STEPHENVILLE, Texas - Midwestern State renews its storied rivalry with Tarleton State for the final time on the hardwood on Thursday night at Wisdom Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
Elizabeth Cathcart scored Midwestern State's first eight points on the way to another 20-point night and Mica Schneider poured in a career-high 26 points as Midwestern State rolled to an 87-77 win over Texas A&M International on Saturday afternoon. The win snapped a three-game losing streak. Schneider scored 11 of her game-high 26 in the first half to lead a resurgent Midwestern State bunch to a season-high 51 first half points. The Mustangs led by as much as 17 points in the second half. 
 
PLAYOFF RACE HEATING UP
Midwestern State moved into a tie for 11th place in the race for the postseason after Saturday's win over the Dustdevils. MSU Texas holds a 1.5 game lead over UT Permian Basin. UT Tyler is ineligible for postseason play as they transition from Division III to Division II. 
 

Lone Star Conference Women's Standings
Team (Overall Record)	LSC Record
Texas A&M-Commerce (21-0)	15-0
West Texas A&M (20-3)	13-1
Lubbock Christian (17-3)	11-3
Angelo State (12-6)	9-5
Eastern New Mexico (15-5)	9-5
Tarleton State (15-5)	9-5
Cameron (9-11)	8-6
St. Mary's (9-10)	8-7
St. Edward's (12-8)	8-7
Arkansas-Fort Smith (10-10)	7-7
Oklahoma Christian (6-12)	6-8
Midwestern State (8-10)	6-8
UT Permian Basin (8-13)	5-10
Texas Woman's (6-12)	4-10
Texas A&M International (7-14)	4-11
Western New Mexico (7-12)	4-11
Texas A&M-Kingsville (4-13)	3-12
Not eligible for postseason play
UT Tyler (3-16)	1-14

SERIES HISTORY
The Maroon and Gold lead the all-time series 37-36 but the Mustangs have dropped four straight meetings and seven of the last eight. MSU Texas has also lost six straight games at Wisdom Gymnasium, with their last win in Stephenville coming in February of 2013. 

SENSATIONAL SCHNEIDER
Mica Schneider scored a career-high 26 points and knocked down a career-high five three-pointers on Saturday afternoon. Schneider flirted with a triple-double, ultimately finishing with nine rebounds and seven assists. The Boerne, Texas native leads the Mustangs with 4.1 assists per game.

SAVVY SENIOR
Elizabeth Cathcart poured in 20 points in Saturday's win over Texas A&M International and has now scored in double figures in 15 of 18 games this season. Cathcart leads the Mustangs in scoring at 14.2 PPG and rebounding at 7.1 RPG, numbers that place her eighth and 11th in the Lone Star Conference respectively.

MARK IT UP
Freshman Markayla Johnson had her best collegiate game to date, scoring six points on 3-of-5 shooting as Midwestern State rolled to a 10-point win over the visiting Dustdevils on February 1. 

CATCHING UP WITH COACH JOHNSON
Noel Johnson is in her 12th season as the Head Coach of the Midwestern State Women's Basketball team. Last season, Johnson led MSU to a 12-16 (9-11) mark and a sixth place finish in the Lone Star Conference South Division. Overall, the Mustangs have compiled a 158-164 (.491) record under Johnson's guidance. She became the winningest coach in program history on December 19, 2017 when MSU beat Texas A&M-Kingsville 72-66 to land her 133rd career victory.

PLAY FOR KAY
Support the Mustangs in the 2020 Play4Kay National Free Throw Challenge. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund's mission is to extend and improve the lives of those who are battling cancer on the way to finding a cure, by raising money for research and assisting the underserved. The Midwestern State Women's Basketball team is partnering with the Kay Yow Cancer fund by joining the 2020 Play4Kay National Free Throw Challenge. The Mustangs are competing against other college basketball teams around the country to see who can raise the most money for those battling cancer. You can support the Mustangs by pledging for every free throw MSU Texas makes during the month of February by going to msumustangs dot com forward slash Play4Kay.
 
SCOUTING THE TEXANS
Tarleton State won their third straight game on Saturday, upending St. Mary's (Texas), 70-55. The Texans (15-5, 9-5) are 9-3 at Wisdom Gymnasium this season and are a remarkable 62-20 at home since the start of the 2014-2015 season. Mackenzie Hailey, a Division I transfer from the University of Texas at Arlington leads the Texans in scoring at 16.1 points per game. The Burleson, Texas native has scored in double figures in every game this season. Tarleton State possesses the 15th best scoring defense in Division II, holding opponents to just 54.4 points per game. And they rarely foul, committing the 24th fewest fouls in the country (290 total fouls). This is Tarleton State's last season in Division II, as the Texans are bound for Division I and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) following the season.

UP NEXT
The Mustangs head to Denton, Texas for a meeting with Texas Woman's on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.