Midwestern State (7-3, 4-0) at #2 West Texas A&M (12-0, 4-0)
Lone Star Conference game
Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 | 5:30 p.m.
First United Bank Center | Canyon, Texas
Live Stats: GoBuffsGo.com |
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM |
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network |
Video: GoBuffsGo.com
MUSTANGS NOTES
- 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 (7-3) are off to their best start since going 13-1 at the beginning of the 2014-15 season.
- The Mustangs saw their four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with a 70-66 setback to Southern Nazarene. The four-game stretch was the longest since the 2014-15 squad claimed four-straight victories from Feb. 21st through March 6th.
- Midwestern State dropped just its second contest at D.L. Ligon Coliseum this season, moving to 4-2 during the 2017-18 campaign.
- MSU is second in the Lone Star Conference grabbing 15.8 offensive rebounds per game resulting in 12.5 second chance points per game.
- The Mustangs are second in the league in rebounds per game at 43.8 and have won the rebound battle in six of their 10 games this season.
- Midwestern posts assists on 63.1 percent of its made field goals (140-of-222) ranking third in the LSC with 14.0 assists per game.
- The Mustangs are third in the LSC in 3-point field goal defense allowing the opposition to 26.6 percent from the arc.
- Senior guard Whitney Taylor leads MSU and ranks 14th in the LSC in scoring at 11.5 points per game. The Melissa, Texas native shoots 32.0 percent from the field while ranking fourth in the LSC with 2.1 made triples per game.
- Taylor is third on MSU's all-time 3-point makes list with 130 career 3s. She needs three 3-pointers to move past Andrea Buben (132 3s/2006-10) into second place. Former teammate Lisa Hampton (154 3s/2011-15) remains at the top of the chart.
- Taylor was held below double figures for just the first time in the last five games, averaging 13.0 points during the stretch and shooting 34% (10-of-29) from beyond the arc.
- 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 9.7 points a game and leads the club with 7.2 boards a game ranking ninth in the LSC.
- Mercelita is coming off her second-straight double-double in which she scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, both season bests while shooting 57% from the field.
- Mercelita boasts a trio of double-doubles this season after Saturday's performance, going for 15 points and 10 rebounds against Oklahoma Christian (11/11) and 13 points and 10 rebounds at Texas A&M-Kingsville (12/19).
- Senior guard Kristin Rydell has come alive over the last four games pouring in 10.75 points on 16-of-35 shooting from the field (45.7 percent) with seven 3-pointers. The run includes a season-high 16-point effort at Texas A&M-Kingsville (12/19) which followed a 9-point, 8-board performance against Texas A&M-Commerce (12/2) and a 10-point showing at Angelo State (12/7).
- Rydell is third on the team scoring 7.4 points per game while pulling down 3.4 boards in 21.6 minutes per game.
- Senior guard Jasmine Richardson has scored at least five points in six of her last seven games including a campaign-high of 11 points at Angelo State (12/7). She is fourth on the team scoring 6.1 points per game to go along with 2.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 21.2 minutes per game.
- Sophomore Liz Cathcart scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds in 24 minutes 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 four games due to injury.
- 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 seventh on the team in scoring at 5.0 points while also pulling down 4.0 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.
- Junior forward Chelsea Adams is sixth on the team in scoring with 5.7 points to go along with 4.0 rebounds per game. She scored a season-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting with a 3-poitners in MSU's win over Tarleton State on Dec. 2nd.
- Seven players carry averages of 5.0 points or better through the season's first 10 games including Taylor (11.5), Mercelita (9.7), Rydell (7.4), Richardson (6.1), Cathcart (5.9), Adams (5.7) and Reynolds (5.0).
- Kityana Diaz took over as MSU's top +/- performer with a +7.76 per 40 minutes average followed by Richardson (+7.11), Taylor (+5.92), Anni Scholl (+5.77), Adams (+5.26) and Mica Schneider (+5.15).
- Noel Johnson is in her 10th season at the helm of the MSU women's basketball program with an overall record of 133-127 (.512). 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 WEST TEXAS A&M
- Midwestern State and West Texas A&M meet for the 68th time overall and 40th-time as conference foes on the hardwood Thursday evening at First United Bank Center.
- West Texas A&M leads the overall series 50-17 which dates back to the 1976 season
- The last win in the series by the Mustangs came on January 7, 2015 in a 77-64 thriller at Ligon Coliseum.
- Midwestern State is 4-27 all-time against WT in games played in Canyon.
- The second-ranked Lady Buffs are 12-0 on the season and 5-0 at First United Bank Center.
- Sophomore guard Lexy Hightower leads WT in scoring and is fifth in the LSC with 13.7 points per game and has broken the 20-point plateau in three of the last four outings.
- Senior forward Madison Parker leads the Lady Buffs with 6.8 rebounds and holds the second-highest scoring average at 10.6 points per game.
- Junior guard Deleyah Harris caps off the WT players averaging in double-figures at 10.4 points per game. Harris had a 20-point outburst against Texas Woman's (12/7) and tacked on 19 more against Western New Mexico (11/30).
-- MSUMustangs.com --
