
- Midwestern State is 15-7 against the Greyhounds inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum and have won the last six meetings in Wichita Falls
- The Greyhounds last earned a win in Ligon on Feb. 13, 2010 with a 51-49 victory
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
- Western New Mexico has lost its last 18 games and comes in with a 4-19 season record and 0-16 mark in the LSC
- The Mustangs lead the LSC and rank 37th nationally with a 75.7 free-throw percentage this season
- WNMU is also committing the fewest turnovers in the league with just 13.9 per game
- Senior guard Jordan Gutierrez is averaging close to a third of WNMU's points this season with 17.8 for second in the conference
- Gutierrez also ranks fifth in the league with 3.6 assists per game in just over 38 minutes on the floor
- Junior forward Jade Botelho also averages double figures with 11.7 points in all 23 starts this season
- Sophomore forward Megan Looney comes off the bench to lead WNMU with 6.6 rebounds while shooting a team-best 63.5 percent from the floor for 6.0 points per game
- Lauren Unger is in her first season at Western New Mexico following three seasons as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith
 
LAST TIME AGAINST WESTERN NEW MEXICO
- Whitney Taylor scored 21 points while tying a career-high five three-pointers in a 71-46 win over Western New Mexico on Jan. 12 in Silver City
- MSU outscored WNMU 21-10 in the second period to stretch its lead to double figures and take a 40-23 advantage at halftime
- Midwestern shot 57.1 percent in the third quarter while connecting on four triples to pull away from WNMU
- Avery Queen joined Taylor in double figures with 14 points
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Midwestern State and Western New Mexico will meet for the ninth time Saturday with MSU carrying a 6-2 lead in the series
- Seven of the eight meetings came in the 1990s with the teams renewing the series as conference foes after 21 years last month
- WNMU claimed the last two games before MSU's win this year
- Midwestern is 2-1 against WNMU in Wichita Falls with wins in 1993 and 1994
- WNMU defeated MSU 89-85 in the last meeting in D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Mar. 4, 1995
 
UP NEXT
- Midwestern State renews the Red River Rivalry with Cameron on Tuesday for its final true road game of the season with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at Aggie Gym in Lawton, Okla.