Midwestern State (10-6, 7-3) vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (13-5, 9-1)
Lone Star Conference game
Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018 | 5:30 p.m.
The Field House | Commerce, Texas,
Live Stats: LionAthletics.com |
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM |
Video: LionAthletics.com |
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network
MUSTANGS NOTES
- Midwestern State begins the second half of Lone Star Conference action on the road Thursday against Texas A&M-Commerce. The Mustangs sit in third place at the midway point, trailing the leading Lions by two games.
- Midwestern State's Noel Johnson became the program's all-time leader claiming her 133rd career coaching victory with a 72-66 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Dec. 19th.
- The Mustangs (10-6) are off to their best start since going 13-3 through the first 16 games in the 2014-15 season. MSU has won three of its last four and winning by a margin of +15.3 points.
- The Mustangs are 7-2 at the confines of D.L. Ligon Coliseum this season and the seven home wins are the most by MSU since the Maroon and Gold went 13-2 at home during the 2014-15 campaign.
- MSU is tied with West Texas A&M for third place in the LSC, trailing Angelo State by a half game for second place.
- Midwestern State has done an outstanding job of getting to the free throw line, leading the LSC and ranked ninth-nationally with 450 free throw attempts, but the Mustangs are shooting just 61.3 percent from the charity stripe.
- The Mustangs are fifth in the Lone Star Conference, grabbing 14.9 offensive rebounds per game resulting in 10.4 second chance points per game.
- Additionally, MSU is fourth in total rebounds, grabbing 42.6 caroms per game and have won the rebound battle in 10 of their 16 games this season. The Maroon and Gold are 8-2 in games it collects more rebounds than the opposition.
- The Mustangs record assists on 61.9 percent of its made field goals (213-of-344) with 13.3 assists per game. Against the Pioneers, MSU distributed a season-high 22 assists on 27 made field goals.
- Defensively, Midwestern State is fourth in the league, holding opponents to 35.9 percent from the field and limiting the opposition to 26.1 percent from deep, good for second in the league.
- In league play, MSU is averaging 4.70 blocked shots per game, the third-highest in the LSC and has done an outstanding job of forcing turnovers, ranking fourth in the league with 18.8 turnovers per game.
- Senior guard Whitney Taylor leads MSU and ranks 17th in the LSC in scoring at 10.9 points per game. The Melissa, Texas native shoots 34.6 percent from the field while ranking fourth in the LSC with 1.9 made triples per game.
- Taylor is second on MSU's all-time 3-point list with 140 career 3s, needing 15 to break the program record. She passed Andrea Buben (132 3s/2006-10) on Jan. 6 with a dagger at the 6:12 mark in the fourth quarter against UTPB. Former teammate Lisa Hampton (154 3s/2011-15) remains at the top of the chart.
- Taylor has scored at least 10 points in 10 of the Mustangs 16 games this season. In the last four games, the senior is shooting 47.2 percent from the floor and averaging 11.0 points per game.
- Taylor earned LSC Offensive Player of the Week honors after pouring in a season-high 18 points with four triples while going 6-of-8 from the line in a 73-64 win at Angelo State on Dec. 7th.
- Senior forward Micheline Mercelita is second on the team, scoring 9.2 points per game and ranks fifth in the LSC with a team-leading 8.0 boards per game. Additionally, Mercelita grabs 3.1 offensive rebounds per game, the third-most in the league.
- Mercelita recorded the first 20-rebound game in the Lone Star Conference this season, pulling down 20 caroms against Texas Woman's last week. The Edinburg native was the first player since Andrea Carter had 20 rebounds in a game against Texas Wesleyan on Nov. 18, 2014 and is the seventh player in program history to accomplish the feat.
- The senior is averaging 8.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game over the last four contests with 2.0 steals per game.
- Mercelita earned her fourth double-double of the season against Western New Mexico on Jan. 11. The Edinburg product scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Mustangs. Her three other double-double performances came against Southern Nazarene (Dec. 30; 20 points/13 rebounds), Oklahoma Christian (Nov. 11; 15 points/10 rebounds) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (Dec. 19; 13 points/10 rebounds). She narrowly missed against ENMU, scoring 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
- Senior guard Kristin Rydell ranks third on the team, scoring 7.3 points and distributing 1.8 assists while grabbing 3.0 boards in 22.6 minutes per game.
- The Hutto native is averaging 8.6 points per game in her last 10 games on 30-of-75 shooting from the field (40.0 percent) with 13 3-pointers, including a season-high three treys against UTPB (Jan. 6). The run is capped by a season-high 18 point outburst her last time out against Texas Woman's.
