Midwestern State (10-7, 7-4) vs. Tarleton State (13-6, 7-4)
Lone Star Conference game
Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018 | 2 p.m.
Wisdom Gym | Stephenville, Texas,
Live Stats: TarletonSports.com |
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM |
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network |
Video: TarletonSports.com
MUSTANGS NOTES
- Midwestern State wraps up a two-game road swing to open the second half of Lone Star Conference action on Saturday against a hot Tarleton State team that has won nine of its last 10 contests.
- 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 (10-7) are off to their best start since going 14-3 through the first 17 games in the 2014-15 season. After going into the Christmas break at 7-2, Midwestern State is just 3-5 since Dec. 30.
- The Mustangs are 3-4 on the road this season and have lost each of the last four contests in games away from D.L. Ligon Coliseum. In the last four road outings, MSU has suffered a -15.8 margin of victory.
- MSU is in a three-way tie with West Texas A&M and Tarleton State for third place in the LSC. The Mustangs are a game back on Angelo State for second place and three games back of league-leading Texas A&M-Commerce.
- Midwestern State has done an outstanding job of getting to the free throw line, leading the LSC and ranked fourth-nationally with 479 free throw attempts, but the Mustangs are shooting just 61.2 percent from the charity stripe.
- The Mustangs are fourth in the Lone Star Conference, grabbing 14.9 offensive rebounds per game resulting in 10.6 second chance points per game.
- Additionally, MSU is fourth in total rebounds, grabbing 42.2 caroms per game and have won the rebound battle in 10 of their 17 games this season. The Maroon and Gold are 8-2 in games it collects more rebounds than the opposition.
- The Mustangs record assists on 60.8 percent of its made field goals (219-of-360) with 12.9 assists per game. Against the Lions, MSU distributed a season-low six assists on 16 made field goals.
- Defensively, Midwestern State leads the Lone Star Conference, holding opponents to 25.9 percent from beyond the arc. On Thursday, the Mustangs limited A&M-C to only eight makes in 33 attempts (24.2 percent).
- The Mustangs boast the second-best field goal defense in conference play, allowing 35.3 percent shooting from the field. Furthermore, the Maroon and Gold hold the top three-point field goal defense in LSC games, surrendering 26.2 percent shooting from deep.
- In league play, MSU is averaging 4.55 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 18.7 turnovers per game.
- The magic number for the Maroon and Gold is 60 points offensively. The Mustangs are 10-2 when scoring at least 60 points, but 0-5 when they fail to reach that mark.
- Senior guard Whitney Taylor leads MSU and ranks 17th in the LSC in scoring at 10.6 points per game. The Melissa, Texas native shoots 33.5 percent from the field while ranking fourth in the LSC with 1.8 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 17 games this season. In the last five games, the senior is shooting 40.9 percent from the floor and averaging 10.0 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 9.4 points per game and ranks fifth in the LSC with a team-leading 8.4 boards per game. Additionally, Mercelita grabs 3.2 offensive rebounds per game, the second-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 on Jan. 18. 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 9.2 points and 12.6 rebounds per game over the last five contests with 1.8 steals per game.
- Mercelita followed up her 20-rebound performance with her fifth double-double of the season against A&M-C, going for 12 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Mustangs. Her four other double-double performances came against Western New Mexico (Jan. 11; 14 points/10 rebounds), 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 7.0 points and distributing 1.8 assists while grabbing 2.9 boards in 22.4 minutes per game.
- Rydell broke out of a short three-game 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 four games this season, including a campaign-high of 15 points against Eastern New Mexico on Jan. 13. She ranks fourth on the team, scoring 6.6 points to go along with 2.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game.
- Richardson is ninth in the Lone Star Conference with 2.6 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 6.1 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 seven games and has two rejections in each of the last three 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 11 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 her 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 5.3 points to go along with 3.9 rebounds per game.
- The Dallas native played a season-high 27 minutes on Thursday against A&M-C, scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds.
- Sophomore guard Mica Schneider has been crucial coming off the bench for the Mustangs, averaging 4.4 points, 1.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game. She's come up clutch at the free throw line, shooting 77.3 percent from the charity stripe.
- In her last three games, Schneider is averaging 7.3 points off the bench.
- Senior forward Avery Queen is 10th in the LSC with 0.85 rejections per game. The senior has 13 blocks on the year, but has not played since Jan. 16.
- Eight players carry averages of 5.0 points or better through the season's first 17 games including Taylor (10.6), Mercelita (9.4), Rydell (7.0), Richardson (6.6), Reynolds (6.1), Cathcart (5.9), Kizart (5.6) and Adams (5.3).
- Noel Johnson is in her 10th season at the helm of the MSU women's basketball program with an overall record of 136-131 (.509). 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 TARLETON STATE
- Midwestern State and Tarleton State meet for the 70th-time overall and 36th-time as conference foes on the hardwood Saturday afternoon at Wisdom Gym.
- MSU leads the overall series 37-32 which dates back to the 1975 season.
- Midwestern State has lost three of its last four head-to-head meetings with the TexAnns, but the Mustangs did take the meeting earlier this season, 66-56 on Nov. 30, 2017 in Wichita Falls.
- Midwestern State is 15-17 all-time against TSU in games played in Stephenville. The last win by the Mustangs on the road came on Feb. 23, 2013 in a 71-63 victory.
- In the matchup earlier this season, Chelsea Adams went 7-of-8 from the field, scoring 16 points and grabbing five rebounds while Whitney Taylor added 14 points. Mica Schneider tacked on nine points and six rebounds as the Mustangs muscled out a 44-20 advantage in the paint to take a 66-56 win over TSU.
- The TexAnns enter the matchup with a 13-6 overall record and a 7-4 mark in league play. TAMU-C is 8-1 at home on the season.
- Sophomore forward Mackenzie Hailey leads the TexAnns with 15.4 points and 7.3 rebounds while junior guard McKinley Bostad and junior forward Katie Webster average 13.3 and 11.5 points per game, respectively.
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