- Rydell broke out of a short slump after scoring just nine points on 7.7 percent shooting from the field with an 18 point outburst against the Pioneers. The Hutto product shot 72.7 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from deep while handing out three assists.
- Senior guard Jasmine Richardson has scored at least five points in all but three games this season, including a campaign-high of 15 points against Eastern New Mexico on Jan. 13. She ranks fourth on the team, scoring 6.9 points to go along with 2.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game.
- Richardson is eighth in the Lone Star Conference with 2.7 dimes per game. She has 10 games this season in which she has distributed multiple assists. Against the Pioneers, Richardson matched a team-high with seven helpers.
- Freshman forward Hannah Reynolds claimed Ashbrook Classic all-tournament team honors after averaging 11 points and 3.5 rebounds in her first two collegiate games. She is fifth on the team in scoring at 6.0 points while also pulling down 4.1 rebounds per game.
- Reynolds is the first MSU freshman since Shatoia Gober (to score in double figures in her first two collegiate games. Gober scored 10-or-more points in the first three games of the 2011-12 season.
- The Prosper product ranks fifth in the LSC with 1.4 blocked shots per game after adding a season-high four rejections against WNMU on Jan. 11. She has recorded a block in each of the last six games.
- The freshman just missed her first career double-double against Texas Woman's, going for 11 points and eight rebounds in a season-high 32 minutes.
- Sophomore Liz Cathcart scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds in 24 minutes her last time out at Angelo State. She is averaging 5.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17 minutes a game this season. She has missed the last 10 games due to injury.
- Junior guard Chelcie Kizart is seventh on the team, scoring 5.6 points with 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
- The St. Paul native has come on strong in the last four games for the Mustangs. Kizart is averaging 9.0 points per game over that stretch, shooting 43.4 percent from the field while also grabbing 12 rebounds to go along with 11 assists.
- Junior forward Chelsea Adams is eighth on the team in scoring with 5.2 points to go along with 3.9 rebounds per game.
- The Dallas native has pulled down at least five boards in seven of the last 11 games and is averaging 4.2 rebounds per game over that stretch.
- Sophomore guard Mica Schneider has been crucial coming off the bench for the Mustangs, averaging 4.3 points, 1.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game. She's come up clutch at the free throw line, shooting 77.3 percent from the charity stripe.
- Senior forward Avery Queen is 10th in the LSC with 0.85 rejections per game. The senior has 13 blocks on the year, but did not play in the matchup with the Pioneers.
- Eight players carry averages of 5.0 points or better through the season's first 16 games including Taylor (10.9), Mercelita (9.2), Rydell (7.3), Richardson (6.9), Reynolds (6.0), Cathcart (5.9), Kizart (5.6) and Adams (5.2).
- Noel Johnson is in her 10th season at the helm of the MSU women's basketball program with an overall record of 136-130 (.511). Under Johnson's guidance, the Mustangs claimed the 2013 Lone Star Conference Championship advancing to the NCAA postseason three consecutive seasons from 2013-15.
- MSU was picked to finish ninth in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll of coaches, sports information directors and selected media.
VERSUS TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE
- Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce meet for the 66th-time overall and 31st-time as conference foes on the hardwood Thursday evening at the Field House in Commerce.
- MSU leads the overall series 43-22 which dates back to the 1976 season.
- Midwestern State has lost four of its last five head-to-head meetings with the Lions, but the Mustangs did take the meeting earlier this season, 69-66 on Dec. 2, 2017 in Wichita Falls.
- Midwestern State is 16-14 all-time against TAMU-C in games played in Commerce.
- In the matchup earlier this season, Whitney Taylor drained four triples and scored 14 points while Kristin Rydell and Mica Schneider each added nine. The Mustangs rejected seven attempts from the Lions, including two each from Avery Queen and Hannah Reynolds.
- The Lions enter the matchup with a 13-5 overall record and a 9-1 mark in league play. TAMU-C is 8-3 at home on the season.
- Senior forward Brianna Wise leads the Lions with 16.8 points per game on the season. The senior has scored at least 20 points in four of the last six games and nine times total on the season.
- Senior forward Artaejah Gay ranks second on the team, scoring at a 14.2 clip per game. The senior is shooting 42.7 percent on the season and averages 5.3 rebounds per game.
- Junior guard Princess Davis is third on the team, scoring 10.8 points per game. She leads the offense with 58 assists on the season.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
